Move to L.A. Hospital May Foil Plan to Oust Lindsay : Council: The action could block effort by his colleagues to remove him for being absent, out of city.

Councilman Gilbert Lindsay, incapacitated by a stroke three months ago, is to be moved from his hospital bed in Inglewood to a hospital within Los Angeles city limits, an action that will foil plans by his colleagues to remove him from office.

Lindsay, whose 90th birthday was Thursday, has been in Daniel Freeman Hospital in Inglewood since a stroke Sept. 2 left him partially paralyzed and unable to speak.

His extended stay outside the city, half a mile beyond Los Angeles city limits, has put the council seat he has held for 27 years in jeopardy. A technicality in the City Charter allows for the removal of a council member who is absent from the city for 60 days or longer.

But Lindsay will be transferred, possibly as early as today to Queen of Angels-Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Hollywood, according to his stepson, Herbert Howard, and his council deputy, Bob Gay.

The 12-mile trip apparently will protect Lindsay’s seat on the council, even though it is not clear, according to visitors, that he is mentally or physically up to the task.

The move also will mean that Lindsay will continue to receive his council salary of nearly $90,000 instead of the pension of about $45,000 he would receive if he left office now. If Lindsay can hold onto his seat until next July, his pension will be boosted to about $60,000 under the city’s formula for calculating retirement benefits.

Earlier this month, Lindsay’s fellow council members began invoking the provision of the City Charter that allows them to unseat a colleague after a 60-day unexcused absence. The council stopped excusing Lindsay’s absences on Nov. 1.

By returning to the city before Jan. 1, Lindsay will stop the 60-day clock from running.

When Lindsay first fell ill, some council members said they would never attempt such a maneuver and one called it a petty technicality. Under increasing pressure from community leaders in Lindsay’s largely black 9th District, however, the council reversed its position. The community leaders had complained that they were without a voice on the council.

Beyond the 60-day rule, the Charter provides few options for removal. A council member can be removed for conviction of a felony, if judged insane, or if recalled by the voters. There is no movement afoot in Lindsay’s district for a recall--an expensive and time-consuming effort--and, although disabled, he is not suffering from any mental illness.

Council members say Lindsay’s situation has prompted them to seek changes in the City Charter to make it possible to vacate the seats of elected officials who are incapacitated. Such changes would have to be approved by the voters, however.

Howard, who has been overseeing Lindsay’s medical care, said Thursday that the move to Queen of Angels-Hollywood Presbyterian was approved by Lindsay’s physician and was not prompted by the council’s apparent intent to remove him from office. Howard added that the move was planned from the day Lindsay entered the hospital.

“My only concern is my father’s health,” he said.

Howard said that Lindsay’s regular doctor is at Queen of Angels-Hollywood Presbyterian and is affiliated with a convalescent facility for stroke patients.

The councilman, Howard said, has “pretty good vital signs. He is still paralyzed. He still cannot talk. I don’t know if he is recognizing people or not. I have never felt that he did. But doctors say that he can be transported.”

Council President John Ferraro, who visited Lindsay several weeks ago, said he was unsure if the elder councilman understood what was happening and could not tell whether Lindsay recognized him.

Councilman Nate Holden, who visited Lindsay on Wednesday, said the councilman seemed to respond to him.

“I think he was happy I was there,” said Holden, who stayed with Lindsay about half an hour. “I was able to communicate with him. He squeezed my hand when I asked him to and he blinked his eyes.

“When it was time to leave, he squeezed my hand so tight as if he didn’t want me to go.”

Earlier this week, Holden threatened to seek a court order, if necessary, so he could visit Lindsay. Holden said council members should be allowed to make a first-hand assessment of Lindsay’s condition before taking any action to remove him from office.

With the exception of Ferraro and Lindsay’s aide Gay, Howard has allowed almost no visitors since Lindsay entered the hospital.

However, Howard relented on Tuesday and said council members could visit.

Known for his gregariousness, Lindsay was the city’s first black councilman when he was appointed to the City Council in 1963. He handily has won reelection ever since, including his most recent bid in 1989, a year after suffering a mild stroke.

Lindsay’s 9th District encompasses the extremes of the city, from the gleaming skyscrapers of downtown to the crime-ridden slums of South-Central Los Angeles.

Howard said Thursday he was unsure when Lindsay would be moved, but Tim Ogata, vice president of Queen of Angels-Hollywood Presbyterian, said the hospital is expecting Lindsay to arrive by ambulance today.