La Jolla secession petition alive after reversal on validity of slice of signatures
La Jolla File photo by Chris Stone Times of San Diego La Jolla s push to secede from the city of San Diego can continue after the flourishing appeal of a San Diego County decision to reject several signatures on petitions backing the effort The Local Agency Formation Commission according to San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria overturned the county Registrar of Voters Certification of Insufficiency of the secession petition LAFCO he explained accepted appeals on more than signatures despite their not meeting the Registrar s clear signature-validation standards That number is key because according to an April count from the Registrar s office the La Jolla effort had fallen signatures short of the that were needed Gloria in a message called LAFCO s decision outrageous The city he announced will issue a formal Letter of Objection and continue to explore the legal options available The city sat in on the proponents appeal of their signature submissions and has serious concerns about the exceptionally broad interpretations made by LAFCO staff to overrule the ROV on hundreds of signatures he stated He went on to explain why the city formally objected to multiple of the staff s interpretations including he revealed accepting names that did not match registered voter evidence or included incorrect addresses and ZIP codes or incomplete addresses Particular he described as illegible submissions already rejected by the Registrar Proponents want to pull the acres that make up well-to-do La Jolla from San Diego and allow the coastal area to incorporate as its own city They seek greater control over their local issues and desire a stronger voice at the state level LAFCO received notice that supporters would circulate petitions to separate from San Diego almost a year ago The commission expected a draft fiscal impact analysis record from the proponents the Association for the City of La Jolla addressing whether La Jolla could obtain cityhood and be economically sustainable on its own As far as the petition proponents met a December deadline to collect and submit signatures from of registered voters But in March the Registrar reported that the association had collected valid signatures short of the required Supporters were granted more days to make up the difference a period that concluded April A new review began the next day this time of new submitted signatures According to an April letter from the Registrar to LAFCO signatures were verified as valid between the first and second submissions from proponents still leaving the effort shy of the necessary In total the Register recorded signatures of which were ascertained not be valid Ultimately for La Jollans to successfully leave San Diego s jurisdiction they must persuade the rest of the city The issue must be presented to voters and they need approval from both their own population and those throughout the city to secede According to the April figures from the county the city of San Diego has registered voters
