Schabarum Criticized as Callous for Remarks on AIDS

Twenty-two local AIDS organizations Friday denounced as callous and inaccurate Los Angeles County Supervisor Pete Schabarum’s assertion this week that the average citizen has no interest in AIDS or in funding to find a cure for the fatal disease.

The county Commission on AIDS, also responding to Schabarum, said in a statement that it “strongly disagrees” with his comments, which followed a demonstration by AIDS activists at a meeting of the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.

The AIDS Commission, on a 7-6 vote, called upon the supervisors “to exert leadership in the face of this epidemic, and set a tone of urgency, not public complacency,” in responding to it.

Contrary to Schabarum’s statement, public opinion polls have consistently shown that Californians do care deeply about AIDS, the commission said. It referred to a recent Gallup Organization poll that said a majority of the state’s residents think government is not doing enough to fight AIDS and that 18% have been tested for the virus.

“I don’t care what the prejudices and biases of Pete Schabarum are, there are people in his district who are dying of AIDS,” said Rabbi Allen Freehling, commission president, who joined members of the United AIDS Coalition at a downtown press conference.

Schabarum, a veteran supervisor known for his blunt appraisals of both issues and his colleagues, would not comment directly on whether a barrage of telephone calls and letters of protest to his office have made him regret his comments.

But in a prepared statement the supervisor said his comments had been reported out of context and misinterpreted by the public.

“My point was that while the average person does not care about AIDS funding, the county has been doing as much as it can to combat AIDS despite massive cuts in state funding,” he said. He cited a $49.1-million county budget for AIDS-related programs this fiscal year.

He also criticized leaders of mainstream AIDS organizations for condemning him Friday while failing to disavow the actions of militant AIDS activists, who he claims are responsible for the spray-painting of graffiti on county buildings three times in the last month.

County officials have estimated that it will cost $25,000 to repair damage from the vandalism. Schabarum set off another controversy last week by threatening to tap funds for existing AIDS programs to pay for the cleanup.

Members of the militant AIDS organization ACT-UP, including 15 arrested during a sit-in at the supervisors’ meeting Tuesday, have demanded that the county immediately open a 50-bed hospital ward for AIDS patients, instead of waiting until September to open a 20-bed ward.

Leaders of a number of other AIDS groups have said demonstrations may be counterproductive because the Board of Supervisors has approved several new spending programs for AIDS victims during the last two years.

Supervisors emphasized that point Tuesday, likening the sit-in to the previous incidents of vandalism and saying that such action only risks a backlash against those with AIDS.

That was when Schabarum made his controversial comments.

“If you were to poll the man in the street, I think you would find the vast majority of the public really has no interest in the subject of AIDS, and certainly could care less about the public financing the needed programs that you’ve articulated,” Schabarum said to representatives of AIDS organizations.

Judy Hammond, an aide to Schabarum, said Friday that the San Gabriel Valley supervisor has no scientific surveys to support his assertion.

“That’s just his personal belief,” she said. “In our district, you’re going to get a lot different feeling on the AIDS issue than you do in West Hollywood. You’ve got a different constituency.”