May 4, 1997

Queen Mary Auctions:
Selling of public assets secretly?

---

On April 14, 1997, I wrote a letter to the Long Beach Mayor, City Manager and Council protesting the auction of the Queen Mary's archives.

The third auction in the past year was held Sunday, May 4. I made reservations to attend, wanting to see for myself what items were actually up for bid. When I arrived at the Queen Mary the day of the auction, I was approached by the ship's security staff and was told I had to leave. No explanation for this was given.

I asked [to see] Sheila Leahy, the person I talked with by phone when making arrangements to attend the auction. When I talked with her on board the ship, she denied having had a previous conversation with me and also falsely claimed that the auction was "booked". I was escorted off the Queen Mary by security guards and followed all the way to the gate of the outer parking lot!

Diane Rush