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Valley Voters Organized Toward Empowerment
Collection
URB.VOTE
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Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives
Title: Valley Voters Organized Toward Empowerment Collection
Creator:
Valley Voters Organized Toward Empowerment
Identifier/Call Number: URB.VOTE
Extent:
13.93 linear feet
Extent:
5.82 Gigabytes
Date (inclusive): 1978-2003
Date (bulk): 1997-2002
Abstract: Valley Voters Organized Toward
Empowerment (Valley VOTE) is the non-profit organization which led the secession efforts of
the San Fernando Valley from 1997-2002. The collection documents their petition drive, the
resulting investigation by the Local Agency Formation Commission for the County of Los
Angeles (LAFCO), and the Measure F campaign which allowed Los Angeles residents to vote on
the issue of secession.
Language of Material: English,
Spanish; Castilian
Valley Voters Organized Toward Empowerment (Valley VOTE) is the non-profit organization
which led the secession efforts of the San Fernando Valley from 1997-2002. The group was
formed in 1996 under the direction of two San Fernando Valley Residents: commercial real
estate broker, Jeff Brain, and attorney, Richard Close.
In 1997, shortly after California Governor Pete Wilson signed a bill removing the veto
power of city councils in cases of municipal reorganization and requiring instead a majority
community vote, Valley VOTE launched a petition drive to initiate a feasibility study on the
detachment of the San Fernando Valley from the City of Los Angeles. The petition drive was
ultimately successful and in 1999 the Local Agency Formation Commission for the County of
Los Angeles (LAFCO) began an investigation to determine the fiscal self-sufficiency of a new
valley city and measure the fiscal impacts of Valley cityhood on the City of Los Angeles.
The LAFCO investigation required extensive reports from both Valley VOTE and the City of Los
Angeles, as well as public hearings. During this time, other local communities were
attempting similar detachment efforts, including Hollywood and L.A.'s Harbor area.
In 2002, LAFCO approved the San Fernando Valley Proposal for Special Reorganization and
Ballot Measure F was scheduled for the fall 2002 election, giving Los Angeles residents the
opportunity to vote on the issue. In addition to determining Valley secession, the 2002
ballot also gave residents the opportunity to name the new city and elect a mayor and
council members. Valley VOTE led the campaigning efforts in support of Measure F, but the
measure failed to garner the necessary votes to pass.
Valley VOTE continues to operate as a non-profit organization focused on improving local
government.
The
Valley Voters Organized Toward Empowerment Collection
documents the efforts of the San Fernando Valley residents who, from 1997-2002, attempted to
secede from the city of Los Angeles to form a separate municipality. The collection includes
their petition drive, the investigation conducted by the Local Agency Formation Commission
for the County of Los Angeles (LAFCO), and the Measure F campaign which allowed Los Angeles
residents to vote on the issue.
The collection is divided into four series:
Organizing Files
(1978-2003),
Local Agency Formation Commission of Los Angeles
County Investigation
(1998-2003),
City of Los Angeles
(1994-2002), and
Reorganization Efforts of Nearby Communities
(1994-2002).
Series I,
Organizing Files, documents Valley VOTE's grassroots
efforts to create an autonomous municipality in the San Fernando Valley. The series is
further divided into four subseries:
Administrative Files
(1992-2003),
Outreach and Events (1997-2003),
Special Issues (1987-2002), and
Independent
Reports and Publications
(1978-2002).
Subseries A,
Administrative Files, consists of correspondence, Valley VOTE
meeting agendas and minutes, research materials such as maps, legislature, and reports,
housekeeping files, materials from affiliated organizations, and press coverage related to
Valley VOTE's secession efforts beginning just before the initial petition drive in 1997
through the conclusion of the 2002 general election, including an audio recording of KRLA
Radio 870's "Legal Challenges." Also included are materials documenting the candidates of
local elections, including those running for office in the proposed new valley city. The
files are arranged alphabetically according to subject and chronologically within.
Subseries B,
Outreach and Events,
documents Valley VOTE's promotional activities and volunteer efforts, including a letter
writing campaign to Governor Wilson regarding Assembly Bill 62, the petition drive to
initiate the LAFCO investigation, public submissions to rename the new valley city, and the
Measure F Campaign. Contact lists, volunteer lists, event fliers and calendars, promotional
handouts and forms, press kits, and campaign brochures are also included. The files are
arranged alphabetically according to subject and chronologically within. Subseries C,
Special Issues, consists of those files identified by Valley VOTE as
a special issue to their organizing efforts. The files maintain Valley VOTE's original
naming conventions and are arranged alphabetically according to subject and chronologically
within.
Subseries D,
Independent Reports
and Publications,
consists of publications on the topic of valley secession
authored by individuals or organizations not directly tied to Valley VOTE's operations.
Authors include the League of Women Voters, the Rose Institute of State and Local
Government, the Committee Investigating Valley Independent City/County, the Symposium on
Rightsizing Local and Regional Government, the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley,
California State University Northridge, California State University Sacramento, University
of California Los Angeles, Harvard University, and scholars of political science, public
policy, and economics. The files are arranged chronologically. For news publications, see
Series I, Subseries A.
Series II,
Local Agency Formation Commission of Los Angeles County
Investigation,
documents the formal investigation conducted by LAFCO which was
initiated by Valley VOTE's Application for Special Reorganization petition drive. It
consists primarily of reports submitted to LAFCO by Valley VOTE and the City of Los Angeles
to determine the feasibility of detaching the San Fernando Valley from Los Angeles. Reports
cover the reorganization plan and proposal, the initial and comprehensive fiscal analysis,
environmental impact, as well as follow-up comments and negotiations of Valley VOTE, city
officials, and LAFCO's executive officer. Related meeting materials and correspondence are
also included as well as audio recordings of several LAFCO proceedings and an audo recording
of a special workshop on reorganization for LAFCO Commissioners. The files are arranged
alphabetically according to subject and chronologically within.
Series III,
City of Los Angeles, documents aspects of the
city's involvement in the secession movement and consists primarily of expenditure reports
of various municipal departments. Organizational charts and meeting materials of the city's
Ad Hoc Committee on Secession are also included, as well as a cost burden analysis conducted
by an independent consultant on behalf of the city. The files are arranged alphabetically
according to subject and chronologically within.
Series IV,
Reorganization Efforts of Nearby Communities,
documents the secession efforts of other communities in Los Angeles with a predominant focus
on Hollywood and the Harbor Area. The series includes promotional materials, maps, and
correspondence as well as some of the formal reports submitted to the county for separate
investigation. Additional Harbor reports can be found in Series II and are labeled as such
for easy identification. The files are arranged alphabetically according to subject and
chronologically within.
Series I: Organizing Files, 1978-2003
Subseries A: Administrative Files, 1992-2003
Subseries B: Outreach and Events, 1997-2003
Subseries C: Special Issues, 1987-2002
Subseries D: Independent Reports and Publications, 1978-2002
Series II: Local Agency Formation Commission of Los Angeles County Investigation,
1998-2003
Series III: City of Los Angeles, 1994-2002
Series IV: Reorganization Efforts of Nearby Communities, 1994-2002
Digital reproductions of selected items in this collection are available electronically as
a part of the
San Fernando Valley History Digital Library.
Related Material
The collection is open for research use.
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of
this collection has been transferred to California State University, Northridge. Copyright
status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected
by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the
written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be
commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any
use rests exclusively with the user.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Jeff Brain, 05/29/2003
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style
manual, or see the
Citing Archival
Materials
guide.
Christine Hertzel, Inderdeep Kaur, and Tiffney Sanford, 2015
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Ephemera
Maps
Documents
Photographs
Audiovisual materials