Willowbrook : Decision to Remove Board Member OKd

The Los Angeles City Council has confirmed Mayor Richard Riordan’s decision to remove Sweet Alice Harris, founder of a nationally known community group, from the board that oversees Martin Luther King Jr.-Drew Medical Center in Willowbrook.

The decision, taken without discussion recently, dismayed Harris, who said she will discuss her disappointment with Riordan in the coming weeks. “I am going to tell him the staff made a decision that I don’t think he would have accepted had he known I would have liked to stay on there,” said Harris, the 58-year-old founder and director of Parents of Watts, a 15-year-old group dedicated to easing tensions between blacks and Latinos.

Riordan’s removal of Harris was finalized on a 9-1 vote; the lone dissenter was Rudy Svorinich Jr., whose district runs from San Pedro to Watts.

The council’s action means Harris’ 10-year term on the board is over. But Riordan has appointed Harris to the Rent Adjustment Commission--a post she accepted though she still hopes to return to the hospital board.

Riordan’s press secretary, Annette Castro, expressed surprise that Harris did not want to leave the hospital board. Castro added that Riordan appointed Harris to the rent commission because that is where he believes she can best serve the city. “We think she’s an extremely qualified candidate for the position” on the panel, which oversees rent-control laws.