Appointment of Lomax to DWP Board Rejected : Politics: City Council turns down her nomination on an 8-4 vote that angers black activists. Foes cite her controversial tenure on Police Commission and say she lacks environmental credentials.

In a stinging rebuke to Mayor Tom Bradley, the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday soundly rejected the appointment of controversial attorney Melanie E. Lomax to the Department of Water and Power Commission.

The council, in an 8-4 vote, turned down the appointment on grounds that Lomax lacked environmental credentials and performed poorly during her eight-month tenure as a police commissioner when she clashed with then-Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates.

The unusual rejection of a mayoral appointment angered black activists, who accused the council of putting the interests of environmentalists over those of the minority community. The appointment, they said, was an opportunity to promote affirmative action at the giant utility, which has a $3-billion-plus annual budget and about 11,500 employees.

The five-member DWP board currently has four whites and one Latino.

“It is an insult to the diverse residents of this city for the council to effectively say that an African-American cannot possibly be an environmentalist,” Bradley said. “It is my firm belief that Melanie Lomax’s impeccable qualifications could have assisted the DWP Commission on environmental and affirmative action issues.”

Lomax called the council vote “pay-back” for her efforts on the Police Commission to oust Gates after the beating of Rodney G. King.

“I don’t believe the issue is the Department of Water and Power or the environment as much as it is Melanie Lomax and Daryl Gates,” Lomax said.

Joseph Duff, president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People, said the action will not help to heal post-riot Los Angeles.

Duff called Lomax’s rejection “a demonstration of white power on the City Council. When you draw the line on race, there are consequences.”

But Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, a vocal opponent of the selection, argued that Lomax was simply not the best candidate for the job.

“I’m sick and tired of being called a racist every time I disagree with someone who is black,” Galanter said. “It might just be a disagreement on the merits.” Galanter said there are other African-Americans with better environmental credentials that she would support.

Bradley personally lobbied council members to support his appointment of Lomax, a black civil rights activist who resigned from the Police Commission a year ago.

But Bradley could muster only four votes from the 12 council members present--Richard Alatorre, Mark Ridley-Thomas, Rita Walters and Michael Woo.

“The last thing this city needs right now is a political shootout with environmentalists on one side and the African-American community on the other side,” Woo said.

Opposing the appointment were council members Ernani Bernardi, Hal Bernson, Joan Milke Flores, Joy Picus, Zev Yaroslavsky, John Ferraro, Marvin Braude and Galanter. Councilmen Mike Hernandez, Joel Wachs and Nate Holden were absent.

Lomax said Holden’s absence was especially painful.

“That bothered me because I called him several times and asked for his support,” Lomax said. “As a princess in the African-American community at this point in time, I thought I could count on him to show up.”

The appointment was opposed by such environmental groups as Heal the Bay and the Coalition for Clean Air, which contend that Lomax does not have enough experience in environmental issues to replace prominent environmentalist Mary Nichols. Nichols, whose term expired June 30, will continue to serve on the board until Bradley comes up with a new nominee who can win council confirmation.

Bradley appointed Nichols to replace Carol Wheeler, an African-American, in 1990.

Supporting Lomax were more than a dozen African-American leaders, including the Rev. Cecil Murray of First African Methodist Episcopal Church; Constance Rice, Western regional counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and Duff.

In defense of her environmental record, Lomax told a city panel earlier in the day, “I am a life member of the Sierra Club. I am a hiker. . . . I believe very strongly in protecting the environment.”

She also pointed out that when Bradley approached her about joining the city-owned utility, he indicated a strong interest in improving the agency’s affirmative action record.

“I believe I am capable of being a strong advocate for both the environment and affirmative action,” Lomax said. “And I refuse to believe that one is more important than the other.”

Outside the council chamber, Lomax was more blunt.

“I think the opposition by some to my nomination is directly connected to my positions on the Police Commission and has nothing to do with the environment,” Lomax said.

Lomax left the Police Commission after she was accused of leaking confidential documents to a civil rights group seeking Gates’ ouster in the aftermath of the King beating. She was later cleared by the State Bar of wrongdoing in providing the documents to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

While a police commissioner, Lomax also came under fire from the City Council, which overturned the commission’s attempt to place Gates on furlough.

Council President Ferraro scolded her during the council meeting for exercising poor judgment during her tenure as a police commissioner.

“The fact she gave confidential city information to the enemy . . . is another example of poor judgment,” Ferraro said. “Are we going to face this kind of poor judgment on the (DWP) board?”

Lomax said she was astounded by Ferraro’s remarks.

“Obviously, he has a fair amount of bitterness and hostility based on my being the chief critic of Daryl Gates,” she said.