Richard came to West Hollywood during the "Camelot" days of the creation of the city. He was a deputy for then State Senator David Roberti, helping to draft much of the initial HIV anonymous test site legislation as a part of being an officer in Stonewall Democratic Club during Valerie Terigno's presidency. Like most of Stonewall, he helped her get elected to the first city council, and then worked as a reporter for the West Hollywood Paper. He then joined the staff of the Advocate as a reporter before returning to Sacramento in the late 1980s because of family issues that required his return.
 Mr. La Voie in 1984. |
About the time he returned, he discovered that the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium was in jeopardy of being gutted. The city was claiming that it was "crumbling" and a safety hazard, had serious code violations, and should be completely renovated. A local theatrical lobby had teamed with the city to convert it into a fixed theatrical venue.
Richard was appalled. The auditorium had been built in the mid 1920s as Sacramento's only memorial to its war veterans. The entire focus of the building was to make it a multiple use venue, one that could be used for everything from fine arts to basketball; even the circus had performed in it. The purpose of the building had been egalitarian and open, not exclusive and limited.
He and others discovered that the level of deterioration in the building had been greatly exaggerated by city staff. The city claimed "numerous market studies" to prove the need for a theater. The studies did not exist, and when pushed, the city could not produce them. The city staff sincerely believed that the existing building could no longer serve the community and generated a pattern of dishonesty in an attempt to support those beliefs. A small group of citizens, the ego of the architect who drew up the plans for the renovations and a city staff that wanted to enhance their resumes with a redevelopment "accomplishment.”
 The refurbished Sacramento Veterans’ Memorial Auditorium. |
Richard initially started with a small group of equally concerned natives, all of whom had significant memories throughout their lives in the building. The auditorium had been the location for graduations, recitals, sports events, rock concerts, weddings, civic funerals, and even the circus. "Everyone who grew up in Sacramento had vital and important memories in that building" explained Richard. Soon, his group, "Save the Auditorium,” convinced a lone city council member to take up the cause.
A ballot initiative qualified the issue for the June 1992 election. The entire power structure of Sacramento opposed it; local press, community groups, city officials and most of the City Council voiced strong opposition to the measure. Only "Old Sacramento" (a community preservation group) and the Veterans Organizations supported Measure H.
Measure H passed by 221 votes (of over 100,000 cast in the election). The city appointed an ad hoc committee, half who had supported measure H, half who had opposed, to come up with recommendations for the building. The committee spent the first year fighting and "spitting" at each other. Eventually the committee agreed that the building should retain its egalitarian quality and remain a multi-use venue. Recommendations were made that would cost about $14 million to complete.
 Tara’s green space is slated for redevelopment. The City is building senior housing on these grounds. By Ryan Gierach. |
In the meantime, the city took a financial downturn and funds for the project went lacking. In a private meeting with the Assistant City Manager, Richard and his team pointed out that the project could be done for about $9 million. That plan was approved and the actual work was done six months ahead of deadline.
In the end, everyone realized that the building was basically sound, "a modern steel and concrete structure, extremely robust, not at all "crumbling" or a “safety hazard.” All it really needed was modern accommodations, wiring, and updates on its basic systems. One of those systems, quite unique, is a main floor that tilts. It can be level for general use, and tilted four feet (by use of hydraulics) for stage venues.
This stands in sharp contrast to West Hollywood, where all dissent on city pet projects is met with exclusion. The experience in Sacramento reflects a city in which both sides eventually got involved and actually created a fruitful dialogue leading to a workable compromise. One of the saddest aspects of life in current West Hollywood is the clear divisions between "Insiders" and the rest of the city.
Anyone who dissents from the City's agenda is excluded. George Credle, a respected Historic Preservation expert (with a master’s degree in the field) and advocate, ran against the incumbents in 2005 and was rewarded for his love for and concern about the city by being dropped from the Historic Preservation Advisory Board.
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This author, who was one of the founding members of the East Side PAC, was elected as an officer for two terms, was a long time neighborhood advocate, and got 712 votes and the support of many small businesses in that election. I was rewarded for my love for and concern about the city. Too - by being "fired" (not re-appointed) to the East Side PAC.
More recently, Janelle Hensley and her neighbors who fought and worked to save The Ramona, and were told in a private meeting with Abbe Land and John Heilman that the two buildings in the complex that would be saved as the "affordable" element of the condo redevelopment project will likely be sold to the West Hollywood Community Housing Corporation. Not only that, but Janelle and her neighbors will not be allowed to rent them because they are not on the "list", said list having been opened and closed with the group never having been informed, even though they had long expressed interest in remaining in the units whether that meant buying or renting them.
One expects indifference from City Hall. The term "you can't fight City Hall" was coined long before West Hollywood came into existence. In Sacramento, frustrated council members facilitated a win/win for the community’s residents. Too often in WeHo even win/win solutions seem to get turned against those who initially oppose council members’ pet projects. As we saw with the recently filed and hastily retracted law suit against Tara’s evicted residents, City government stands ready to retaliate. The Ramona situation smacks of similar retaliation, albeit quieter and more insidious because of the behind-the-scenes nature of it and because it undercuts people’s dreams and uproots them from their homes. It's a very sad state of affairs and not what the Creative City was created to be.
From here in the Jantzen Beach RV Park on Hayden Island in Portland Oregon, where rent is $420 a month and includes electricity, Ed Garren
Edward "Ed" Garren, MFT is a Family Therapist and former City Council candidate in 2005. He is originally from central Florida. He also lived in Miami where he was active in the creation of the Art Deco district on South Beach, as well as the Coconut Grove Arts Festival. He moved to West Hollywood in 1983 and was active in Stonewall Democratic Club and the effort to create West Hollywood. Ed has been published in the Los Angeles Times, Frontiers news magazine, and other books, including "Out of My Mind", a pictorial memoir by Kris Nelson. Ed can be reached at