It took two trips to the polls by LCF voters to approve cityhood. The first came in 1964 with the Chamber of Commerce and Realtor Dick Keilholtz, head of the newly formed incorporation committee, leading the ill-fated change. When the County Board of Supervisors, behind La Cañada member Warren Dorn, drastically changed boundaries of the proposed city at the 11th hour, cutting its size nearly in half, the city hood plan was doomed. Many La Cañadans felt it was a sellout to influential property owners by Dorn.

In 1969, there was another step toward cityhood when a small group of La Cañadans, headed by John Bond and including two Flintridge and two La Cañada residents, formed to restudy the incorporation issue. The effort lasted about six months and was followed by a general mailing to the community. However, the movement came to an end when a defiant Flintridge, always wanting separation from La Cañada, put up too strong a fight.

Five years later in 1974, community residents organized the La Cañada Cityhood Action Committee for another shot at incorporation with George Parrish its leader. The decision to try it again came at a town meeting hosted by the La Cañada Coordinating Council with backing from the Chamber of Commerce, then the only local organizations with a broad-based membership. A hand vote was taken there with 658 La Cañadans favoring cityhood and only two dissenting.

Of course, the paramount challenge was for the committee to convince Flintridge to join in this all-important effort to save the valley community's identity. Neighboring Pasadena and Glendale had agreed on how they would carve up unincorporated LCF, according to a "sphere of influence" plan of the State Legislature. A Glendale "prize" would be Descanso Gardens. Pasadena's takeover included all of Flintridge.

In May of 1976, some 986 La Cañadans still remember visiting the LA County Supervisors chamber for a Local Agency Formation Commission meeting on cityhood. LAFCO felt that urban areas should belong to adjoining cities. Resident Warren Hillgren dramatically stated that the County "had recently divided our community in two, with a freeway decision in which we had no participation - something we seek should never happen again"

Parrish and his cityhood committee were successful in bringing several Flintridge leaders into their fold. It took a lot of selling to Flintridge voters, who wanted to protect their high living standards and retain their low density zoning, but the job was accomplished. The vote in the election was 7355 to 2849.

Fifteen La Cañadans vied for City Council seats. The five winners were, in order by vote count, Mike Mount, George Parrish, Warren Hillgren, Edmund Krause and J.D. Smith. Mount and Parrish won four-year terms, and other three won two-year terms.

A month later, on Dec. 8, the official incorporation of LCF took place as Councilman Edmund Krause filed the incorporation certificate of completion with the County Recorder. The new city would comprise 8 1/2 square miles and have a population of 21,000.

Later that evening and historic community event was recorded. Held at the La Cañada Golf and Tennis Club (later becoming the Country Club) with 500 La Cañadans in attendance, the five Council members were sworn in by local County Supervisor Baxter Ward, who had earlier unseated incumbent La Cañadan Warren Dorn. The first City Attorney was announced as well - J. Kenneth Brown, a resident of the Flintridge area.

The new City Council held its first regular meeting on Dec. 9 in the La Cañada Elementary School Auditorium with an agenda to set up the LCF government with its necessary resolutions, city staff and volunteer city commissions.

As formation of the new city took place in the days to follow, Clark Smithson was named City Manager, Caroline de Llamas City Clerk, and John McCormick City Treasurer. De Llamas stayed only briefly and was replaced by Pat Anderson, who only recently retired. The City chose to contract to Los Angeles County for police and fire protection, road repair and building inspection.

McCormick and Krause, who was a retired senior state tax collector and a person with many contacts, provided wise direction for the new city. Krause was instrumental in scheduling the incorporation timetable in 1976 so that completion of cityhood occurred late in the year, enabling LCF to receive a full year of state funding. Financially, it was Krause and McCormick who knew the money market and had contacts who were helpful in making sage investments for the City. Those investments created an unheard-of $10 million reserve fund in the first year of operation in 1977.

La Cañada Flintridge became known as the city without a hyphen in its name, demonstrating community unity. There was a local furor when it was learned that a clerk in Sacramento had inadvertently added a hyphen while working on some LCF papers. It took an ordinance to correct the mistake. Never was that to happen again.