Citizens React Strongly with Referendum Drive to Counter Removal of La Jolla Cross
by James L. Lambert
April 1, 2005
(AgapePress) - Residents of this populous Southern California city who are unhappy with a city council decision to remove a historic cross are rallying behind a grassroots movement to keep the war memorial.Registered voters within the confines of the City of San Diego have reacted strongly to the vote held in early March by the city council to remove the historic cross located on the site of the war memorial atop Mt. Soledad in La Jolla. By a 5-3 vote, the council agreed with the newly installed city attorney, Mike Aguirre, that the cross, which is located on city grounds, should come down. (See related story) Absent from the vote was council member Tony Young, who has since indicated he is in support of retaining the cross.
Since the March vote, a strong grassroots movement has been organized from different parts of the city to counter Aguirre's legal opinion and the March vote to remove the cross. Already www.SoledadNational.com has raised more than $80,000 in donations, according to radio talk-show host Roger Hedgecock. And in just two-and-a-half weeks the committee to retain the cross has collected almost 70,000 signatures.
Local talk radio apparently has contributed to the success of the grassroots effort. This includes radio morning talk show host's Rick Roberts (KFMB Radio 760) and afternoon talk radio hosts Roger Hedgecock abd Mark Larson (KOGO Radio 600).
Organizers of the referendum plan on presenting their signed referendums to city leaders by the one-month anniversary of the March 8 vote. Referendums, allowed by the city charter, are rarely initiated. In order for the city leaders to reconsider their March decision, referendum organizers need to present (within 30 days) petitions evidencing five percent of the registered voters in the City. There are approximately 650,000 registered voters in the City of San Diego.
If organizers cannot persuade any of the five council members who voted to remove the cross to change their position, a special election will most likely take place. Michael Zucchet, one of the council members in that group, has already indicated he will not personally meet with leaders of the "save the cross" effort.
James L. Lambert, a frequent contributor to AgapePress, is the author of Porn in America (Huntington House), which can be purchased through the American Family Association. He is a licensed real-estate mortgage loan sales agent and can be contacted through his website.
