April 6, 1998
Contact: Carmen Ramos Chandler,
(818) 677-2130
cchandler@exec.csun.edu
Thomas J. Hogen-Esch, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of Southern California, took a look at secession movements in Los Angeles, New York, Boston and Seattle, and found that the efforts to break out from those cities "are not unlike previous political movements which have led to the racial and class segregation in America's metropolitan areas."
In his paper "Race, Class and the Formation of Enclave Consciousness," Hogen-Esch, compares demographic statistics between the proposed seceding areas and the larger cities. He argues that secession efforts are likely to arise in communities which are relatively racially and ethnically homogeneous and to form in districts with either significantly higher or lower per capita income than those areas that would remain in the city.
"Properly seen as efforts to redistribute political power, urban secession movements have become the latest strategy for community groups seeking to further the politics of exclusion," he said.
Hogen-Esch's study is part of the Center for Southern California Studies' Working Paper Series, which explores critical issues facing the region, with a special concern for providing meaningful analysis on policy questions.
Other papers in the series included "Selected Employment Trends and Patterns in the San Fernando Valley, 1990-1994" and "The Changing Face of HIV and AIDS in Southern California and the Nation."
Using Southern California as a live laboratory, the Center works to collect, analyze and distribute information about political, social, historical and ecological change. CSCS' multi-disciplinary approach harnesses the strengths of the several social and behavioral sciences, and works to build partnerships with community organizations, universities and governmental agencies across the region.
The Center recently hosted a city-wide symposium on the political implications of a San Fernando Valley split from Los Angeles.
The secession effort was spawned by a group of Valley residents who do not believe they are receiving their fair share of city services. With 1.2 million residents, the Valley would be the sixth largest city in the country should it secede from Los Angeles.
Valley VOTE leaders plan to launch a petition drive on July 4 to obtain the 135,000 signatures necessary to put the issue to a vote. Valley VOTE is the group leading the secession drive.
If successful, the Los Angeles County Local Agency Formation Commission must then study the viability of the Valley becoming an independent city before submitting the issue to the county Board of Supervisors, which would place the matter on the ballot.
A majority of voters citywide must approve any measure to separate the Valley from Los Angeles.
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