Watergate Wrangling

Residents of Watergate West and South technically have no say in Monument's deal, but they have weighed in with opinions in support of co-op neighbors. Neil C. Livingstone, president of Watergate South, where Domingo, Rice and the Doles live, said his building was initially against Monument's plan. But opinions changed after a hired consultant said it was unlikely that a high-end hotel could thrive in that location, said Livingstone, head of a crisis-management consulting firm.

On Jan. 22, a majority of the Watergate East co-op shares voted to approve the sale. But the co-op's 11-member board declared that Monument needed 75 percent of the votes to win.

The group supporting the sale, led by Wolf, filed a lawsuit in the Court of Chancery in Delaware. Monument paid the legal fees. In February, judge William B. Chandler III ruled that the January vote was invalid because the co-op bylaws required only a simple majority for a resolution to pass. Another election was scheduled for April 12.

Both sides began campaigning, distributing fliers to residents.

One, in favor of the sale and written by William Wolf, listed the names and phone numbers of the "six antidemocratic and recalcitrant Directors" who opposed the Monument proposal. "Call them and insist on democracy. This is America, under the rule of law. It is not Afghanistan, under the rule of the Taliban."

Opponents countered with a flier headed "THE CHOICE IS SIMPLE." It claimed that accepting the Monument deal would mean "accepting 155 new luxury hi-rise co-ops next door directly competing with our own apartments, depressing our market values, and turning us into the 'has-been' 'Old Watergate.' "

Domingo, general director of the Washington National Opera, wrote a letter to city zoning officials opposing the conversion. "The elimination of the Hotel would not only diminish the lifestyle of the residents, but would adversely affect the position of the Watergate Complex in the District as an acclaimed example of urban living," he wrote.

Opponents of the sale claimed that Rice was on their side. (In response to questions, her spokesman, Sean McCormack, left a message, saying with a laugh: "I don't think we're going to have anything on this one.") Both sides said they tried to lobby Ginsburg but couldn't pin her down. (A Supreme Court spokesman, Ed Turner, said, "The justice has decided to decline the request to comment.")

Leading up to the April election for the co-op's board of directors, Monument's supporters successfully backed two incumbents and a third, new candidate, tilting the board's majority in their favor.

On April 12, people swarmed into the hotel's Monticello Room. An estimated 94 percent of the eligible members voted.