[Peace-discuss] LA anti-war resolution

[Ricky Baldwin]

> Los Angeles Adopts Resolution Opposing U.S. Invasion
> of Iraq 
> By Sue Fox 
> Los Angeles Times Staff Writer 
> 
> Saturday 22 February 2003 
> 
> LOS ANGELES -- 02.22.03 | In a carefully arranged
> marriage of thinking globally and acting locally,
> the Los Angeles City Council voted Friday to oppose
> unilateral war in Iraq but made sure to tuck a plea
> for the city's homeless into the small print. 
> 
> The compromise -- aimed at quelling criticism that
> local lawmakers have no business dabbling in foreign
> policy -- came after weeks of wrangling that split
> the council and unleashed a spirited debate on how
> the nation's second-largest city views itself. 
> 
> In an era of terrorism and economic uncertainty,
> ought city leaders concern themselves with global
> affairs? Or should they stick to the
> meat-and-potatoes neighborhood issues many of them
> campaigned on, from untangling traffic congestion to
> thwarting gang violence? 
> 
> "We have great needs in our cities, and we should
> not be spending our federal tax dollars bombing and
> killing other people in other countries," Councilman
> Ed Reyes told the approximately 300 peace activists
> who jammed the council chambers for the decision.
> "We're not a bunch of crazy councilmen. All we're
> saying is, 'We are echoing the sentiments of those
> who are hurting.' " 
> 
> Mayor James K. Hahn signed the antiwar resolution
> late in the day, making Los Angeles the biggest city
> to take a stand against a unilateral U.S. invasion
> of Iraq. About 100 other cities, including Chicago,
> Detroit and Philadelphia, have approved similar
> measures. 
> 
> An earlier vote on Councilman Eric Garcetti's
> resolution opposing a war without United Nations
> support fell one vote short of passage Tuesday,
> setting the stage for Friday's sequel. 
> 
> This time, Councilwoman Jan Perry smoothed over the
> peace versus potholes clash with an amendment
> pledging greater efforts to seek federal funding for
> homeless people. After a short discussion -- with
> those lawmakers who opposed the measure keeping
> conspicuously quiet -- the council approved the
> antiwar resolution on a 9-4 vote. 
> 
> "Thank you!" screamed an elderly woman in a
> canary-yellow T-shirt as the audience erupted in
> wild cheers. Another demonstrator, sporting a "No
> Blood for Oil" message across her shirt, blew kisses
> at the council members. 
> 
> "It's very bold of the city to do this," said Fred
> Greissing, 42, a music video director who had
> slashed holes in his clothes, roasted them on his
> barbecue and splattered them with fake blood for the
> occasion. "Local government is easy to reach, closer
> to the people. I mean, I don't think we could have
> walked into the back of the White House and done
> this." 
> 
> Although the City Council typically deals in police
> reform, street paving and other strictly municipal
> matters, it occasionally ventures into national or
> global affairs. 
> 
> Twelve years ago the council overwhelmingly voted to
> support the first Gulf War against Saddam Hussein's
> regime. 
> 
> It urged the Clinton administration to strike down
> its ban against gays openly serving in the military.
> And in 1985, after a long and emotional debate, it
> narrowly adopted a resolution declaring the city a
> sanctuary for Central American refugees. 
> 
> "We're one of the preeminent global cities of the
> world," said Jaime Regalado, executive director of
> the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at Cal
> State Los Angeles. "I think to duck the tough issues
> ... is kind of ludicrous. We have a very
> cosmopolitan population that reflects much of the
> world and has many ties to other countries." 
> 
> "This is not some inconsequential water policy in
> Tanzania," agreed Parke Skelton, a veteran
> Democratic strategist who has had a hand in many
> local races. "Certainly war in Iraq will have
> municipal consequences. There's a huge deficit at
> the national and state level, and you're talking
> about $200 billion to reconstitute Iraq? That's a
> major commitment." 
> 
> But Perry, whose district includes downtown's skid
> row, initially opposed the resolution on the grounds
> that Los Angeles should first attend to its large
> homeless population, about 20% of them veterans of
> the armed forces. She challenged her colleagues to
> tackle homelessness with as much gusto as they
> denounce war. 
> 
> "It just [angers me], these people who purport to
> care about people who are less fortunate," she said
> after the vote. "Let's see them put their money
> where their mouth is. They need to take a look at
> why they were sent here and how those policies
> impact people living on the street." 
> 
> Earlier this week, only seven council members voted
> for the measure. But then Perry threw her support
> behind the revised resolution, and Councilman Nick
> Pacheco, who was absent Tuesday, backed it as well. 
> 
> Only council members Alex Padilla, Jack Weiss, Wendy
> Greuel and Dennis Zine opposed the measure Friday.
> All four were elected in recent years after
> promising greater attention to basic neighborhood
> services amid a backdrop of Valley and Hollywood
> secession threats. 
> 
> "I didn't run on a foreign policy agenda," Weiss
> said after the vote. "I ran on a Los Angeles agenda.
> I certainly have heard from a lot of my constituents
> ... that there needs to be more of a focus on local
> issues. I didn't get nearly as many calls on this
> [resolution] as I did on burglar alarms, which tells
> me something." 
> 
> On a related vote, the council unanimously approved
> a Weiss proposal urging the federal government to
> increase funding to help the city guard against
> potential terrorist attacks. 
> 
> After the vote on the antiwar resolution, the
> audience poured onto the steps of City Hall,
> bellowing antiwar chants. They were joined by about
> 200 students who had staged a walkout from the
> nearby Downtown Business Magnet High School. 
> 
> Amid their enthusiasm, ex-Marine Don Cararie shook
> his head in frustration. 
> 
> "Are they Americans?" Cararie, 63, said
> incredulously. "These are a bunch of showboating
> infidels." 
> 
> Cararie, who wore a "God Bless America" sweatshirt,
> criticized the council resolution as a "paper tiger"
> that only served to distract lawmakers from their
> local responsibilities. 
> 
> "The City Council should not be fooling with this.
> I'd like to know how much money they wasted today,"
> he said, gesturing toward a phalanx of police
> officers circling the protesters. 
> 
> "Wouldn't it have been better to take that money and
> buy some groceries for the homeless?" 
> 


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