Garofalo angered by protest signs at city party

Eron Ben-Yehuda

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- New Mayor Dave Garofalo -- who has pledged to ‘listen

carefully’ to opposing views -- apparently found it difficult to keep his

word last week and turned over a protester’s sign at a taxpayer-funded

holiday party for city employees.

Resident Kevin Cox, a member of a group that opposes bringing Wal-Mart

into town, put up various signs around the parking lot and near the

entrance to the room in the Huntington Beach Mall, where the party took

place Dec. 9.

The signs accused City Council members who approved the retailer’s

project, including Garofalo, of being ‘totally corrupt,’ having ‘sold

out,’ and suggested they be recalled.

After attending the festivities, Garofalo walked over to one of the signs

in the mall’s parking lot and turned it over. The sign read ‘Don’t Let

the Four ‘Sold Out’ City Council Members Control Development in HB.’

Garofalo, sworn in as mayor Dec. 6, defended his action as his own form

of protest.

‘I exercised my right to free expression,’ he said.

Attorney Debbie Cook, a resident, said Garofalo interfered with the

protester’s right to free speech.

‘You’d think he would know better,’ she said.

City Councilman Ralph Bauer, a strong backer of Wal-Mart’s plans, also

disagreed with the new mayor’s conduct.

‘I don’t touch anybody’s sign,’ he said. ‘It’s just a matter of

principle.’

Cox belongs to Crest View United, and its leaders wondered what motivated

Garofalo’s behavior.

‘Are you just afraid of the truth?,’ Barbara Boscovich asked of Garofalo.

Rather than pursuing any legal action against Garofalo, group members

said they would rather focus their energy on blocking Wal-Mart’s project

by campaigning in favor of a March 7 ballot initiative that would rezone

the site where the retailer plans to build.

‘We have to concentrate on the initiative,’ said Marvin Josephson.

The party itself went off without a hitch, city officials said.

Because some residents criticized the party as a waste of money,

officials said they would provide a detailed accounting of its cost by

next week. The information could not be provided earlier because figuring

out the ‘direct’ and ‘indirect’ costs takes a long time, city officials

said.

The latest estimate for the party is $20,000.

QUESTION

FREE EXPRESSION?

What do you think of Mayor Dave Garofalo’s actions outside the city

employee holiday luncheon? Leave your thoughts on our Readers Hotline at

965-7175, send a fax to 965-7174 or e-mail to hbindy@latimes.com. Please

spell your name and include your hometown and phone number for

verification only.