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and we need to give the citizens of Arcata a chance to decide this,” he said. Afterward, he wrote a letter to Mayor Sofia Pereira saying he was “appalled by the lynch mob/vigilante atmosphere that prevailed” at the meeting and called on her to “firmly re-establish an atmosphere of tolerance and respect for all points of view.” “I strongly personally feel — and many members of the public have expressed to me their belief — that because of the hostile atmosphere that we have tolerated at the council meetings on the issue of the statue, that the process is unfair,” Winkler wrote. There were a few tense moments during the meeting, with some audience members heckling a speaker who voiced the minority view that McKinley should be celebrated as a Civil War veteran who dedicated his life to public service before he was felled by an assassin’s bullet. There was also shouting back at council members, at times, including comments directed at Ornelas when she tried to explain why she understood Winkler’s point of taking the matter to a vote, noting “everyone has something to say about this.” She soon gave up, saying simply, “I’m done.” For her part, Pereira told the Journal via email that she disagrees with Winkler’s assessment and use of the term “lynch mob,” saying that the “decision wasn’t based solely on who was in the room that night.” “I won’t disparage my constituents and community members for exercising their First Amendment rights,” she wrote. “We had an audience of Indigenous elders and leaders; parents and seniors; teachers and students. We had people attending their first meeting and learning the public process. Yes, there was a lot of energy in the room with over 100 people attending.” Pereira added there are obviously strong feelings on the issue and she used her “best judgment to keep the meeting moving forward, encouraging civility and respect for all opinions.” Meanwhile, legal action could be in the city’s future. A newly formed group with a Facebook and GoFundMe page titled Save Arcata’s McKinley Statue had raised $275 of its $1,000 goal by Tuesday morning, and says its “goal is to hire an attorney to quickly file a request for a temporary injunction to stop the city from removing the statue.” The GoFundMe page states there “is currently a PC trend to destroy historic statues of old white men and there was discussion, among a few extremists, that there should be a vote to remove the Statue of President McKinley. … Few of the rest of us gave it any worry as we
8 NORTH COAST JOURNAL • Thursday, March 1, 2018 • northcoastjournal.com
knew it would never pass. So, we were all SHOCKED when our city council bypassed the people of Arcata and voted to remove this piece of history on their own!” If successful in obtaining an injunction, the group states the next step would be to “conduct a signature campaign to force the council to allow a vote of the people of Arcata.” For all the controversy brewing over McKinley’s statue, the council’s unanimous decision to remove a 1963 plaque denoting the Jacoby Building’s status as a California Registered Historic Landmark, which includes the affronting wording that “it served periodically as a refuge in time of Indian troubles,” has been rather straightforward. Bill Chino, the building’s current owner, has already volunteered to help replace the plaque and work with a group to come up with new wording that will need to be reviewed by State Office of Historic Preservation. The estimated cost is $4,000. Still undecided is what will ultimately happen to McKinley’s statue, although Councilmember Brett Watson suggested it “should leave the city.” Pereira noted that the “gravity of this decision is not lost on this council or this community.” “I know this is a divisive community issue but I want to say thank you to everyone who participated in this process,” she said after the vote. For Pitino’s part, taking down McKinley’s statue should just be the start. “I have to say that when I look at the statue of McKinley, and all that, I’m glad that we agreed to get rid of the statue and I’d love to see the town north of us not be called McKinleyville anymore,” he said. Pereira was quick to respond. “We’ll leave that for another day,” she said pausing briefly before continuing, “and another community to decide.” Since the vote, Pereira told the Journal the feedback has been mostly positive about removing the statue, mixed in with what she described as some negative or inaccurate responses. “We aren’t melting it down, we aren’t throwing it in the bay — we are relocating the statue from the center of our plaza to another site in Arcata that will be determined through a public process,” she said. “The statue is a part of our history and finding an appropriate location is a priority. I encourage community members to stay engaged on this issue as we move forward.” l Kimberly Wear is the assistant editor at the Journal. Reach her at 442-1400, extension 323, or kim@ northcoastjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @kimberly_wear.