Newspaper Is Biggest Donor to Valley VOTE Petition Effort

The Daily News, a longtime advocate in its editorials for increased San Fernando Valley autonomy, has contributed $60,000 to the civic group leading the petition drive for a study and possible vote on Valley secession from Los Angeles.

The group, Valley Voters Organized Toward Empowerment, reported that the Woodland Hills-based newspaper is its biggest contributor, having kicked in about one-third of the total donations raised, said Jeff Brain, president of the organization.

Until this week, Valley VOTE has refused to identify major donors or reveal financial information.

Valley VOTE has raised about $200,000 in donations, pledges and in-kind contributions in support of its campaign for a study of Valley secession, Brain said. The group needs to collect 135,000 signatures on petitions by Aug. 27.

Valley civic leaders Bert Boeckmann and David Fleming contributed $10,000 each and have pledged more, Brain and Fleming said.

Daily News Publisher Ike Massey and Editor David J. Butler have declined repeated requests for comment. On Thursday, Daily News Managing Editor Ron Kaye said he was unaware of any contributions made by the paper, and referred all questions to the publisher.

Leaders of Valley VOTE refused on Wednesday and Thursday to acknowledge to The Times that the Daily News has contributed money to the campaign.

The Daily News, however, in Friday’s editions reported it had donated $60,000 to Valley VOTE and listed the names of four other major contributors: Boeckmann and Fleming; longtime businessman and political activist Guy Weddington McCreary, who gave $9,000, and Lodwrick Cook, former chairman of Atlantic Richfield Co., who contributed $1,000.

Valley VOTE Chairman Richard Close confirmed those figures were accurate, but declined to provide additional information about donations. Close said the group’s official policy to keep contributors confidential remains intact.

“It’s to prevent intimidation and retribution from the city,” Close said.

Close said the organization is grateful for the donations, and called on the Los Angeles Times to match the $60,000 contribution from the Daily News.

“I think it’s going to help cement the Daily News’ reputation as the hometown paper of the San Fernando Valley,” Close said. “Hopefully, it will lead to the L.A. Times contributing the same amount.”

Close said this would not be unprecedented, since Mark Willes, publisher of the Los Angeles Times and chairman of Times Mirror Co., is a member of the Los Angeles Business Advisors. On Thursday, the downtown business organization vowed to finance a campaign to block any effort by the City Charter Reform Commission to create elected neighborhood councils in Los Angeles. Willes is a member of the Los Angeles Business Advisors charter reform steering committee, which voted last week to take the position.

Laura Morgan, spokeswoman for The Times, said Friday the newspaper would not donate money to Valley VOTE. She said Willes’ involvement with the Los Angeles Business Advisors is part of Times Mirror’s role as a “corporate citizen” in the community.

“We have no interest in giving money to an entity whose objective is to pull the community apart versus bringing it together,” Morgan said. “Mark Willes certainly is involved in the committee; that reflects our role as a corporation citizen and has no impact whatsoever on the objectivity of our news coverage.”

The Times has a corporate policy against contributing to politicians and political parties, and does not donate to groups advocating ballot initiatives, Morgan said.

Mayor Richard Riordan has advocated charter reform as an alternative to Valley secession, saying reform of the city charter would be the most constructive way to address the Valley’s political grievances.

If successful, the Valley VOTE petition would require the Local Agency Formation Commission--an independent state authority whose members are appointed by local governments--to study the feasibility of Valley secession and decide whether to place the measure on the ballot for a citywide vote.

While Riordan is the most vocal opponent of the petition drive, he did not criticize the Daily News, Fleming or Boeckmann for contributing to Valley VOTE. Riordan appointed Fleming to the city’s Fire Commission and Boeckmann to the Police Commission.

“In a democracy, people have the right to choose up sides,” Riordan spokeswoman Noelia Rodriguez said.

Riordan recently met in the Valley with all of his appointed commissioners and urged them to support the ongoing efforts to rewrite the city’s charter and oppose Valley secession. Nonetheless, Rodriguez said, Riordan will not remove Fleming nor Boeckmann from their appointed positions because of their contributions.

“He is not going to demonize them just as he hopes they don’t demonize him for what he is doing to oppose secession,” Rodriguez said.

Council President John Ferraro, another secession critic who represents parts of the Valley, said he was not surprised to learn of the Daily News’ contribution to Valley VOTE because he believes the paper’s coverage of the city indicates that it supports secession.

“The fact is that they write all of these stories about how badly the city of Los Angeles is run,” he said. “I’ve never seen them write anything positive about the city so I guess this explains it.”

Bobbi Fiedler, a former Republican congresswoman from Northridge and an outspoken supporter of Valley secession, praised the contribution made by the Daily News, saying the paper’s financial commitment indicates it will continue to be a strong advocate for independence.

“The Daily News is willing to put its money where its mouth is,” said Fiedler, who is not a member of Valley VOTE. “Their contribution, while a surprise, shows that they’re honest in their view.”

Jim Naughton, director of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg, Fla., called the Daily News’ contribution unusual, and feared it may confuse readers about the role of a community newspaper.

“I think that we should be as careful as possible about keeping journalism separate from civic ventures trying to influence public opinion,” said Naughton, a former New York Times reporter and an editor for the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Journalism has its own means of doing that. Becoming involved in both may discredit the newspaper’s role.”