Council to Consider Stance on War

By Oliver Lukacs
Lookout Staff

Feb. 10 -- Responding to a growing community outcry against the looming U.S.-led war on Iraq and fearing “numerous negative local impacts,” Councilman Kevin McKeown will ask the City Council Tuesday to join cities nationwide in passing an antiwar resolution.

While past councils commonly approved resolutions addressing international issues -- from opposing U.S. intervention in El Salvador to ending the proliferation of nuclear weapons -- the current council shot down a similar request in November by community activist Jerry Rubin on the grounds that it was not a local issue.

McKeown, who is Green party member and antiwar activist, couldn’t disagree more. “While war is a national issue," he said, "many impacts of war will particularly affect Santa Monica.

“A preemptive strike against Iraq risks increased terrorism, threatening our residents and our public safety personnel,” McKewon said. What's more, the already struggling tourism industry that helps drive the local economy “could be devastated,” he said.

McKeown pointed to the homeless veterans visibly populating the streets of Santa Monica as an example of negative local impacts previous U.S. wars have had on the City.

“Our streets are already full of homeless veterans of previous wars,” he said. “Do we want to create a new generation?

“One has only to drive through our neighborhoods to see the red and black ‘NO WAR’ signs” to understand that “clearly there are many Santa Monicans for whom war is a crucial, personal issue,” McKeown said.

So far, 72 other municipalities -- including Chicago, the nation’s third largest city -- have passed similar resolutions, and the Los Angeles City Council is scheduled to consider a resolution at their upcoming meeting.

But other council members said that while they appreciate the gravity of the situation, they nonetheless contend that the issue is beyond the jurisdiction of a local municipality.

“This is something clearly of great interest to any citizen in the U.S., “said Mayor Richard Bloom, but “it doesn’t relate to something that is in the jurisdiction of the City.”

When asked about resolutions addressing national and global issues passed by former City Councils, Bloom noted the controversy engendered by those resolutions, adding that “they might have done that [in the past], but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s appropriate for us to be doing it.”

Bloom, however, acknowledged that the general sentiment in the city seemed to be against going to war with Iraq. “We haven’t seen an organized [pro-war] sentiment” being voiced publicly, the mayor said.

“I have mixed feelings about it,” said Councilman Ken Genser. “I recognize the importance of the issue.” But he added, “I don’t think anybody chooses their City Council members for their expertise in foreign policy.”

“I have a reluctance to get into issues that don’t directly impact the City,” said Genser, who is co-sponsoring a resolution with McKeown affirming Santa Monica's commitment to civil liberties and the protection of Constitutional rights as a response to the USA Patriot act, also going before the council Tuesday.

Citing past resolutions he supported prohibiting the use of City funds to purchase goods made by businesses in Burma and paper goods made by companies chopping down “old growth” forests in Canada, Genser said that he feels “more comfortable” with “direct City action.”

Both Genser and Bloom said they would keep an open mind during deliberations.

“I think it is very important to separate my personal feelings about world issues from those issues that I know I was elected to represent, which are fundamentally City issues,” Bloom said.