Broome Accuses Holden of ‘Indifference’ to Apartheid

Striving to rally his underdog campaign for Los Angeles City Council, Homer Broome Jr. hammered away Monday at opponent Nate Holden’s record as an RTD board member, accusing him of exhibiting a “moral indifference� to apartheid by voting for a major contract with a company that has business dealings in South Africa.

Broome, speaking at a news conference at his mid-city campaign headquarters, denounced Holden’s participation in a unanimous 1985 Southern California Rapid Transit District board vote that approved a $28.6-million RTD contract with Fluor Constructors Inc.

Fluor Constructors, a subsidiary of the international Fluor Corp., had a contract to build a central maintenance facility for the transit agency, and Holden, along with the other board members, had not only approved the contract but cast two other votes earlier this year modifying the pact.

Excoriating Fluor’s parent corporation for its “notorious involvement with the South Africa apartheid regime,� Broome claimed that RTD members “showed they are lacking in considerable sensitivity� in adopting the contract.

Although the RTD board included two appointees of Mayor Tom Bradley--a prominent Broome supporter--Broome singled out Holden, who is considered the front-runner in their June 2 election, for failing to challenge the Fluor contract.

“It’s almost as if he is asleep in the 20th Century,� Broome said, “unaware of what’s going on not only across the nation but not even in the 10th Councilmanic District, where I can assure you that the people in this district are going to be outraged when they find out that he has been supporting, has been backing a firm that has major ties to South Africa.�

Broome said Holden showed a “moral indifference� to apartheid in casting his vote.

Holden, in turn, called his opponent “irresponsible� for even leveling such a charge.

“No one can ever accuse Nate Holden of approving of apartheid or the separation of races,� he said. “I just think it’s a low blow.�

In criticizing Holden and the RTD, Broome pointed out that the City of Los Angeles had stripped Fluor Constructors of a $2.5-million contract last August because of a new city policy that restricts contracts with firms that have dealings with racially segregated South Africa.

City Action

The city took the action against Flour Constructors, which had won tentative approval to manage the expansion of the Los Angeles Convention Center, because its parent company had handled about $40 million worth of South African business in 1985.

Holden said that a similar RTD policy currently restricts contracts with firms that do business in South Africa but that such a policy was not in place at the time of the transit agency’s vote. He also said he had been unaware of Fluor’s extensive dealings in South Africa.

Holden also voted earlier this year in favor of an expanded version of the Fluor contract. Holden said he did not urge rejection of the contract at that time because doing so would have forced new bids and doubled the cost of the project.

In a district that is predominantly black, Broome’s new attack is part of an effort to chip away at the lead that Holden apparently holds in their increasingly bitter campaign.