Some public officials worry about prayers at
city council meetings
By Michael Picarella
Acorn Staff Writer

The city of Westlake Village held a goal session meeting that included a call for the reinstatement of prayer at city council meetings. Agoura Hills already has prayer to begin its council meetings, but Burbank has been taken to court over a similar policy.

Agoura Hills Mayor Denis Weber reinstated prayer when he was mayor in 1998 and again in December when he was re-elected. The first time he did it, he said, he never heard any complaints. But this time he’s heard voices of concern even though he promised during his campaign that he would reinstate prayer if he were re-elected.

"I think that my colleagues and the council don’t want to do it," Weber said. "They would like me to stop. I’m considering their feelings and their wishes."

Religion at city council meetings can create a delicate situation. "I would never want to put the city in any jeopardy as far as lawsuits are concerned," Weber said. He added that he doesn’t want to be selfish, but said he would "go to the mat" if he stands alone.

"I feel so strongly about this," Weber said. And he’s not only embracing Christianity, he said, but other religions as well. He’s brought priests, ministers and rabbis to open city council meetings in the past.

Westlake Village Mayor Pro Tem Chris Mann is pushing for prayer as well.

"I feel as a council we should take time at the beginning of each meeting to ask for guidance," Mann said. But other councilmembers haven’t yet agreed.

Westlake Village Mayor Betty De Santis is concerned about legal issues. For example, the city of Burbank was sued late last year for including prayer before its council meetings. Irv Ruben, leader of the Jewish Defense League in Southern California for several years, attended a Burbank City Council meeting one evening, according to Burbank Mayor David Laurell, and objected after a bishop invoked the name of Jesus Christ.

Ruben prevailed in the case, Laurell said, but the Burbank City Council is appealing the court’s ruling.

In a more serious matter, Ruben was arrested in December for planning to bomb a mosque.

The Burbank City Council has continued to pray before meetings, Laurell said, but is declining to mention a specific deity.

"We would all hope that it would be nonsectarian," Laurell said. In fact, the council has no say in deciding who comes in to lead the prayer, he said. A ministerial association—independent from the city—including ministers, priests, rabbis, bishops, etc. from the area, selects who will lead the prayer for each meeting.

Aside from the dangers of being sued, De Santis would embrace prayer before council meetings if all councilmembers agree, she said.

"If it’s good enough for the United States Congress," Mann said, "it should be good enough for the city of Westlake Village." The U.S. House and Senate both start their working day with a prayer.

Mann looks forward to a compromise with other councilmem-bers. Otherwise he’ll include prayer at meetings next year, he said, when he’s scheduled to become mayor. He advocates a similar approach to Weber’s, in which several faiths would be welcomed.

"The law of man begins with the law of God," Weber said. God is mentioned in the Pledge of Allegiance, he said, God is named on American money, the Congress of the United States has its own chaplain and the L.A. County Supervisors start their sessions with prayer.

"We go to the chamber of commerce lunches and they start with prayer," Weber said. "I just think the inmates are running the asylum here," he said. "We have a right to pray. We’re not talking about an establishment of another religion. We’d like to enjoy the benefits of having God in our lives."

Weber said he’ll do all he can to avoid unnecessary litigation. But it’s a shame, he said, not to have prayer at city council meetings.