Van Nuys Elks Deny Bias, Vote to Admit First Black

The Van Nuys Elks Lodge admitted its first black member Tuesday in a closely watched vote that members said cleared the fraternal organization of allegations of racism, currently the subject of a state investigation.

The lodge accepted Ben Harvey at a closed meeting with 59 of its 300 members voting.

The lodge did not reveal the result of the membership vote, but a two-thirds majority is necessary for admission.

Lodge spokesman Dan Davis said the vote demonstrates that the organization’s policies do not discriminate against blacks or other minorities.

The state attorney general’s office has been investigating whether the lodge violated state civil rights laws in September by twice rejecting two blacks who applied for membership.

“It says we have no racial prejudice,” Davis said of the vote.

Deputy Atty. Gen. Louis Verdugo said that, despite Tuesday’s vote, his office will continue to pursue the investigation. But he said Harvey’s admission “would be considered one piece of evidence that the organization does not discriminate on the basis of race.”

In September, the lodge rejected two black applicants--the Rev. Jules S. Bagneris III, an unsuccessful Los Angeles City Council candidate, and Thomas J. Montgomery, a retired state Department of Motor Vehicles examiner. The lodge considered those nominations twice, voting 34 to 19 in favor of admission the second time, just shy of the required two-thirds majority.

Bagneris and Montgomery had said they were planning to reapply in March and would be encouraged if Harvey was accepted.

Earlier this week, Elks officials blamed the rejection of the two men on the involvement of state Sen. Alan Robbins (D-Tarzana), who nominated them.

In past interviews, several lodge members charged that Robbins had made the nominations merely to win beneficial publicity for sponsoring black applicants.

Also rejected in September was Robbins’ aide, Jack Sheffield, who is white.

“It was strictly a political thing before,” Davis said after the vote Tuesday. “In any group of people some are inclined to be racially motivated, but when you put that with political issues you have a bucket of worms.”

Robbins, reached in Sacramento, said he was “pleased that the lodge put down the racial barrier and accepted a black candidate.