Katz Says Alarcon Shares Blame for Secession Drive

State Senate candidate Richard Katz charged Tuesday that his top opponent, City Councilman Richard Alarcon, and the rest of the council share responsibility for the discontent that is driving a San Fernando Valley secession movement.

“The reason we have secession today is that people feel failed by the city and the City Council,” Katz said during a debate in Studio City, sponsored by the local chapter of the Gray Panthers.

After the debate, Alarcon rejected Katz’s charge, saying that talk of a Valley secession began over 20 years ago, long before he took office. Alarcon said he supported state legislation that eliminated the City Council’s power to veto secession.

“I have championed giving the Valley the vote,” Alarcon said.

The exchange was the latest volley of charges and countercharges in the increasingly heated campaign to replace Sen. Herschel Rosenthal (D-Los Angeles) who is leaving due to term limits.

The meeting was only the third face-to-face debate between Katz, a 16-year veteran of the Assembly, and Alarcon, a second-term member of the Los Angeles City Council.

At a debate at Mission College in Sylmar on Monday night, Alarcon criticized the former state lawmaker for voting to raise community college fees, among other things.

The debate Tuesday was before about 25 members of the Gray Panthers at the Unitarian Church--with both candidates standing in the pulpit area.

One member of the audience suggested the city of Los Angeles take over some of the scandal-plagued Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s operations.

“I don’t trust the city any more than I trust the MTA,” replied Katz. “If the city would do a better job we wouldn’t be talking about secession.”

Jeff Brain, president of Valley VOTE, a group that plans to launch a petition drive next month to begin the first step in the secession process, agreed that many secessionists blame the City Council for the discontent that fuels secession talk.

“It’s very clear that the City Council is held in very low esteem among many of those active in this effort,” he said in an interview.

At the debate, both candidates said they would only support Valley secession if the current efforts to overhaul the city’s governing charter do not result in increased autonomy.

One woman from the audience complained that too many state laws are being made through the initiative process and asked the candidates to respond.

Alarcon said many laws are being made by voters at the ballot box “because the Legislature is afraid to make some hard decisions. I wish I had the opportunity to make those decisions.”

The race--which began with a respectful, almost friendly tone--is expected to heat up even more as the June 2 primary approaches.

After the debate, Katz said he believes Alarcon has begun to take the offensive in the campaign because he fears he needs to gain ground in the race.

“His strategy is the strategy of someone who is behind,” Katz said, adding that he plans to raise questions about Alarcon’s legislative record in the coming weeks.

Alarcon said his strategy is to point out to voters how Katz has voted during his 16 years in the Assembly and explain why he would have voted differently.

The candidates are scheduled to appear together again on May 4 at the Sepulveda United Methodist Church in North Hills.