Riordan Pressed to Dump Commissioner : City Hall: Councilman Holden has a public confrontation with Civil Service panelist Joe Gelman, who is leading a statewide anti-affirmative action drive.

The pressure on Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan to dump a commissioner leading a statewide anti-affirmative action drive was ratcheted up Monday with a public confrontation between the commissioner and a city councilman calling for his resignation.

Few people noticed Joe Gelman standing at the side of the room during a City Hall news conference as Councilman Nate Holden outlined his reasons for wanting Gelman to quit the Civil Service Commission.

“He’s in direct opposition to our policies,” Holden, an African American, said of Gelman, the white director of the California Civil Rights Initiative, a measure he is attempting to qualify for the state ballot next year.

The measure would end “preferential treatment” based on race, sex, gender or ethnicity. Los Angeles has policies encouraging the hiring and promotion of minorities, women and others, which backers say are needed to ensure that the work force is as diversified as the city itself and to alleviate discrimination.

Gelman should “do the right thing and step aside” from a commission that oversees city employment rules and practices, Holden concluded, prompting the little-noticed observer to speak up:

“Let me assure you that I will not do that,” Gelman said. He then tried to take the podium to tell his side of the story but, reminded that the conference room is reserved for city officials, moved to the hallway after distributing copies of his proposed ballot measure.

Later, Gelman said he would give up the commission post “if the situation becomes untenable for the mayor.”

Debate over Gelman’s presence on the commission has simmered for months. In January, seven council members, not including Holden, wrote to Riordan. They complained about Gelman’s activities and urged the mayor to spell out his own views on affirmative action. Two months later, Riordan wrote back, defending Gelman’s “constitutional right to free thought and expression.”

The Los Angeles League of Women Voters also asked the mayor to remove Gelman, not because of his political views but because of the time the ballot campaign appeared to be taking from his city duties.

Some of those close to the mayor also are urging him to get rid of Gelman, a source said, adding the commissioner’s confrontational style makes resolution of the policy debate more difficult. Additionally, a recent Times poll found that Riordan’s popularity has dropped, especially among minorities.

Robin Kramer, the mayor’s chief of staff, said only that she was “disappointed” that an issue as “important and as complex” as city personnel practices had come down to personalties. She added the mayor’s office is studying city affirmative action policies.

It was unclear whether the City Council has enough clout to force a commissioner’s removal. The City Charter reserves the appointing and dismissal authority for the mayor, while the City Council can either affirm or overturn the mayor’s decisions on commissioners.

Council President John Ferraro said he knew of no organized council effort to force Gelman’s removal, adding he did not know enough about the situation to say whether he would support such an effort.