On the Homeless Issue, the Council’s Not Kidding

Santa Monica City Councilman Ken Genser’s put-down of one of his council colleagues the other night may become fodder for his political enemies.

That’s because an emerging issue in the city is whether the current City Council majority, which includes Genser, is more sympathetic to the homeless than to schoolkids.

At last week’s council meeting, Genser accused Asha Greenberg of acting like an emotional mother, not a deliberate policy-maker, because she wanted to enforce the park closure law in Memorial Park. The Little League season is in full swing, and parents and league officials have complained about the large homeless contingent there.

Greenberg’s son, as a recent Times article noted, was spotted sitting on the park grass with his coach one night, surrounded by homeless people. Genser referred to the article in his remarks, apparently concluding that Greenberg wanted to close the park to protect her son.

Replied Greenberg: “That was really uncalled-for.” Later, she said: “I don’t think (some of my colleagues) are sensitive to children.”

The insensitivity to kids issue arose a few months ago when parents from a local elementary school complained to the council that a homeless woman had defecated on the school lawn in front of their children. For their part, Little League officials last month called council members “non-breeders.”

Three of the council’s seven members are parents. Only one of these parents, Tony Vazquez, is part of the five-member pro-rent-control majority on the council.

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QUEEN FOR A DAY: City Council members wore purple T-shirts. The mayor? He wore a shimmery little go-go number cut up to here.

And the throngs in West Hollywood last Sunday for the gay and lesbian pride parade wouldn’t have had it any other way.

The mayor--for the day, anyway--was RuPaul, the drag queen and dance-chart diva who’s adorned his NBA-sized frame with everything from feather boas to stiletto heels.

Organizers picked RuPaul as honorary mayor and celebrity grand marshal to mark the 25th anniversary of the gay rights movement, born in 1969 when transvestites and others rioted after police raided a New York City gay bar.

“We thought . . . it would be apropos to have a drag queen as grand marshal,” said parade president Michael Yates. “The biggest drag queen on the face of the Earth right now is RuPaul.”

The parade crowd loved him, and the feeling was mutual.

“He was in tears,” Yates said.

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BEACH BALLOT: Santa Monicans, who usually vote in larger numbers than do folks in other cities, were about as apathetic as everyone else June 7, with a 32.4% turnout.

How did the liberal beach community vote this time out?

* Santa Monica may be his power base, but in his bid to become the Democratic nominee for governor, State Sen. Tom Hayden came in second to Kathleen Brown, losing to her by more than 2,000 votes. John Garamendi trailed Hayden in the city by about a thousand votes.

* State Sen. David A. Roberti, a longtime champion of rent control, was defeated in Santa Monica in his bid to become the Democratic nominee for state treasurer. Phil Angelides, who won the contest statewide, beat him in Santa Monica by a few hundred votes.

* In the 41st Assembly District Democratic primary, Sheila James Kuehl, with the support of rent control advocates, received 5,656 votes in Santa Monica. The candidate who rated second with Santa Monica voters, Pat McGuire, was left in the dust with 1,001 votes.