1.   But an amendment may send the bill back to another committee, which is controlled by staunch secession opponent Richard Polanco.

2.   City Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski, a secession opponent whose district includes Encino, said she thinks it is too early for any groups to take a position.

3.   Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski, the City Council member on LAFCO and a leading secession opponent, said she believed Hahn was taking the right step in opening the campaign.

4.   Hollywood secession opponents announced Tuesday that they have formed a group to fight cityhood at the ballot.

5.   Instead, that heady privilege may belong to the courts, with a variety of secession opponents potentially ready to sue -- after the vote, if cityhood wins.

6.   Mayor James Hahn, a secession opponent, said he and his staff will review the report over the weekend.

7.   No secession opponents were invited to appear on this panel, although several members of the anti-secession group One Los Angeles were in the audience distributing information.

8.   Secession opponents argue that a Valley city would be ill-prepared for unexpected financial problems because it has no credit history.

9.   Richard Close, chairman of Valley Voters Organized Toward Empowerment, said the group helping Hahn is symbolic of secession opponents and the downtown power structure.

10.   Secession opponents are expected to play up the unknowns during the political campaign ahead, and the possibility of lawsuits feeds into that uncertainty.