Council Members Weigh Boycott of Meeting at San Pedro Club

Several members of the Los Angeles City Council are considering boycotting their scheduled meeting Tuesday at a private club in San Pedro out of concern that the club may discriminate against women and at one time prohibited them from becoming full-fledged members who could vote and share in club assets.

The council considered canceling the meeting at the Dalmatian American Club during a closed-door session Friday, but in the late afternoon President Pro Tem Joel Wachs ruled not to because “it appears that their policy has been changed and that full membership in the club is now open to all persons regardless of race or gender.”

Still, some lawmakers said privately that they remain uneasy with the situation and are concerned that there may be de facto discrimination, even though the bylaws have been rewritten to include women.

“People are waiting for the other shoe to drop,” said one council member. “In their gut, these folk have substantial unreadiness about this.”

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Formerly the Yugoslavian American Club, the group has about 500 members. Its seeks to promote unity and brotherly love, its bylaws say. Most members are from Dalmatia, a province in Croatia, says Councilman Rudy Svorinich Jr., a member since 1978 and president from 1989 to 1991.

Controversy over Tuesday’s meeting--which Svorinich arranged as part of a new outreach program to take City Hall on the road to various neighborhoods--arose Thursday when council members received a complaint from the American Civil Liberties Union along with an undated copy of the club’s bylaws that used male pronouns to describe “regular” members but employed “he or she” when discussing “auxiliary” members.

But Svorinich produced another set of bylaws Friday afternoon that was dated December 1994 and had replaced all the male pronouns with “they,” “them” or “their.” When referring to auxiliary members, the new bylaws retain “he or she.”

Svorinich said he does not know when the bylaws were changed, although both sets refer to the club as Dalmatian American, a name he said it adopted about six years ago after the breakup of Yugoslavia. He said he cannot recall any female board members of the club.

Messages left on the club’s answering machine and at the office of current President William Brownell were not returned Friday.

In the closed-doors session, City Council members were unanimous in their concern over meeting at a club that discriminates against women, Wachs said.

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“If it’s discriminatory, we won’t meet there,” he said, reserving the right to cancel the meeting if new evidence about the club revealed bias. “. . . It would be against our policy to meet in a place with a discriminatory policy.”

About 500 people have bought $15 tickets to a San Pedro/Dalmatian luncheon with council members after Tuesday’s meeting, with proceeds benefiting the club.

Svorinich said Friday that he chose the club because it was the only location large enough that was available in the harbor area. He said that he had tried to schedule the meeting for a public building, but that it would have cost $20,000 to prepare one city facility and that several schools were ruled out because classes are in session.

Complaints about the club are unfounded, he said, adding: “It really makes me angry that . . . someone would try to spoil and ruin our opportunity for access to local government.”