Fate of Cross in San Diego Goes to Voters Again

SAN DIEGO —  For the third time in 13 years, residents will be given a chance to vote on the future of a war memorial cross atop Mt. Soledad.

After an emotional six-hour hearing in which veterans pleaded with the City Council to save the cross, the council voted 6 to 3 Tuesday night to put the issue on the July 26 ballot, when voters will select a replacement for Mayor Dick Murphy.

Voters will be asked whether the cross property should be deeded to the U.S. government, which could designate it a federal monument. Supporters, including two members of Congress, want to preserve the cross, which was built in the 1950s and is one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks.

The city has been in court for nearly 16 years trying to retain the 43-foot-tall cross. Attorneys for a local military veteran who is an atheist contend that the cross violates the constitutional separation of church and state.

In 1992, voters said the city should sell the land to a private group to satisfy a judge’s ruling in favor of the veteran. But the courts struck down the sale as rigged in favor of groups pledging to keep the cross.

A measure on November’s ballot involving a sale plan was defeated amid confusion over the measure’s wording. When the City Council earlier this year declined to deed the land to the federal government, a citizens group mounted a petition drive.

The group gathered sufficient signatures to force the council to deed the land to the federal government or schedule an election. The council chose the latter course.

Both sides in the issue predicted additional litigation regardless of the election’s outcome.