Off Limits

The beds they made: At least one person in Denver thinks it's ironic that 300 black mayors, members of President Clinton's cabinet and other dignitaries--in Denver this week for the annual convention of the National Conference of Black Mayors--are staying at a hotel that has been repeatedly accused of racism and discrimination.

After six months of working at the Adam's Mark Hotel, a bellman, who asked that his name not appear in Westword, was passed over for a promotion and eventually fired on February 9. He says he was canned for complaining about racist attitudes and for speaking out about the hotel's lack of black employees.

"They don't like sharp black people," says the man, a 39-year-old transplanted New Yorker who worked at the hotel to supplement his career as an artist and interior designer. "I would bring it up at company meetings. They knew I was outspoken about what was going on."

What was going on, according to his March 10 complaint to the Denver office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, was a pattern of racist behavior--the same pattern for which the St. Louis-based hotel chain has been in trouble in Denver and other cities.

In 1996, eight other Adam's Mark employees accused the hotel chain of race, age and gender discrimination. Their complaint was backed by the EEOC and the National Labor Relations Board. Earlier that year, the hotel chain's parent company, HBE Corporation, lost a $4.8 million discrimination suit filed by two former employees of the St. Louis Adam's Mark. Witnesses in that case accused CEO Frank Kummer of being a racist.

"They treat their black employees terribly," says the Denver man. "The hotel has six bars and not one black bartender; they only have one black manager; and I was the only black bellman. They have all the blacks as doormen and all the white boys inside. Their excuse was that because of their [racist] reputation, no qualified blacks will apply."

Adam's Mark general manager Andre vanHall disagrees, saying the employee was fired because he abandoned his job. "I'm afraid there is absolutely no grounds at all to this."

But the ex-employee agues that he never abandoned his job. He says he was sick for a few days and the hotel used it as an excuse to fire him. He first complained to the NAACP, but nothing was resolved. The man then complained to the mayor's office. Finally he complained to an EEOC employment investigator who advised him to settle with the hotel. However, he says, "It's so much discrimination that's going on, I'd rather do something than take $4,000 or $5,000 and forget about it. I don't need the money that bad."

Local NAACP president Menola Upshaw told Westword she will have no comment unless she talks to Mayor Wellington Webb first. Webb spokesman Andrew Hudson also had no comment for Westword about the allegations, the previous complaints, the hotel chain in general or whether Webb is even aware of the situation. He said the decision to use the Adam's Mark for the mayors' convention was made by the NCBM (of which Webb is second in command). An NCBM representative did not return Westword's phone call.

As far as the Adam's Mark is concerned, vanHall says he has a clear conscience on the issue and would love to hire qualified black employees. "We are so desperate for people--housekeepers, stewards, front desk people. If you think we would get into a practice like that, it would be just stupid."

VanHall adds that he's "not losing too much sleep about this charge." How well the black mayors will sleep in his hotel may be another question.

Calling Martha Stewart: Hysterical preservationists are on the prowl in LoDo, and they've found an unlikely target: The LoDo Inn, at 16th and Wazee, a building that was renovated last year into a bed-and-breakfast.

LoDo Inn owner Tom Broemmel decided to paint the trim of the building with gold leaf, an expensive endeavor at $6 an inch. That didn't sit well with some members of the Lower Downtown Design Demolition Review Board, which has veto power over all new construction and renovation in the historic district. The LoDo Inn's paint job was attacked as "historically inaccurate," and one boardmember wanted to make the B&B paint over all the gold leaf.

The board eventually agreed to a compromise. The LoDo Inn gets to keep some gold in its sign but has to paint over much of the gold on the columns that frame the building.

Last year the board got into a dispute with P.F. Chang's over the restaurant's desire to remove some "historic stucco" from the facade of the former pool hall. "What's next?" asks one local architect. "A mandate for color-coordinated bathroom tiles?"