A Thinker’s Approach
Tellingly, his landmark victory did not convert him into a flaming crusader for battling government forces or any other perceived demons. On the contrary, he sees no truly bad guys. Rather, he describes people with whom he philosophically disagrees. Not given to random or amplified criticism, he studies scenes intensely. He probes patiently until he detects vulnerabilities, and then he strikes. His first realization, once the battle of Blue v. Government commenced in 2003, was his first and most useful lesson — start fighting in the first minute of the first notice from City Hall. Throw everything, everyone, at ‘em. If you are destined to be fortunate, something will stick. Never surrender. Never retreat. Never relent. Never relax. Not by choice, never sleep. Never miss a meeting. Never fail to respond to a single form of correspondence. In the thin, mountain-high air of Little Businessman Beats Government, some people expect Mr. Blue to pose with a raised fist, a ginned-up grin, a red rose, and one foot on Government’s chest. Not his way. Far from crowing — about as distant as he is from relaxing — he takes a moderate, circumspectly measured perspective on his perspirations and trials of the past three years. He isn’t bragging. He isn’t that kind of guy. Relaxation happens to contradict the work ethic with which his late parents gifted him and his late sister. He simply does not like to be overpowered by people who recreationally overpower business owners because they can.
He Still Won’t Lean Back
For at least one more reason Mr. Blue has not permitted himself to exhale in the weeks since reaching a highly secretive compromise with the giants on the other side of the fence, the city of Los Angeles, political figures, and the developers. “Is it over?” thefrontpageonline.com asked the 47-year-old Mr. Blue. His reply ranged somewhere in the murky waters between “no” and “can you ever be sure?” His work — and flirtation with a newfangled form of celebrity — were scarcely finished last month when the owner of Bernard Luggage, near the glamourous intersection of Sunset and Vine, signed the undisclosable compromise. For months, when time allowed away from his redevelopment fight and away from his considerable and prospering business, he has been campaigning for Prop. 90, which would shrink government’s ability to use eminent domain. Now there is a crusade that Mr. Blue can bite into. Less than three weeks from Election Day, he is working and cheering from the front row — as he has been most of this year — for 90 to pass, and then to be efficiently implemented.
A 60-Year Flashback
He may not be a screenwriter, but by now he knows how to background his story. “My parents co-founded Bernard Luggage in 1946, and my sister and I grew up in the business,” Mr. Blue says. “We moved into this building (1642 Vine St.) in 1955 as tenants, south of Hollywood Boulevard, next door to the Taft Building.” Mr. Blue knows and loves his Hollywood history, and frequently he will insert historic verbal signposts into his fast-paced, exhaustive narrative. “When I was young, I went on my merry way to a couple of careers, as an auto mechanic and then as an engineer. In 2002, my father (Bernard) passed away, and I came back to run the business. I was catching my breath, getting hold of everything, when I get a call from a neighbor down the street. He says, ‘Did you know they are planning a project for your area? Did you know they are planning on getting the power of eminent domain renewed?’ I knew, vaguely, what eminent domain meant. And I thought, they can’t do that for a private development. That started the ball rolling for me.” Mr. Blue grinned at the irony. “It was kind of a rumor,” he said. “As things progressed, I found (the city) had sent out a ‘letter of interest’ in 2001. I have learned that you always have to look for letters, respond to letters. We didn’t respond to that letter. We didn’t get it. There was a lot of pressure in ’02. But I learned more. I became familiar with the Castle Coalition (at castlecoalition.org, self-described as a property rights activism project), and other groups. I started learning more about property rights. Then I received a ‘phone call from one of the developers. They didn’t have any money to spend. He just said, ‘Are you interested in selling? Yes or no?’ I said, ‘I would like to stay. Is there an option to stay? He said, ‘No. The city is in the process of renewing its eminent domain power.’ Basically, I got the threat. So they were giving me a choice of either selling or moving out. This is in the context of Prop. 90.” Mr. Blue, hardly a pink-cheeked kid venturing into a new world, said he fell into “shock that someone could talk that way.” But he didn’t remain stunned for long.
Next: Thrust into the swirling orbit of City Hall/developers knocking on his door to announce his pending departure, Bob Blue needed to educate himself fast.
