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VA Protection Not Considered By Democrats
VA Protection Not Considered By Democrats
by Terence Lyons
A resolution that would have called for protection of the West Los Angeles VA property from any uses by “a non-veterans organization or for any non-veterans-related purpose” was barred from consideration at the California Democratic Party Executive Board Meeting in Anaheim on Saturday, November 15.
Because of recent rule changes advancing the deadline for submitting such resolutions, the VA property resolution was filed two days late, explained Bob Handy, who chairs the California Democratic Party Veterans Caucus and who was one of the resolution’s authors. The Resolutions Committee agreed to entertain the resolution nevertheless, said Handy, with the proviso that any one member of the Committee could veto its consideration, and that is what happened.
Julie Dad, a Santa Monica delegate at the gathering, said that John Hanna, a Resolutions Committee member from Orange County, objected to the consideration of the resolution, and so it never made it to the General Session. The next time the resolution can be considered by the statewide party will be at the party’s state convention in Sacramento April 24-26, 2009, Dad said.
Handy said that he personally had not been pressured to abandon the resolution, but that he had been told by other supporters that considerable political pressure was being brought to bear against the resolution.
The resolution grew out of concerns by Handy and others who object to an August 2007 “Sharing Agreement” between the VA and an organization known as the Veterans Park Conservancy whereby approximately 16 acres of the VA property at the northeast corner of Wilshire and San Vicente Boulevards is to be used as a park “for the benefit of veterans and the general public.” The 20-year agreement provides for no rent to the VA, but provides that the Conservancy shall undertake certain capital improvements “as resources become available.”
In a statement in support of the resolution, Robert L. Rosebrock, Co-Director of We the Veterans and Director of The Veterans Revolution, said, “This land is under the stewardship of the 30th U.S. Congressional District, Henry Waxman’s District, which he has represented over the past 35 years. It is imperative that Congressman Waxman decides if he is looking out for Veterans ‘needs’ at the largest VA healthcare in the nation, or the ‘wants’ of one of the wealthiest Zip Codes in the nation.”
The resolution stated that “a public park, despite its value to the whole community, is inconsistent with the exclusive use for veterans envisioned by the donors [of the property in 1888], and the trust conveyed in their deed to the United States.” Handy said the resolution had been signed by over a hundred persons from across the United States and across party lines, including Sen. Art Torres (Ret.), Chairman of the California Democratic Party and Santa Monica City councilmember Bobby Shriver.
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Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=4007
Posted by Robert Rosebrock on Nov 20 2008, With 0 Reads, Filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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There is more to this story than is reflected here, there has been in effect, an organized attempt to plunder this particular VA Facility as it is the last open space on the westside of Los Angeles, coveted by developers and real estate speculators alike.
While there is building after building shuttered and off limits to veterans, there is great need for housing in Los Angeles and the city of Santa Monica understands the homeless issue more than most cities in the US.
The last Sec-o-Veterans Affairs has included the site in the realignment scheme, which is code for sale.
One problem, the original deed gave the propert to the gvt, with the explicit proviso…stating the land be an ‘old soldiers home’ and the heirs of that grantor are 114 in number today and have weighed in on and affirmed the preservation of the deed as intended and nothing else, the land has already been divided in the past, a freeway runs straight through the entire site, isolating the National Cemetary which is full.
There is a federal building on one quarter of the land, and there is a functiong oil rig on the land.
There is ball field facilities and veterans are discouraged from using them, because a Brentwood home owners group afforded the improvements and enjoys the control of it? As one veterans advocate lamented, most parapalegics dont play tennis. Rental car companies park vehicles there, and there are corporations standing at the ready to exploit any opportunity to set up shop there.
All veterans ask is, as the deed declares, supported by the heirs, the land be for the exclusive use it was intended for.
I have met face to face with Henry Waxman himself and heard him declare this shall be iron clad…this land is not for sale!
It’s true that the Veterans land cannot be sold, but it can be given away. And that’s precisely what has happened. In an interview with the Brentwood News in its November 2007 issue, Sue Young the executive director of Veterans Park Conservancy, (not a legitimate Veterans organization) was asked how she was able to essentially expropriate a 16-acre parcel of Veterans land “rent-free” (estimated to be worth nearly one billion dollars) for a public park and she responded:
“Because this arrangement was unprecedented, it required lengthy discussions and compromises with Veterans Administration in Los Angeles and Washington. The agreement also called for approvals at the highest levels, i.e., Secretary Nicholson, and the involvement of the Congressional delegation.”
And yes, Congressman Waxman, Senators Feinstein and Boxer all endorsed the public park on Veterans sacred land. The Resolution by the Veterans Caucus of the Democratic Party was submitted to stop the park but it was blocked by powerful members of the Party.
It’s time to keep the politics out of Veterans land and healthcare. This land was deeded in 1888 to be permanently maintained as a Nation Home for disabled volunteer soldiers and it’s time to honor this deed. There should never be a homeless veteran.