One Los Angeles Versus Valley VOTE

Re “Valley Foes of Secession Fight Back,” Oct. 18: Five years ago, Richard Close and Jeff Brain began leading the charge for San Fernando Valley secession, even before any case--even a weak one--was built to support it. The group they founded and lead, Valley VOTE, was formed to push for a quick, up-or-down vote on secession. It was only after it became clear that the law dictated a report before a vote that Valley VOTE unconvincingly regrouped into a “we only want a study” organization. Since then, as facts have emerged that suggest not only that a breakup is barely feasible but would leave us perilously worse off, Valley VOTE has cried foul over and over again and attempted to point fingers and “spin” the details to suit its goal.

That’s primarily why I (and I suspect most of us) attended the first organizing meeting of One Los Angeles, to fight secession. Dismissing our efforts as somehow related to City Hall interests, as suggested by Close, is silly on the face of it. Personally, the last time I ventured from the Valley to City Hall was on a field trip with my third-grade class at Hesby Street Elementary School--and I don’t even want to think about how long ago that was.

Joan H. Leonard

Sherman Oaks

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Hooray for One Los Angeles! It’s high time someone challenged Valley secession in an organized way. We are all part of the great American city known as Los Angeles. Let’s work to improve it, not tear it apart.

Jean Sapin

Sherman Oaks