Council Drops Plan for Protest Site

Bowing to warnings and complaints from the police and downtown merchants, the Los Angeles City Council on Friday voted 12 to 1 to rescind its request to have Pershing Square designated as an official gathering area for demonstrators during the Democratic National Convention.

Although activists warned that they plan to assemble at the historic park regardless of the council decision, lawmakers said they erred two weeks ago when they chose the tiny plaza opposite the Biltmore Hotel to be a meeting spot during next month’s convention.

“It is time for the council to admit it made a mistake and try to undo much of the harm that has been done,” said Councilman Joel Wachs, a mayoral candidate.

Wachs also urged the council to block a multimillion-dollar public subsidy from going to convention planners. That effort, however, fell one vote short of the eight required for passage. The city last week issued a $2-million check to the cash-strapped convention host committee; another $2 million was approved at the same time and, given the vote Friday, is expected to be sent to the committee in the coming weeks.

Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg--who on June 23 pushed the council to designate Pershing Square as a gathering place--accused her colleagues of giving in to politics.

“The politics has all fermented around the idea of demonizing the protesters,” said Goldberg, who cast the sole vote against the council action on Friday. “The vote shows that people can be railroaded by fear. And if you can railroad my colleagues by fear, you can railroad this whole city by fear. It makes it all the more dangerous for everyone.”

The officially designated protest site has been--and remains--an area near Staples Center, where the convention will be held.

Since the vote two weeks ago, the Pershing Square issue has caused hard feelings on the council and beyond. Police Department officials argued that the designation of the park would create a security risk, forcing revisions in detailed plans for keeping the city safe during the convention.

Protesters and their supporters, meanwhile, focused primarily on the city’s role in providing a safe place for spirited civic dialogue. Trying to thwart that expression, they say, creates the real danger.

The police last week showed the council a dramatic video of demonstrations in Seattle and Washington, D.C., in recent months, heightening lawmakers’ concern about the potential risk of similar demonstrations in Los Angeles.

Law enforcement officials also warned that up to 50,000 protesters are expected to flood the city streets, with “a very small but very effective” group of demonstrators likely to engage in civil disobedience during the convention.

Designating Pershing Square--at the edge of the city’s jewelry district--as a protest zone would only drain the LAPD’s resources, Chief Bernard C. Parks told the council.

Officials also noted that the park is across the street from the Biltmore Hotel, where Democratic VIPs will be staying. Vice President Al Gore, who will be nominated for president, has elected to stay at a hotel in Century City because of the controversy, sources said.

While Goldberg argued that the council’s best response would be to welcome the protesters and not assume that they pose a danger, other council members said they did not want to take any chances.

“Our duty as elected officials is to protect and serve,” Councilman Nate Holden told his colleagues Friday. “For that reason, specifying that Pershing Square be a demonstration site and letting things get out of control over there would be devastating to our community.”

LAPD Is Asked to Pick Alternative Site

As a compromise, however, council members asked the LAPD to come up with an alternative site--such as Exposition Park or MacArthur Park--where people can peaceably gather.

Councilman Rudy Svorinich Jr. warned his colleagues that they were being naive in thinking that their vote would keep protesters out of Pershing Square.

“You actually think protesters will play by our rules?” Svorinich said. “Part of the whole protest process is to question authority.”

Indeed, a number of the activists who attended Friday’s council meeting said they do intend to gather at the park, notwithstanding Friday’s vote.

“We are really saying that this is an issue of free speech,” said Sara Knopp, who is with a group called the D2K Network. “Pershing Square is public property. It’s public space. We could have another park, but Pershing Square has some historic significance here. It is also more central to the city.”

On the matter of the $4-million public subsidy, the council voted 7 to 6 to rescind its earlier decision to shore up the DNC’s budget. The effort failed however, because eight votes were needed for passage.

According to some City Hall insiders, Mayor Richard Riordan worked hard to prevent the money from being bottled up, lobbying council members by phone during the meeting. The deciding vote in favor of the handing over the money turned out to be that of Councilman Mike Feuer, who two weeks ago voted to oppose the public subsidy.

“We have to keep our promises,” said Feuer, who is running for city attorney. “Once the council majority took that action and the convention planners of the DNC were relying on that action, I think one shouldn’t undo it. I think a city can’t function that way.”

Feuer said that he talked to Riordan before the vote but that the mayor did not sway his decision. Council members Ruth Galanter, Alex Padilla, Nick Pacheco, Mike Hernandez and Holden joined Feuer in opposing the motion to stop payment on the $2 million.

Council members Hal Bernson, Laura Chick, Goldberg, Cindy Miscikowski, Svorinich, Wachs and Rita Walters voted to rescind the money.

After the vote, Riordan released a statement chiding the council members who tried to block the payment.

“We are on the verge of hosting a historic presidential convention and yet a few members of the City Council appear bent on embarrassing Los Angeles,” said Riordan, who has raised more than $6 million for the convention, including $1 million of his own money. “Any action to rescind the contribution would represent a gross breach of commitment by the city.”