Taking Care of Business
Letters to the Editor

Summary: Some members took issue with Al Gore speaking at the AIA national convention, to be held in San Antonio, May 3–5. Here’s what they said (minus the personal insults and unprintable language).

I am totally opposed to the AIA spending the money to have someone of Al Gore's caliber as a speaker. He is…trying to make a name for himself. Surely the leadership can find someone with better credentials to speak.
—Murray K. Barnard, AIA
Savannah, Ga.

I for one will not be in attendance or in support of [Gore’s] presence at the event and can't believe you even requested the presence of such a divisive person as the former VP. Besides that, he has never put forth an idea on how to fix anything in the world other than to replace the conservative who “obviously” caused it. I wonder how much money he will ask all of the architects in attendance to contribute financially to preventing global warming while he contributes nothing personally. He preaches what a great person he is (which proves he is not as great people don't put themselves on a pedestal) and how much he supports worthy causes and I personally give more to my church each month than he gave to any church during his forgettable tenure as VP. Do the right thing for San Antonio's environment, and tell Al Gore to stay as far away from there as possible.
—Kent Spurgin, AIA, Spurgin & Associates Architects
McKinney, Tex.

I'm tempted to not only not attend the Convention, but to not renew my membership. [Al Gore] is wrong about the environment. (The strength of the earth's magnetic field is weakening, and the polarity may be about to reverse, which, I believe, is causing climate anomalies; not we humans.) I almost disrupted a panel discussion at last year's (2006) convention in Los Angeles, when Thom Mayne had the gall to voice his political opinion regarding President Bush, by going to the podium and demanding an apology on behalf of all of the AIA members who support President Bush and his policies. I know, I don't have to attend Al Gore's speech, but if the AIA is going to give credence to a man of absolutely no character or intelligence, then I will have to reconsider my membership.
—Larry Whitlock, AIA
Los Angeles

I attended this year’s convention in L.A. and sat through Thom Mayne’s diatribe against President Bush, with the President of the AIA sitting next to him nodding her head…Never mind that this is supposed to be a professional organization, which is to help us court favorable legislation, regulations, and enforcement from our federal government. Why not offend over 50 percent of the population, and the officials we elect? This decision seems to fall into a pattern of not looking out for our profession’s best interests. I have my 2007 membership renewal form sitting in front of me (after 4 months of being a member)…I can assure you that I just dropped it into the garbage. I am not again going to let my dues and fees again go to subsidizing our continued decline as a profession, and its left wing political agenda.

If you wanted to really address the needs of architects, how about addressing issues such as why interns don’t care to be registered. Could it be after spending 7+ years in school to get a master’s degree, our professional compensation is less than any other profession? When you have solved that problem, then you can start getting into politics. And when you do, I would expect you to be professional and non-partisan, and invite officials from both sides of the political spectrum. Somehow I don’t believe that Mr. Gore is going to suit that description.
—Patrick Regan, AIA
Minneapolis

I would recommend in the future to have keynote speakers who speak for the common folks with good reason and who would inspire architects in a positive way, instead of pushing issues without backing it with substance. Just a thought.
—George Trosky, AIA, DLR Group
Farmington, N.Mex.

Count me out of the National Convention…Al Gore—ugh!
—Cheryl Gajeske, AIA
Houston

I had planned to attend the AIA convention in San Antonio, however I am reconsidering after reading that Al Gore is a keynote speaker. While I am a supporter of the Greening movement, I think it is a mistake to invite such a blatantly political figure as Mr. Gore. Surely the AIA could find a protagonist for the environment who is not a potential Democratic Party Presidential Candidate. Let's keep these important issues for our profession out of the partisan politics.
—Jerry L. Clement, FAIA (Emeritus), Jacobs
Dallas