South Gate Council Meeting Displays Democracy’s Volatile Side

The South Gate City Council meeting opened with a warm remark from the Turkish consul general. Visiting the southeast Los Angeles County city to receive a proclamation for “Turkey Republic Day,” he returned the compliment in accented English.

“It is a great honor,” said Aykut Berk, “to see how democracy works in this great democracy.”

He didn’t stick around, but maybe he should have: Depending on who witnessed it, what ensued during the boisterous four-hour meeting Monday night was either democracy in action or democracy hopelessly broken down.

“I kept waiting for Jerry Springer to come on,” said a frustrated Alvaro Huerta, a community activist. He waited four hours to speak but never got a chance.

With hundreds watching two unions serve voter recall petitions against the City Council majority, the meeting degenerated into catcalls, thunderous ovations and wild jeers. Each time one councilwoman spoke, residents meowed.

Protesters waved signs saying, “Stop the Corruption.” One senior citizen, Shirley Bobrick, accused Mayor Raul Moriel of making a face at her: “You make me sick,” she said.

The meeting ended about 11 p.m. after City Atty. Salvador Alva left the chamber with the recall petition papers. City Clerk Carmen Avalos promptly protested, saying the papers should be left with her, the city’s top election official. She filed a police report alleging theft.

Triggering the ruckus was the ongoing feud between the unions--the Police Management Assn. and Police Officers Assn.--and the three-member council majority over who should be the city’s next deputy police chief. The unions say City Treasurer Albert Robles and his council allies engineered a sham process aimed at giving the job to Maywood Police Chief Rick Lopez.

But after Monday night, even Lopez is having second thoughts.

“They’re self-imploding,” he said of South Gate’s government. “That’s the feeling I get. I don’t know if it’s going to be worth the headache.”

Emotions Boil Over at Meeting

South Gate, a working-class, overwhelmingly Latino city, has always been home to volatile politicking. It is a place where campaign mailers falsely accuse candidates of being child molesters or drunks, and where council members have been escorted to their cars after meetings.

But longtime observers said Monday’s meeting rocketed off the charts.

Joined by hundreds of others voicing an assortment of gripes, police and their supporters waved signs saying, “Albert Robles. The party is over,” and grumbled when the mayor ordered the aisles cleared in the 140-person-capacity, wood-paneled chamber.

Obviously aware of South Gate’s reputation for unruliness, Moriel warned residents not to disrupt the proceedings and ordered Police Chief Douglas Christ to make incident reports when necessary. Only minutes into the meeting, Moriel announced that his son, an attorney, had been named to the city’s Police Commission, setting off the hecklers.

With a smash of the gavel, Moriel ordered a 15-minute recess.

When the council returned, the residents turned on Councilwoman Maria Benavides, who rarely speaks at meetings aside from saying “yes” or “no” in a quiet voice. After an almost inaudible “no,” from Benavides, the laughter and mimicking began: “Meow . . . meow. . . .”

Another gavel smash. Another 15-minute recess.

Then the main event. The police union’s attorney, Sylvia Kellison, took the microphone and gave an emotional speech alleging corruption in the deputy chief selection process. The unions had evidence, she said, of criminal wrongdoing, prompting a round of “oohhhs” from the crowd. When she finished, the place exploded with applause. Even uniformed police officers guarding the dais clapped.

“Fifteen-minute recess,” the mayor ordered.

Whereabouts of Petition Papers

In all, Moriel ordered six 15-minute recesses, enraging residents, many of them senior citizens worried about getting taxi rides home.

“Sit in your seats . . . listen to them [residents] and earn your pay,” said Mildred Ward when she took her turn at the lectern.

Then resident Araceli Dominguez took the microphone and started pressing officials about the whereabouts of the petition papers. They were supposed to be filed with the clerk, she said, and demanded to know why the city attorney had taken them.

“Mayor. Do something,” she said.

Moriel said he would look into it, triggering more complaints from residents demanding immediate action.

“Now!” they yelled. “Now! Now!”

Moriel ordered the meeting adjourned and, over the objections of City Clerk Avalos, scheduled a special session Friday.

Moriel’s critics complained that his delays were meant to silence critics who were merely expressing their views. “I didn’t see anything that was out of the ordinary,” said Councilman Hector De La Torre.

Moriel said Tuesday that he has struggled lately to keep order at meetings. He said that his intent is not to deny people their right to speak but that sometimes “drastic” steps have to be taken.

“What can I do when I have a crowd that refuses to conduct themselves in an orderly manner?” he asked. “They are vociferous. They yell, they scream, they chant, taunt, insult, embarrass. I’m just asking for common courtesy.”