WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (KNX) — A plan to name the West Hollywood branch of the Los Angeles County Library after late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will not move forward, due to "lack of consenses and support" among community members.
Members of the city's Public Facilities Commission voted unanimously Wednesday night to forego the naming after a 11 residents spoke out against the proposal at the meeting.
"People in West Hollywood want out library to be named after somebody local," said resident Adam Bass.
"It should be named after someone who has deep roots in the community," echoed former West Hollywood City Councilmember Abbe Land.
For others, reasoning was more political. "Although it's hard for some to hear, possibly unsavory for others to swallow, Ruth Bader Ginsburg's refusal to relinquish her position, to step away from her power in a timely manner, in order to pass the torch on to someone actually deserving of United States Supreme Court appointment must be acknowedged," a resident known only as "Michael W." said, according to WeHoville.com. "So yes, rename the library after Ruth Bader Ginsburg, but do it in memory of her inglorious, big ego, which ultimately paved the way for permanent damage to fall upon the American people."
Alternatives proposed at Wednesday's meeting, according to WeHoville, included former West Hollywood City Councilmember John Heilmann; Rita Norton, "the de factor senior librarian" of West Hollywood's former "one-roome schoolhouse type library;" and lesbian activist Ivy Bottini.
Others didn't see much purpose in renaming the library after any one person. "Why do we have to name it after people?" asked Jamie Francis Wendell. "There have been so many people who have contributed to this community who have passed on, who didn't recommend that, 'Hey, I want to be remembered!' It should be named after the city itself."
The commission ultimatedly recommended that the West Hollywood City Council retain the name "West Hollywood Library" for the time being as it revamps the renaming process to be more inclusive of the community going forward.
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