Councilmember Huizar Stabs Constituents' Backs

--- In nelalist@yahoogroups.com, nelalist wrote:

[posted by Daniel Wright, Pres. Mount Washington Homeowners Alliance]

INVESTIGATION BY BOULEVARD SENTINEL REVEALS MAYOR, HUIZAR, AUTRY
PRESS CONFERENCE TIGHTLY CONTROLLED TO EXCLUDE NORTHEAST COMMUNITY
MEMBERS

On Thursday, September 27, 2007, the Mayor, Councilmember Jose
Huizar, and the Autry Museum officials conducted a splashy press
conference with radio, television, and print media at the Southwest
Museum. Guards at both the bottom and top of the hill only allowed
"approved persons" up the hill to the Museum. At this event, based
supposedly on a July 2007 meeting Councilmember Huizar had with the
leaders of the Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition,
Councilmember Huizar claimed "tough negotiating" with Autry officials
had resulted in a "victory" for the community. Ironically, none of
the people for whom Huizar had obtained this "victory" were allowed
to attend this event in front of television cameras.

Also at this event, the Mayor announced the formation of the
"Southwest Society" a new organization to be convened by the Autry
that supposedly will raise money only for the rehabilitation of the
Southwest Museum building. This fund raising committee for the
Southwest Museum building consists of other Democratic elected
officials who appear to have been misled into agreeing to be part of
it. Unlike the fund raising committee for the restoration of the
Griffith Park Observatory, or construction of Disney Hall, the
Mayor's committee for the Southwest Museum has no wealthy people
sitting on it. It is just a list of people, most of whom are known to
be political supporters of the Mayor.

The time has come for a public discussion of how this Press
Conference was deliberately intended to mislead the Los Angeles press
to believe the Southwest Museum was being saved when in fact, the
Autry, now with the express assistance of City of Los Angeles some of
the elected officials who made election promises to keep the
Southwest Museum in the Arroyo Seco, continues its effort to steal
the collection of the Southwest Museum away to its own building in
Griffith Park.

THE BOULEVARD SENTINAL'S INVESTIGATION IS AN EYE-WITNESS ACCOUNT OF
WHAT HAPPENED. HERE IS THE NEWSPAPER'S REPORT:

At a press event held at the Southwest Museum on Thursday, September
27, Autry officials, City officials, and carefully selected community
members announced the formation of the "Southwest Society, " a blue
ribbon committee created to help raise funds to restore and
revitalize the Southwest Museum and Casa Adobe.

Mayor Villaraigosa, Councilmember Huizar and John Gray were there and
announced that, according to the Mayor, as a result of, a "very, very
tough negotiation" with the Autry by Councilmember Huizar, that the
community scored a huge victory. (more on that at the end of this
story)

Huizar said, "For years, the community and the Autry have been sizing
each other up, trying to figure out whether or not (the merging of
the Autry and the Southwest Museum) was a match that will fit. But
today marks a turning point, thankfully, in that relationship. Today
we proudly stand shoulder to shoulder ... in support of one simple
shared vision, to make the Southwest Museum and the Casa de Adobe
into a living, thriving destination."

The merging or acquisition of the Southwest Museum by the Gene Autry
Museum of the American West in 2002(?), has been accompanied by
conflict and controversy from the start. Activists in Mt. Washington
and the surrounding neighborhoods have feared that, at the worst, the
museum's vast collection of priceless Native American and
southwestern United States artifacts would be permanently taken away
and the Southwest Museum building would be razed to build
condominiums.

The Autry has made many promises as to the preservation and planned
use of the Southwest Museum site, but activists say they have gone
back on their word again and again.

Over the last five years, first, Antonio Villaraigosa, and then Jose
Huizar, were campaigning for Councilman and then Mayor, both swore
allegiances to back the community in what by then had turned into a
real fight between the community and the Autry.

Over the course of these few years, the community activists organized
themselves into the "Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition," and
boasted membership of 78 community organizations. They sometimes got
into battles in the press, occasionally a little nasty, which
prompted Mayor Villaraigosa to ask them both for a gag agreement, a
request to step back and hold the public comments for a six month
period.

In the summer of 2006, public input meetings were held to gather the
opinions and desires of people throughout the city of Los Angeles,
regarding the Southwest Museum and its collection. Early this summer,
Councilman Huizar hosted a meeting of community members representing
50 organizations in the "friends" coalition.

He says that he took these members' wishes into negotiations with the
Autry, and using them, came up with the agreement, the "huge
victory," he spoke of today.

What the Autry agreed to was to: (details removed for brevity)

* Expand and maintain the storage and public display of the Southwest
Museum's Collections in Mt. Washington.

* Preserve and protect the Southwest Collection of priceless
Artifacts.

* Preserve, rehabilitate and maintain the original historic Southwest
Museum Building and the Casa de Adobe.

* Expand the educational and programming activities of the Southwest
Museum and Casa de Adobe.

* Keep community members and stakeholders well-informed on plans and
programming at the Southwest Museum and Casa de Adobe.

* Autry National Center fundraising for the Southwest Museum and Casa
de Adobe.

The press event on this day sort of caught me by surprise, as I
received the telephone call telling me of the event only a few hours
before it was to take place. I expected to see all the local
activists, and members of the coalition that I see at all the
Southwest Museum events.

As I entered the driveway to the Southwest Museum, I was greeted by
two security guards, and saw at least two signs stating that the
location was closed for a "private" event. I told the man my name and
after he checked over his list, he sent me up the driveway. At the
top of the driveway I was again stopped by the guard who again
checked my name against a list.

As I entered the courtyard, I scanned all the attendees. The crowd
showed some definitely conspicuous gaps in representation. All the
"friends" coalition members were missing. Most of the only community
members there were the ones who had left the coalition. Let me
explain.

The very experienced and active "friends" coalition had previously
been tight knit, and completely aligned. They met and tried to
negotiate with the Autry every week for months. In June, the very
savvy and vocal chairman of the coalition resigned. That was Eliot
Sekular. He said he resigned over an "expansion" plan that remaining
members of the coalition were trying to force on the Autry. He
thought that the plan, and a last resort threat to litigate the
matter, would be counter productive to the future of negotiations.
Carol Jaques, Tony Scudellari, and Natalie Seaman evidently agreed,
as they followed suit, deciding to put 100% of their hopes for the
museum squarely on the shoulders of the Mayor and Councilman who had
promised to help. Eliot, as vice president of the Arroyo Seco
Neighborhood Council, took it before that board, recommending they
change their position to support his, instead of the coalition's.
They decided to stay with the coaltion.

But at this event, there were no coalition members there, only the
ones who had left the coalition, and decided to align with Sekular
and company.

I thought they might have been intentionally kept out of the loop. I
snuck away from the courtyard and visited the man at the top of the
driveway who had a copy of the guest list. After persuading him to
let me see it, I looked over every name. Sure enough, not one
coalition member that was still fighting the Autry was on that list.
They were not invited. If they had tried to get in, I'm sure they
would have been turned away.

I went back into the courtyard just as José asked for questions from
the press.

"José, were the critical coalition members were not on the guest
list. Were they intentionally kept out?"

"They probably took it upon themselves not to attend," he replied.

As I left I asked the security guard at the bottom of the driveway if
he had let in anyone who was not on the list.

"No," he replied with a quizzical look.

I was sure that coalition members, still critical of the Autry, were
intentionally kept out. I started calling around to double check.
Coalition founders Nicole Possert and Ann Walnum knew nothing of the
event. Highland Park Heritage Trust leaders Charlie Fisher and Ann
Marie Wozniak knew nothing of the event. Historic Highland park
Neighborhood Council President Heinrich Keiffer was kept in the dark,
too.

I believe now that this press event was intentionally a stacked deck.
It was designed to convince the press that everyone was now in
agreement, and that the fight was over. From what I have learned that
is far from true.

The latest news is that comments to the 1000 page environmental
impact report for the Autry's expansion plans in Griffith Park were
filed just in time last month by coalition members. In those pages
are statements declaring that there are no plans to use the "Arroyo
Seco Campus." Coalition leaders plan to meet next week to discuss
their options about what to do next. They still want the Southwest
Museum to be the main venue for displaying the Southwest Collection.

New Southwest Society members believe they should give the Autry a
chance to do what they promise. They think that the latest plan is
acceptable, but caution that they will protest strongly if the Autry
tries to go back on its word.

Although Mayor Antonio had stated that Councilman Huizar had come out
a winner in hard fought negotiations with the Autry, Autry personnel
did not have an answer when I asked them exactly what José had won
that was not already offered last year.

Councilman Huizar sent this answer to that same question:

"One of the best elements of the agreement I secured from the Autry
was the commitment to keep the artifacts of the Southwest Collection
on display at the Southwest Museum on a rotating basis. Over time,
the public will have the opportunity to view most of the priceless
collection. Having rotating exhibits will help ensure that visitors
will come back over and over again to this great museum to see what
is new on display.

Additionally, the Autry has now committed to being transparent with
the community as the rehabilitation of the building and the
collection progresses.

Overall, I am very pleased to have such a clear, specific vibrant
vision for the future of the Southwest Museum outlined publicly and
in writing. The dynamic of this relationship has changed and we are
now able to move forward towards our shared vision of this cherished
Museum."

I asked coalition members if the two items listed, rotating exhibits
and transparency with the rehab process was something that was a new
victory.

They said, "We don't see anything different from what the Autry's
been doing all along."

-- END OF THE BOULEVARD SENTINEL STORY --

ANALYSIS:

The press conference was substantially misleading to the press and
the public to whom the press reported the story. Leaders of the
Friends of the Southwest Museum, who represent the thousands of
people who have signed petitions demanding the City maintain the
Southwest Museum in the Arroyo Seco, were not invited to the Press
Conference because Autry did not want the truth to be known: Huizar's
"victory" is the same plan announced by Autry last year with a couple
of insignificant embellishments and the Mayor's fund raising
committee does not exist for the purpose of raising funds to keep the
Southwest Museum, as a museum, at its current location.

The corruption of the City's planning and environmental review
processes will now be graphically symbolized by the proposed
unnecessary loss of the Southwest Museum, this City's first and most
historic museum. The control of the City's planning and
environmental processes by lobbyists and moneyed institutions are so
complete that our elected officials, who expressly campaigned on
promises to retain the Southwest Museum at the Arroyo Seco site, have
been apparently offered something more enticing than the votes of
Northeast residents: political assistance and campaign contributions
to fuel their step up to the next political office.

Will our elected officials spit on the bones of their Native
southwestern ancestors housed in the Southwest Museum in exchange for
their own raw political ambition? Will the people of Los Angeles
allow the literal piracy of the Southwest Museum's collection for the
ambition of the Autry Museum? The time has come for a public
discussion of these important public issues as the Autry races to
City Hall trying to ram through its effort to expand its museum
building in Griffith Park.

Daniel Wright, President Mount Washington Homeowners Alliance

--- End forwarded message ---





In addition, it should be pointed out that the signed agreement
between Councilmember Huizar and the Autry National Center is NOT
signed by Autry's board, only by John Gray. As such, the Autry Board
of Directors can simply ignore it as it is not a legally binding
agreement.

Furthermore, in reading that details of the MEMO agreement from John
Gray to Councilmember Huizar, there is not gaurantee that the
Southwest Museum will remain as anything other than a "cultural
center" which may or may not be open to the public.

For a couple of years now, the Friends of the Southwest Museum
Coalition has enjoyed the verbal and ocassional written support of
the Route 66 family. Soon, I will be making a request for action. We
are formulating our plans for the coming months in the next step in
our struggle to preserve an important part of American history that
lies alongside the Mother Road in Los Angeles. Keep your eyes open
for this request in the next couple of days.