Center Fills Board Openings

With only a handful of members and fewer than half the directors present, the Angels Gate Cultural Center in San Pedro on Monday held its annual September election to fill eight board positions that had become vacant.

Five incumbents and three new directors were elected with just 22 of the 340 members of the private, nonprofit corporation that runs the center voting. In addition, just seven of the 20 sitting board members showed up for the election, prompting one critic to claim that the vote was invalid because the board lacked a quorum.

Board President George Beck disputed critic March Beagle’s claim, however, saying that under his interpretation, the center’s bylaws do not require a board quorum for an election.

Disputes over elections are not new to the cultural center, which provides studio space to artists and offers art classes to the public on park land it leases from the city of Los Angeles.

Last September, the center became embroiled in a months-long dispute after its former executive director sent notes to members encouraging them to vote for certain candidates.

After Beagle and a candidate who lost the election complained, the Los Angeles city attorney recommended the city not sign a new lease with the center until the election dispute was settled. The election was held again in January and the three-year lease was signed.