Months after the City Council canceled the Hollister
Independence Rally for 2006, the death of the city’s signature
event is still catching the attention of out-of-town
newspapers.
Hollister – Months after the City Council canceled the Hollister Independence Rally for 2006, the death of the city’s signature event is still catching the attention of out-of-town newspapers.
Most recently, USA TODAY, which boasts a nationwide daily circulation of nearly 2.3 million, dedicated a national page to the rally cancellation in its Wednesday issue. And before that there were stories in the Los Angeles Times, San Jose Mercury News and many other papers. With all the cancellation coverage, the rally is getting more and broader exposure than it ever did during its eight year run. But whether or not all the attention on the rally’s demise will attract more people to birthplace of the American Biker this July depends on who you ask.
Hollister Mayor Robert Scattini – who, along with Councilman Brad Pike, voted against canceling the rally – said that he thinks the heavy media coverage might draw people to Hollister this summer despite the lack of an organized rally.
“I think so,” he said. “A lot of them are people who are coming here anyhow.”
Hollister resident Dave Ventura, who was part of the nonprofit group that organized the rally from its inception in 1997, said he was sure what kind of result all the media coverage would have.
“It’s going to attract people,” he said. “It’s going to bring more people than expected. They’re going to want to see what’s going to happen.”
Attending what some are calling the “unofficial rally” will earn bikers bragging rights, Ventura said. Also, he added, people who don’t own motorcycles will likely show up to see what all the fuss was about.
When they voted 3-2 in February to cancel the 2006 rally, council members never anticipated that their decision would stop bikers from roaring onto San Benito Street this July. Once the vote was taken and the rally was dead, the council directed city staff and the Hollister Police Department to start planning for public safety during the holiday. Many believe thousands of bikers will still descend on Hollister.
Anticipating an influx of bikers, the police department has been planning how to ensure public safety in the absence of the rally since it was canceled, according to Captain Bob Brooks. When they canceled the rally, City Council members said that the event was too expensive for the city, which was stuck paying about $250,000 in public safety costs after the 2005 event that drew about 120,000 people to Hollister. Also there were concerns about the possibility of violent clashes between rival motorcycle gangs.
Though the non-rally will bring public safety costs, Hollister Police Chief Jeff Miller has said that the cost will be significantly lower. Estimates put the cost at between $70,000 and $130,000.
Brooks said he had no way of anticipating whether the flurry of news coverage the rally’s cancellation has gotten will increase attendance at the unofficial rally.
Councilman Doug Emerson, who was among the majority on the council that voted to cancel the rally, said that he wasn’t sure if the statewide and national coverage of the rally will draw more people into town during the Fourth of July holiday. The potential is there, though, he said.
“On one hand, it might increase,” he said. “But on the other, it might decrease. I have no idea of how to predict that. It’s hard to tell. It may be just that people come to Hollister to see what’s going on.”
City Manager Clint Quilter said that for the most part, he didn’t think news coverage would result in more people coming in July.
“It may (draw) a few,” he said. “I think on the other hand it lets people know the rally was canceled.”
Luke Roney covers local government and the environment for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or at lr****@fr***********.com
