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January 18, 1999
Stacy Miller
Economic Development
City of Santa Clarita
City Hall
23920 Valencia Blvd.
Santa Clarita, Ca. 91355
Dear Stacy,
Following our conversation and a brief review of the FAX you sent, I am submitting some
comments on a part of the historical processes residents of the Santa Clarita Valley have
undergone in the creation of self government.
A.) In 1976-77 as Co-Chairman of the Canyon County effort with local attorney Daniel Hon,
and helped by a group of dedicated volunteers, we: 1) circulated petitions ( collecting 25% of the
registered voters in a 250 square mile area), 2) made innumerable speeches, 3) wrote and
circulated hundreds of press releases, 4) appeared on television and radio programs throughout
the County , 5) garnered support from the Chamber of Commerce and most of the organized
clubs in the affected area.
(Signatures were obtained by house to house solicitation of valid registered voters.)
After verification of the adequacy of the petition signatures, a Commission was appointed by the
Governor to study the possibility of secession of Canyon County from Los Angeles County.
Headed by Professor Donald Hagman from UCLA, the Commission spent a year analyzing the
formation and while recognizing Canyon County could become a wealthy, if small governmental
entity, recommended against county formation.
The recommendation did not affect the thrust of law, which was to allow the vote to occur.
While the balance of the County voted by 4 to 1 against letting Canyon County be formed, in
two successive votes, the local citizenry opted for self-government by approximately 60%.
Arguments for forming a County were basically the same as city formation - to bring
government closer to the residents and to have a bigger voice in decisions that affect every day
life. There was a general level of dissatisfaction with the remote County government whose
County employees rarely even knew where the Santa Clarita Valley was located!
The most positive thing that came out of the Canyon County movement was that for the first
time the disparate little communities ofNewhall, Saugus, Valencia and Canyon Country all
voted together for local government.