Secession Petition Deadline

Re “VOTE Needs to Back Off,” Aug. 23.

You have really missed the point in regard to why Valley VOTE is proceeding legally in the matter of abridgment of 1st Amendment rights at the Van Nuys air show.

Your editorial stated that we should be satisfied with the fact that the Legislature is working to clarify the law that states how long we have to collect signatures in our petition drive.

What you did not state was that the legislative counsel has stated his belief that the period is 180 days in the law currently on the books.

We chose the 90-day period because of the ambiguity of the law and to avoid any lawsuits.

That the Legislature was spurred to clarify the statute by the illegal actions of city employees against petitioners is certainly something we favor.

But it does not relieve the fact that all the information regarding the illegal activities against the petitioners has not been disclosed. The Los Angeles Times should be digging in and calling for an independent investigation instead of accepting the internal report, which whitewashed the whole affair.

When a newspaper does not want to seek the truth regarding infringement of 1st Amendment rights, we should all be concerned. If Valley VOTE allowed the internal report to stand as the resolution of this incident we would be doing a disservice to all the residents of Los Angeles.

BRUCE BIALOSKY

Treasurer, Valley VOTE

Studio City

* The leaders of the San Fernando Valley secession movement are teaching Valley youth a valuable lesson.

If you can’t win playing by the rules--just change the rules.

For months these leaders have been telling us of the overwhelming desire of Valley residents to secede from the city of Los Angeles.

Now, even with financial help and many articles of support from the Daily News, we are told that the petition drive may fall short of the required number of voter signatures in the time allotted by law.

What to do? Of course, this is a no-brainer--get sympathetic state legislators to railroad a bill extending the deadline.

This is a slap in the face to all other petition drives that fall short while playing by the rules.

I am strongly opposed to secession, as you may have guessed.

I have always favored building up rather than tearing down. Los Angeles is a city of culture that is recognized around the world. These amenities and attractions draw thousands of Valley residents over the hill daily as well as thousands of visitors from across the nation and around the world.

Sometimes we don’t see the trees for the forest. I love L.A. because I see all the trees.

PHILIP WILT

Van Nuys