State Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas completed his year-long, come-from-behind victory by blowing out Bernard Parks 62%-38% in the November 4th Supervisorial Election. One year ago, most polls had Ridley-Thomas twenty points behind Parks.

Ridley-Thomas’ support grew as Parks hit his ceiling

But after finishing the primary election with a 45%-39% lead, Ridley-Thomas grew his support rate by 17% while Parks’ rate support dropped one point in the November election.

Even though Ridley-Thomas has not been the 8th District Council representative for six years – and even though Parks has represented the district for those six years since, the Senator beat the Councilmember by a 59%-41% in Parks’ own 8th Council District. He beat him in the southern end of the district, the City of Carson, 60%-40%. He beat him on the Westside and the north end of the district, with margins of 64%-36% in L.A. Council District 11 (Rosendahl), 65%-35% in L.A. Council District 5 (Weiss), and 65%-35% in Culver City. And Ridley-Thomas dominated in Latino areas of the district as well, with margins of 72%-28% in Lynwood, and 68%-32% in L.A. Council District 1 (Reyes).

Targeting new voters

Entering the runoff election, polling in August revealed that Ridley-Thomas led Parks by 13% among the most likely voters. However, among those who were likely to vote in the exciting November election, Parks and Ridley-Thomas were in a near dead heat.

That’s why the Ridley-Thomas campaign focused on voters who did not vote in the primary, but who were likely to vote in November. This was no small task, because more than three times as many voters who voted in June voted on November 4th, so there were literally hundreds of thousands of voters to persuade. More than 39,000 2nd District voters registered between October 1 and the 15-day new registration cutoff before the election. Bernard Parks started out being significantly better known among these voters.

So why did these voters break so heavily for Ridley-Thomas? While he held his own among older and middle-aged voters, Ridley-Thomas dominated Parks among the younger voters and new voters who came out to vote for change. These voters were a disproportionately large part of the voters who turned out for the November election but not the June or even February elections.

Change vs. The Status Quo

All polling reflected that voters of all ages saw Ridley-Thomas as the candidate who would bring change, and as part of the next generation of leaders. While Parks had what used to be the dominant endorsements in the African-American community – including Congresswoman Maxine Waters and incumbent Supervisor Yvonne Burke – voters instead wanted a change in representation, and were not swayed by Parks’ endorsers. Parks – with the support of a majority of the Board of Supervisors – clearly represented the status quo to voters. This is not the right year to be positioned that way, especially with the failure and closure of King-Harbor Hospital on their watch. Parks worsened his problems by defending the status quo at King-Harbor at a time when it was delivering inadequate care to the community, in contrast to Ridley-Thomas who has been at the forefront in the fight for change at the hospital for some time.

The voters found Ridley-Thomas’ background as a grassroots community organizer who works for change and delivers results to be much more relevant and important. The fact that Ridley-Thomas is a legislator who approaches his job as an organizer was a very appealing feature for all voters, but especially new voters.

Parks’ tactic of running a 100% negative campaign also backfired. His attacks (and the Independent Expenditure attacks) on Ridley-Thomas on economic development were just not credible in contrast to Ridley-Thomas’ well-publicized accomplishments. And Parks focused a great deal of his resources attacking Ridley-Thomas’ supporters, especially union workers. This also proved to be a grave mistake for two reasons: 1) this district includes thousands and thousands of union and other blue-collar workers; and 2) even non-union and white collar workers, retirees and homemakers think highly of working families and unions.

In the end, polling revealed that voters realized that Bernard Parks is not who they thought he was – and they had a much better alternative by voting for a candidate who fights for change and delivers results, and a candidate who represents the next generation of leadership: Mark Ridley-Thomas.

During Monday’s KPCC, 89.3, 2nd District Supervisorial debate (available in its entirety at iTunes) between Bernard Parks and Senator Ridley-Thomas, host Patt Morrison rightfully pointed out that a swing seat on the five member Board of Supervisors was at stake in this election. With two liberals and two conservatives currently serving on the Board, the conservative Bernard Parks would tip the balance to the right while the election of the progressive Ridley-Thomas would tip the scales to the left. Here is the audio exchange:

Boomp3.com

Unsurprisingly, the conservative Parks, who is running in the overwhelmingly Democratic 2nd District, gave his best rambling Sarah Palin impersonation instead of responding directly to Morrison’s point about the swing seat:

“Well, first of all, I think that’s too simplistic to view the board. I think, the way I find myself, and I spend all my life not stereotyping myself and I don’t allow others to do it. I think you will find that I will look at issues, issue by issue, just as I’ve shown a practice in the City Council to give the public the best response…”

On the other hand, Senator Ridley-Thomas readily admitted that he would represent a progressive agenda:

“I am a responsible progressive and I am unapologetic about it. I believe in fairness, I believe in equity. I’ve worked all of my life as an agent for change in a positive sense. And I’ve focused, in a laser-like way, on delivering results.”

Essentially Bernard Parks, a former longtime member of the ultra-conservative American Independent Party, is a Democrat in name only.

1. Councilman Herb Wesson’s wife, Fabian, apparently believes Senator Ridley-Thomas is going to win the Supervisor’s race. The Wave Newspapers write that she is “laying the groundwork to succeed [Ridley-Thomas]. But being a woman of abundant tact, she will wait until Nov. 5 to make her announcement”.

2. Betty Pleasant of Soulvine writes about Bernard Parks’ latest campaign stumble. Parks used city resources — his official 8th District newsletter — to link to a dated right wing smear piece about Senator Ridley-Thomas in violation of the city ethics ordinance. Adding insult to injury for Parks, the offending links went to a virulent anti-Obama website.

3. The City Council voted for a dramatic 13% rise in the cost of ambulance services provided by the LAFD. Bernard Parks said that the now $1,004 price tag was necessary to “try to remain consistent with the rates charged by the county of Los Angeles.”

4. Our Weekly notes that the format for the Community Coalition’s candidates forum had to be changed last minute because Bernard Parks was a no-show. It was “turned into a question and answer session” with Senator Ridley-Thomas. See photos from the event here.

UPCOMING EVENTS

5. In a noon press conference today at Mercado La Paloma, located at 3655 S. Grand Avenue, L.A., Latino leaders will announce their support for the Ridley-Thomas for Supervisor campaign.

6. Don’t miss the Ridley-Thomas for Supervisor Compton satellite office kickoff rally this Saturday at 10 a.m. The office is located at 1001 W. Compton Blvd, Compton, CA 90220.

The Community Coalition “works with African American and Latino residents of South Los Angeles to build a prosperous and productive South L.A. with safe neighborhoods, quality schools, a strong social safety net, and economic development based on community need.” Thus, one would expect that attending the Coalition’s candidate’s forum last night would be of paramount importance to anyone running for L.A. County Supervisor. But that was not the case for Bernard Parks whose seat remained empty the entire evening. Just more evidence that Bernard Parks is NOT who we thought he was.

Meanwhile, Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas answered every question from the approximately 100 concerned citizens in attendance.

Bernard Parks Breaks Ethics Law, Uses Official 8th District Newsletter for Campaign Activity

As we reported earlier, Bernard Parks used his official 8th District electronic newsletter to advance his political campaign. This is not only a violation of the public’s trust, but also a violation of the city’s Governmental Ethics Ordinance (Ethics Handbook for City Officials (PDF)). Specifically, Parks has violated page 11 of the Ethics Handbook regarding political activity:

Laws governing political activity have been established to: 1) safeguard public resources; 2) ensure the government remains nonpartisan and neutral in election matters; and 3) protect City employees from pressure to support or oppose candidates or ballot measures.

Prohibited Political Activity

You may not:

-use or authorize the use of City offices, stationery, telephones, vehicles, equipment, or any other City property for any campaign activity

L.A. City Councilman Bernard Parks used his official 8th District electronic newsletter — distributed at public expense — to promote a website dedicated to attacking Senator Barack Obama’s character.

The newsletter, which went out last night, links to a Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas smear piece on the anti-Obama website The Union News. Below are a couple recent examples of the disgraceful anti-Obama headlines and rhetoric from the site:

This is the kind of hate one would expect from the American Independent Party not from a fellow Democrat. Oh wait, that’s right, Parks was a longtime member of George Wallace’s pro-segregationist American Independent Party.

UPDATE: This appears to be a clear violation of city ethics law.

1. An editorial by Senator Ridley-Thomas, “Allensworth centennial: A celebration of self determination,” appears in Our Weekly.

2. Senator Ridley-Thomas declares October 18th California Firefighters Memorial Day. Firefighters and their families will gather at the State Capitol on the 18th to remember those lost in the line of duty this year and in years past, as part of the 2008 California Firefighters Memorial Annual Ceremony.

This comes on the heels of Governor Schwarzeneggar signing SB 997 by Senator Ridley-Thomas into law. The new law “gives firefighters two new seats on the now 16-member Commission on Emergency Medical Services.”

3. “Bernard Parks has backed off his effort to evict Anthony Thigpenn’s SCOPE community organization from its city-owned building.” Betty Pleasant at The Wave has much more on why Parks caved to community pressure.

4. The Wave Newspapers have picked up on Bernard Parks financial troubles. Of the “$207,038.30 spent by the Parks campaign since the June primary election, $133,478.68 of that went to paying down the debt.” In other words, for every $1 given to the Parks campaign, 64 cents vanishes immediately to pay down Parks’ huge debt.

5. The L.A. Times is reporting that Senator “Ridley-Thomas gets cash infusion”.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

6. Senator Ridley-Thomas and Bernard Parks will appear at a candidates forum tonight in Hawthorne. The event, which is hosted by the Holly Park Homeowners Association, begins at 7 p.m. at Atherton Baptist Church, 2627 W. 116th Street.

7. Mark your calendars for The Florence Firestone Chamber of Commerce Candidates Forum on Tuesday, October 28th. The event starts at 6:15 p.m. and free seating will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. The forum will be held at Thomas A. Edison Middle School Auditorium at 6500 Hopper Ave, Los Angeles, 90001.

8. Meet and greet Senator Ridley-Thomas with the friends and neighbors of Leimert Park on Sunday, October 12th between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. The event will be held at 3801 Grayburn Avenue, Los Angeles, 90008. Please RSVP to peashet@hotmail.com.

9. Los Angeles residents have two options to vote early in California: apply for an absentee mail-in ballot, or march on over to the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder’s Office in Norwalk at 12400 Imperial Highway. California Faultline has more information.

In a recent KPFK News debate, Senator Ridley-Thomas and Bernard Parks sparred over whether the former police chief was an apologist for racial profiling. Below is the audio (1:43) of the racial profiling part of the debate followed by a transcript and a fact check:

Boomp3.com

Bernard Parks: Also, I’d like to comment on racial profiling. The issue of racial profiling is very simple. I said 10 years ago you cannot prove racial profiling by keeping statistics. The only way to prove racial profiling is to investigate the claims people make and bring it to a conclusion. That’s why in 1997 the first thing I did as chief is change the discipline system to where complaints were now taken readily as opposed to where people were suppressing them.

In the first year the system was changed we jumped from 2,000 complaints to 4,000 and then it went up to 6,000 which was clear it was being suppressed.

Senator Ridley-Thomas: You know the newspaper you like to site, the L.A. Times, let’s see what it says about this textbook definition Bernard Parks offers on racial profiling. And I quote, “it’s not the fault of the police when they stop minority males or put them in jail. In my mind it is not a great revelation that if officers are looking for criminal activity they are going to look at the kind of people who are listed on crime reports.“

Bernard Parks: (Interrupting) That is exactly what they do. The crime report identifies…

Senator Ridley-Thomas: If you don’t mind, I will finish.

Bernard Parks: (Interrupting) The crime reports for the public lists criminals by race, description which is an indicator of who the officer looks for.

Senator Ridley-Thomas: All KPFK listeners, I want you to go my website, www.markridleythomas.com, and we’ll explain to you Bernard Parks’ apology for racial profiling.

Bernard Parks: There is no apology.

Senator Ridley-Thomas: That’s exactly what it is. You can’t defend racial profiling Mr. Parks.

FACT CHECK: Senator Ridley-Thomas is indeed correct as this article from the February 17, 2002 L.A. Times illustrates:

As the issue of racial profiling made its way to the national agenda, Parks steadfastly maintained that his officers did not engage in that practice. But he once gave an interviewer what amounted to a textbook definition of racial profiling.

“It’s not the fault of the police when they stop minority males or put them in jail,” he said. “It’s the fault of the minority males for committing the crime. In my mind, it is not a great revelation that, if officers are looking for criminal activity, they’re going to look at the kind of people who are listed on crime reports.”

UPDATE: Amazingly, despite Parks unwavering stance against using statistics to analyze racial profiling by police, a few moments later (audio below) he advocates using such tools to analyze “black on black crime, black on hispanic crime, and looking at the amount of crime dealt with by the race of the suspect versus the victim.” The difference in approach speaks for itself.

Boomp3.com

With only a month to go before the election, Bernard Parks has been busy struggling to pay off his primary election debts instead of campaigning – and still has $390,000 in outstanding debts, according to campaign reports filed with the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder’s office.

Parks’ campaign debts far exceed his assets. In fact, of the $207,038.30 his campaign has spent since the June primary election, $133,478.68 was spent on paying down his debt instead of on campaign activities for the November 4th election.

This means that Parks must raise $10,895 every day between now and the election just to pay off his previous campaign debts.

Meanwhile, the Ridley-Thomas campaign has more assets than debts, with only $17,000 in accrued expenses, and is campaigning full speed ahead.

See the entire article and campaign disclosure statement at Bernard Parks Is NOT Who We Thought He Was.

1. Listen to the KPFK News one-hour debate between Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas and Bernard Parks. Topics include healthcare, a living wage, law enforcement and economic philosophy.

2. Inglewood Today analyzes the L.A. County Supervisors race and finds that Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas has “outlined specific priorities for solving problems within the county” while “his opponent has a broader approach.” The article goes on to list Ridley-Thomas’s top priorities which include “jobs, housing and the economy; expanding access to health care and reopening Martin Luther King Hospital; and producing safer neighborhoods.”

In stark contrast, Bernard Parks wants to “reform the way L.A. County distributes its fiscal resources to provide services.” Parks says, “One of my criticisms is that county money is narrowly defined, and you have to use it in certain categories.”

Read the entire article.

3. For a compilation of current and historical articles about Bernard Parks, see Bernard Parks is NOT who we thought he was.

1. An activist is calling for Bernard Parks to step down from his City Council seat as well as his positions with the MTA and Expo Line Construction Authority or face a recall for his “disgraceful, unethical, illegal actions and abuses of power.”

2. Bernard Parks offers an odd response to reports that he has multiple houses and may have been skirting the law by voting in the wrong district for himself. Parks’ surprising defense was that he only owns one home and that he rented the other houses in order to live within L.A. city limits while serving as a councilman. In other words, Parks’ defense seems an admission that he is a carpetbagger.

3. Mole’s Progressive Democrat endorses Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas and calls the Supervisors race the “highest priority” for L.A. progressives. The website outlines some key differences between Councilman Bernard Parks and Senator Ridley-Thomas:

“Although elected by a majority African American district, Parks has a conservative voting record when it comes to investing in communities. If Parks wins, Los Angeles County will be controlled by a conservative majority at a time when county hospitals and emergency services in communities of color are facing closure. Mark has been a staunch supporter of progressive issues such as the establishment of school health centers, consumer protection, community reinvestment, jobs and workforce development.”

4. Indymedia L.A. has a post up with the sub-headline, “Dirty Bernie Parks is abusing his power to attack a political enemy. It’s a low blow, but, not unexpected.”

1. The Front Page Online is asking whether Bernard Parks is “making an improper property tax claim.” The article quotes Senator Ridley-Thomas asking a rather pertinent question:

“Why didn’t [Parks] pay his fair share of property taxes that fund essential services such as law enforcement, public safety, K-12 education, community colleges, state colleges and universities, highway maintenance, and health care for uninsured children?”

2. California Professional Firefighters had a banner legislative year, in part because of the work of Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas.

3. Senator Ridley-Thomas said that Gwen Ifill “proved to be a consummate professional” in last night’s vice-presidential debate. The Senator also analyzed the two candidates:

“Biden was muscle-bound, in terms of his data and information, and Palin was well rehearsed. She starts off completely disadvantaged because she is an apologist for Bush, so if anybody was predictable, it was she.”

4. The Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA) praised Governor Schwarzenegger for signing Senator Ridley-Thomas’s electronic pedigree legislation into law.

5. EGP News has more information on SB 870 by Senator Ridley-Thomas which will make $1.1 billion in funds available to help distressed homeowners with sub-prime loans.

UPDATE:

6. “Apparently stung by local criticism, Councilman Bernard Parks has apparently dropped his effort to evict the SCOPE program from a city-owned building,” writes Rick Orlov at the sausage factory.

Somebody needs to ask Bernard Parks how many houses he has…

Bernard Parks voted in June – presumably for himself – despite not being eligible to vote at his alleged address

The question asked of Republican Presidential nominee John McCain now needs to be asked of Bernard Parks, candidate for the Board of Supervisors: How many houses do you have?

Hopefully Parks can answer the question, but if public records are any indication, the answer is quite complicated.

In summary, Bernard Parks takes a homeowners tax exemption at one house outside his current his Council District and outside the City of Los Angeles; he is registered to vote and votes at another address where he hasn’t lived since February; and he lives at a third house in another precinct.

So what’s the problem? Find out the many problems with these facts at Bernard Parks is NOT who we thought he was.

1. Please note that the October 20th California voter registration deadline is fast approaching. Go here to register today!

2. At The Soulvine, Betty Pleasant continues to ask why Bernard Parks doesn’t like community organizers and even compares the Councilman to right wing vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

3. Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas makes the cover of Our Weekly.

4. The Wave reports that Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas campaign office, “was abuzz early Saturday morning as a crowd estimated at 150 people waited to hear the candidate address the gathering. See video from the great event here.

5. Senator Ridley-Thomas is expected to join hotel employees and labor representatives pressing for living wages in front of the LAX Hilton today at 4:30 p.m.

6. News broke yesterday that Bernard Parks was improperly taking a tax exemption for a home he doesn’t live in and that he likely owes back taxes.

Los Angeles City Councilman Bernard Parks – now a candidate for the L.A. County Board of Supervisors – has been claiming a $7,000 annual property tax exemption on the home he owns in an unincorporated area – even though he doesn’t live there, as required by state tax laws.

Parks is registered to vote at 4132 Don Ibarra Place in the City of Los Angeles, and state law allows individuals to register to vote only where they live. This address is in the 8th Council District, which he represents.

However, Parks claims his $7,000 annual property tax exemption at 5561 Onacrest Drive, located in unincorporated Los Angeles County. Ironically, Parks is claiming a homeowners’ exemption for a principal residence outside the city he was elected to represent.

Read more at Bernard Parks Is NOT Who We Thought He Was.