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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Leaders Doubt Breakup’s Impact on Business

Leaders Doubt Breakup’s Impact on Business The Secession Question By JACQUELINE FOX Staff Reporter The results of a recent survey of Valley business leaders show a majority of those polled support a breakup of the city, but have doubts about whether it will help their own businesses. The findings of the most recent San Fernando Valley Leadership Survey are not that surprising, given that business leaders and secessionists alike have been saying for months in some cases, years that they feel shortchanged by City Hall when it comes to services, and are subject to what many have characterized as a “draconian” taxation system. What is surprising, however, is that a wide majority of the same respondents indicate they support a breakup for reasons unrelated to their own businesses, or may be apathetic about the issue, suggesting the effort to obtain business support for secession may not yet be as successful as once assumed. Of the 43 respondents who participated in the survey, 25, or 58 percent, said they believed secession would strengthen the overall business climate in the Valley; 13, or 30 percent, disagreed; and 5, or 12 percent either had no opinion or didn’t answer the question. Three-fifths of the respondent said they supported Valley secession in general. However, when asked if they thought their own business would improve if the Valley were to become its own city, 42 percent said “No,” while 30 percent said “Yes.” “That leads you to the conclusion that they are in favor of secession for reasons other than their business,” said Martin Cooper, president of Cooper Communications, which conducted the survey. “Or it could mean that they don’t understand the implications of secession or how a new city would operate, especially as it would relate to their own livelihood.” The responses to another question also could point to a disconnect among business leaders and their potential faith in a would-be Valley city government. Of the 43 respondents, a slim 53-percent majority said they believed a new Valley government would reform and reduce the gross receipts tax to their satisfaction. That’s likely to be a disappointment to advocates of tax reform who have waged a high-profile “ax the tax” campaign. “I would have thought that figure would have been much higher,” said Cooper. “Clearly they don’t see it as important, and I think that that doesn’t bode well for secessionists because it indicates that people are still very confused about the issue.” “These are business leaders and these issues are what proponents’ positions have been resting on,” said Cooper. “So it seems that maybe they don’t have the information they need to make a decision and they don’t have much time left to get that information, or the information they have been getting has been too overwhelming for them to pay attention to.” So what needs to be done? “I think secessionists need to reduce their message down to two or three easily memorable and clear ideas,” said Cooper. “It’s so complex, I think the results of the survey show that there’s still a lot of people who are still on the fence.” But Richard Leyner, co-chair of San Fernando Valley Independence Committee and a council candidate for what would be the Valley’s 13th District, said the real campaign for a breakup is days away from kicking into high gear. He pointed out that until recently the secession drive had been run by novices at the grassroots level, but is now in the hands of a high-powered public relations firm preparing to do exactly as Cooper suggested. “First of all, this was only amateurs running things until only a few months ago,” Leyner said. “We now have the power of an experienced public relations firm, Goddard Claussen Porter Novelli, working to get our message out and we expect that to begin in just a short while.” Leyner said Porter Novelli is preparing an extensive TV, radio and print campaign that will hinge upon the results of several focus groups polled citywide over the last two months. “We realize that we have to deliver a strong message to the business community, and we will broaden that through the campaign,” Leyner said. David Gurnick, a corporate attorney with Arter & Hadden in Woodland Hills, is among those who believe the gross receipts tax would be reformed under new leadership. He said he supports secession because it would allow voters to shine a brighter light on their elected officials because they would be geographically closer to their constituents. “The problem we have in L.A. is that the city is so large it is impossible for the government of the city to understand the needs of all the businesses,” said Gurnick. “And the focus of attention by City Hall is the downtown area. It’s not that I think they’re doing it intentionally. It’s just a natural incident of government that the attention and the benefits go to the capital area.” Respondents were also asked who they believe the best choice for mayor of a new Valley city would be. Former Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg was the top pick of 10 respondents, or about 24 percent. Assemblyman Keith Richman, who recently announced his candidacy for mayor took eight votes, as did former Assemblyman Richard Katz, who has previously denounced rumors he plans to run for office. State Sen. Richard Alarcon received two nominations. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslovsky, former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, local attorney David Fleming and City Councilman Dennis Zine all received one. Jody Here’s the information for the charts. I’d love it if the first two could be on page 1 and the second three on the jump page. I’d also like it if they could be pie charts, but anything close to that will do. 1. Would the business climate improve with secession? Yes 58% No 30% No opinion/answer 12% 2. Would your business improve with secession? Yes 30% No 42% No opinion/answer 28% 3. Would a new city reform the gross receipts tax? Yes 53% No 19% No opinion/answer 28% 4. How would the cost of doing business change? Increase 16% Decrease 40% Stay the same 33% No opinion/answer 11% 5. Do you support Valley secession Yes 60% No 23% No opinion/answer 17%

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