Harbor Area Secession Group Submits Petitions

HARBOR AREA —  Leaders of a drive to carve a separate city for the harbor area of Los Angeles turned in key documents Wednesday, including signatures from more than 25% of the registered voters living within the proposed new city’s boundaries.

The municipality, as yet unnamed, would have about 140,000 residents and would consist of the once-independent communities of San Pedro and Wilmington and part of adjacent Harbor City.

Petitioners turned in about 16,900 signatures to the Local Agency Formation Commission, the county agency that oversees cityhood campaigns. If the signatures are found to be valid, the next step will be to evaluate the fiscal viability of the proposed city and what effect its removal would have on the rest of Los Angeles.

With the commission’s approval, voters in the entire city would have the final say. Most observers believe 2002 is the earliest that a cityhood proposal could go on the ballot.

“We’re all going to be here for a long time,” said harbor area secession leader Andrew Mardesich. He referred to the complicated and costly process of sorting out details, beginning with finding ways to pay for a comprehensive study of the secession’s impact.

Harbor cityhood proponents launched their drive the day after secessionists in the San Fernando Valley unveiled their proposal for leaving Los Angeles, including possible ways to provide services and divide municipal assets and debt. Harbor area leaders plan to coordinate their drive with the bigger campaign in the Valley, where activists want to create a separate city of at least 1.2 million people.