Fellow Dems on City Council Swat Down, Then Postpone, Democratic Club’s Hot Request

The City Council did not seem impressed with the chief executive’s description of a radioactive political subject that City Hall was not eager to address.

For arguably peripheral reasons, the Council ended up heatedly debating, then postponing, the Democratic Club’s request for relief from a new rental fee schedule.

The club’s position is that it was singled out — for motives dark or noble.

Worn Out

An enormous amount of energy — and scrambling for position — was expended on both sides of the dais before the Council, as it has a number of times previously, acceded to the insights of Vice Mayor Alan Corlin.

Since the City Council is due to review the entire subject of fee schedules and sponsorships next month, Mr. Corlin suggested tabling the Democratic Club’s request until then. Exhausted, exasperated and no doubt relieved, his teammates agreed.

A Detail Missing?

In view of the upcoming wider discussion, Mr. Fulwood indicated that he would not have placed the Democratic Club item on the agenda, but the club insisted on it.

Left unsaid was one further detail — the request has been lying around, untouched by City Hall, for months.

The story of the Democratic Club’s fight against the fee increase began unfolding — in slow motion, as it turned out — a week before last Christmas.

Sequence of Events

When City Hall changed the rules of the city-property rental policy last autumn, nearly doubling the fee the Democratic Club was being charged for its monthly meetings at the Vets Auditorium, the club naturally protested.

On Dec. 19, Tom Camarella, then the club president, dashed off a letter of citation and complaint to Mr. LaPointe.

In quest of a relief from the newly hiked fees, Mr. Camarella asked City Hall to “sponsor” the Democratic Club in the same way the city has provided a fee break to other groups, by “sponsoring” them.

Among the “sponsored” groups, he said, was at least one political organization, the AARP, the American Assn. of Retired Persons.

Time Goes by

Four months later later, Mr. LaPointe, Mr. Fulwood, or someone with a lesser title, dusted off Mr. Camarella’s letter. They brought it before the City Council at last night’s contentious meeting when the timing became its downfall.

With Councilmembers Steve Rose and Carol Gross serving as the sharpest-tongued protagonists, the Council freely sprayed rebuke at the city and at the Democratic Club.

A Dollop of Hubris

Both were charged, indelicately, with chutzpah.

The Democratic Club was blamed for objecting so publicly to the large fee increase, and for the timing of its request. The city was faulted by Ms. Gross for not promptly rejecting the Democratic Club’s plea out of hand.

But what seemed to upset the City Council the most was the timing of the announcement of the Democratic Club’s request.

Back to Timing

Ms. Gross said it was inappropriate for the Democratic Club to seek an exemption from the new rental fees just several weeks before the City Council was scheduled to conduct a thorough review of the city’s sponsorship policies and the fees guidelines.

Mr. Camarella, who has since left the presidency, wondered how the club could be criticized when it was Mr. LaPointe and/or Mr. Fulwood who failed to efficiently respond.

Unanimity

Even though 4 of the 5 Council members are proud Democrats, Council members began lining up to criticize the plan almost before it was their turn to speak.

Unanimously, they opposed the club’s waiver request, although the record only will show that a verdict was postponed until May.

Strong Language

At the outset, Mr. Rose, the lone Republican Councilman, strenuously objected to considering the Democratic Club’s waiver request since the general subject will be on the May 7 agenda.

“I, for one, do not feel comfortable carving out one policy for one group,” Mr. Rose said. “This smacks of special favors.”

He also characterized the Democratic Club as “an organization that has been running amok for 50 or 60 years.”

No Place Else to Go?

Reacting to Mr. Camarella’s complaint that the venerable Democratic Club has rented the Rotunda Room at the Vets for decades, for a modest fee, and deserves better treatment, Mr. Rose said, saltily:

“Organizations are not mandated to choose the Vets.”