Spotlight on the Second

Tip of the Hat to David Markland: Check Out His Blog about Bernie Parks' Website Steal

2008-05-31T09:34:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to point out that David Markland's blog California Faultline (which he writes for KNBC) is probably the best source for news about Bernard Parks' website steal:

A few days ago, the Parks campaign wrote me saying they had contacted Uyi Ogbeide with 2 Way Star, their web designer, who “assured” them that “he did not commit any violations.”

Bullshit. They're just passing the buck. Again.

The Daily Breeze Just About Sums It Up

2008-05-28T08:50:00.000-07:00

The Breeze has a fascinating look at the race:

"He's got years more education on the issue of health care," said Jim Lott of the Hospital Association of Southern California. "Parks is reading the Ridley-Thomas playbook and taking pages out of it. He's got a lot of learning to do."

That's just it. Like with his website, Bernard Parks routinely steals from other politicians. Why? Because his usual disposition is towards passing the buck incompetence.

What Happened at the LA Times?

2008-05-28T00:40:00.001-07:00

Disappointingly, they endorsed Bernard Parks, but their rationale made little sense.

Parks' views on business and economic issues generally coincide with the market-based approach favored by this page. But we note with concern the focus placed on the business-versus-labor aspects of this race -- a focus that comes primarily from business and labor groups themselves. True, several prominent business groups back Parks, and unions are largely with Ridley-Thomas, but neither candidate is a one-note shill for interests that support him. Ridley-Thomas, for example, has support from business and development interests that appreciate the hard work he has done in the City Council and in the Legislature. He was instrumental in the recovery of South Los Angeles after the Rodney King unrest, and helped defuse potentially destructive tension with his Days of Dialogue series. He established the Empowerment Congress, which put his constituents more firmly in command of their government resources.

For his part, Parks has shown tough-mindedness and independence, holding his ground on issues involving public employee contracts and resisting the council stampede into such questionable areas as dictating a special minimum wage for workers at hotels near Los Angeles International Airport. As a frequent critic of LAPD Chief William J. Bratton, Parks has been the chief's nemesis, but he also has offered promising hints of his supervisorial potential, namely his defense of open records and proceedings, two areas in which the LAPD today is less forthright than it was under Parks.

I think the LA Times forgot about Rampart, which it mentions earlier in the article. Then, he was oh so open and public about what happened. Not like he executed the biggest cover-up in LAPD history and then passed the buck about it.

And what's up with the LA Times' fair and balanced slant? Can they read their own article with a straight-face? Parks isn't just a shill for business, he opposed labor unions, too? Are they serious? That's not a fair and open-minded view--that's just a reflection of his consistently opposition to bettering the lot of working people.

KNBC's Blog Covers Parks' Website Steal

2008-05-26T15:08:00.000-07:00

Even KNBC's blog is getting in the game:

Make no mistake about it - the designer knowingly copied Obama’s page.
After reaching out to Parks office for comment, Bernard C. Parks, Jr. replied, “The Parks for Supervisor Campaign hired 2-Way Star, Inc. to do the website. And, we are actively attempting to investigate the allegations.”
I pressed for an answer as to how Parks and his campaign site didn’t notice the similarity between their site and Obama’s, especially considering Parks boasts that he was one of the first people to endorse Obama, and photos of the two together are featured on the site.

Parks, Jr: “Since we were made aware of it, we’ve been trying to make contact with the company. So far we’ve been unsuccessful.”

While Parks, Jr. did give me an email he said was for the designer, he has yet to answer how this designer was chosen, and if the site was paid for. An message sent to the email given for the designer has not been returned.

It's unfortunately typical for Bernard Parks. It's more passing the buck incompetence. As he tries to cover for why he's dishonestly posing as a big Obama backer (while running against a co-chair of the Barack Obama campaign), he and his campaign insist that it wasn't their fault. It was someone else's fault.

Just like how Rampart was someone else's mess.

My Friend Called Bernard Parks About the Website

2008-05-22T20:27:00.000-07:00

My friend decided to call Bernard Parks' campaign to ask them about their website, and why it still contained links to BarackObama.com. He spoke to Domingo, the contact person for their campaign on the website, who denied any knowledge of that and insisted it was a software-related bug that he had never encountered before.

Because, of course, by using a Mac, any link anywhere automatically links to BarackObama.com. And it wasn't written about on a Los Angeles Times' blog. It's just some glitch related to using Safari, not a link to

Pathetic, just pathetic.

Especially when you consider that Mark Ridley-Thomas has a history of honestly supporting Barack Obama, from before there was an Obama bandwagon. He was supporting Obama back in 2007, before Iowa, before February 5th, before Obama looked like the next President. Mark Ridley-Thomas was a co-chair on Obama's campaign. He hosted two Obama events, the Walk for Change in JUNE, 2007, and the Vote for Change Registration kickoff just a few weeks ago. It was at the Walk for Change that I first met Senator Ridley-Thomas, and he consistently worked to elect Barack Obama, even loaning his chief of staff, Vincent Harris, to work on the Obama campaign as the state Political Director. It's not surprising that many of the leaders on that effort are now supporting Mark Ridley-Thomas, because Mark Ridley-Thomas has a record of honestly supporting progressive change while Bernard Parks...

...well, to put it lightly, Bernard Parks doesn't have that record.

Bernard Parks Now Impotent: More on Bernard Parks' Illegal Campaign Donations

2008-05-22T14:32:00.000-07:00

Bernard Parks has accepted $21,800 in contributions from contractors with business before the MTA. As Supervisor, Bernard Parks would have to make decisions about those contractors. That would be in violation of SB 89 "Limits on MTA Contributions":

Prohibits any member, alternate member or employee of the MTA
from making a decision, or participating in, or using his or her
official position to influence, a contract decision if they have
received a gift or contribution of over $10 in the past four years
from the participant in the contract decision or his or her agent.

In other words, because of Bernard Parks' own actions, he would either be rendered absolutely impotent as a Supervisor when dealing with the very pressing and dramatic issues of transportation policy like the Red Line expansion or Bernard Parks would be breaking the law.

No word yet on whether Bernard Parks broke the law in accepting those contributions in the first place, but we'll keep investigating.

Parks Violating the Law with Illegal Contributions?

2008-05-22T10:22:00.000-07:00

We have reports that Bernard Parks may be violating campaign finance law by accepting contributions from MTA contractors with business before the LA County Board of Supervisors.

More as we look into it...

I Love Bernard Parks' Website

2008-05-21T23:09:00.001-07:00

Following up on the LA Times report, I checked out Bernard Parks' website.

One blog-style post, "Meet Bernard Parks - For LA County Supervisor" links, not to a thing about Bernard Parks but to this, an Obama event. That's below unprofessional.

If you actually go to http://www.parksforsupervisor.com, the gray bar above that link also goes to an page on Obama's website.

It would be funny if it weren't so sad.

Bernard Parks Stole from Barack Obama

2008-05-21T22:55:00.000-07:00

The Los Angeles Times looks into Bernard Parks' copy of Barack Obama's website and finds:

the templates are, indeed, the same. Not only that, plenty of Obama's campaign DNA remains caught in the Park's web site:

...the code for the Parks page actually still includes many references barackobama.com and even embeds some images directly from the Obama web site.

Bernard Parks doesn't just pretend to be an Angeleno Barack Obama--he blatantly steals from the Obama campaign. But just because both are African-American Democrats doesn't mean that they are the same. Barack Obama is building a movement to change politics in this country. Bernard Parks is trying to exploit the trappings of that movement for his own benefit.

If you want someone who really is a Barack Obama Democrat, check out Mark Ridley-Thomas. The former head of the LA Southern Christian Leadership Conference (Martin Luther King's organization), he is running for Supervisor to really change the county for the better. He's a progressive Democrat, a strong supporter of Barack Obama, and will make an excellent Supervisor.

More on the Bizarre (and Illegal?) Robocalls of Bernard Parks

2008-05-21T20:51:00.000-07:00

CompTron relays a message her friend Scott sent to Bernard Parks:

Subject: You called me at 7:30am Monday morning...

...and have subsequently lost my vote. No one wants to be woken up that early to hear a recorded message on their cell phone when they think it's probably an emergency. Congratulations on alienating your constituency.

SV
Los Angeles Voter

Not only are robocalls at 7:30 AM obnoxious, they are also illegal. So not only is Bernard Parks doing just simply bizarre calls, but they are also violating the law. And he wants to be Supervisor?

Bizarre Calls from Bernard Parks

2008-05-21T08:15:00.000-07:00

Via Mayor Sam's comes this blog post from Walter Moore about Bernard Parks' Bizarre calls about stamps:

This weekend, I got a call from Parks, and he made it crystal clear how much he cares about the Shaws, illegal aliens in gangs, and protecting your family: not at all.

Instead, he’s focusing on something really important: stamps. Parks left a message to let me know that the price of stamps has gone up, and, since he’s providing valuable information like this, how about voting for him for County Supervisor?

And not only is he talking about stamps instead of pressing issues like violent crime or King-Drew, but his information is already outdated. The price of stamps already increased. So, Bernie Parks, either get with the program or get out of the way.

And, come to think of it, could this be a result of having his family run his campaign? Bernard Parks has rejected that suggestion as racist by saying that "We're not slaves anymore. Families are allowed to stay together."

Nepotism still doesn't work out so well, though.

Bernard Parks Complains About Opposition

2008-05-21T05:25:00.000-07:00

This is rich. Bernard Parks, who raised almost twice as much as Mark Ridley-Thomas, is complaining that labor unions support his opponent, and posted this article by Earl Ofari Hutchinson which recounts his complaint. Because, of course, there is no reason that labor unions would oppose someone who spent his term as Chief of Police cracking down on unions even when it meant taking his attention off fighting crime to fight the Police Protective League.

As Earl Ofari Hutchinson writes:

Parks loudly protests the unions' heavy-handed spending on one candidate in a local race that decidedly un-levels the election playing field. He screams that the hefty union payoff to Ridley-Thomas is proof that he's in the hip pocket of labor.

His complaint can't be waved off. Parks is no slouch when it comes to fundraising. He nearly doubled Ridley-Thomas' total in the first quarter of this year, with much of it coming from business groups.

In short, Bernard Parks is complaining because Mark Ridley-Thomas's supporters are supporting him, even if not as much as Bernard Parks' supporters have given him money (not surprising considering that Big Business is supporting Bernie Parks). In Bernie Parks' world, any opposition to him is just "not fair".

In spite of Bernie Parks' warped view of fairness, what's really unfair is that, if it were up to Bernard Parks, hotel workers would not earn a living wage (LA Times $). What's really unfair is that, if it were up to Bernard Parks, workers could be fired at the time of management changes and would not get service charges that operate in place of a tip (LA Times $). What's unfair is that Bernard Parks opposed creating thousands of construction jobs from the airport. What's unfair is that Bernard Parks decided to protect the corrupt cops of Rampart instead of the honest, hard-working members of the Police Protective League. That's unfair. What Bernard Parks is whining about? That's just what Bernie Parks should have expected when he decided to stand up for his rich Big Business pals instead of his constituents.

That's why I'm supporting Mark Ridley-Thomas.

The Misplaced Confidence of Bernie Parks

2008-05-20T23:30:00.000-07:00

Bernard Parks is now bragging about how Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger responded to his letter: http://parksforsupervisor.blogspot.com/2008/05/response-by-governor-regarding-health.html

I am pleased to report that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has responded to the letter I wrote to him on April 15th, regarding the Health Crisis that we are dealing with here in the 2nd District.

If you actually read the letter, it's just a form letter about how the situation with King-Drew is so important. I hope Bernie Parks doesn't think that he's so special for getting a form letter from the Governator. It's not the kind of leadership that will restore King-Drew.

Hell, I could get a similar boilerplate letter from Arnold--but I'm not running for Supervisor. I couldn't reopen King-Drew, and if this is what Bernie Parks thinks passes for leading and getting state and federal involvement, he won't be able to either. It's just more of the passing the buck incompetence that we've come to expect from Bernard Parks.

Los Angeles Times on Importance of Voting for Mark Ridley-Thomas

2008-05-20T21:28:00.001-07:00

The Los Angeles Times has a great piece on why voting for Mark Ridley-Thomas is so important:

The importance of county government is often lost on residents, perhaps because it's an entity that serves two interdependent but often separate populations. For one universe, the county manifests itself as art and entertainment. It is an evening concert on the lawn at the Los Angeles County Arboretum, a performance of "Tosca" at the Los Angeles County Music Center or a Van Gogh exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The county patrols beaches. It certifies gas pumps to make sure customers are not shortchanged.

For the other population, the county is the embodiment of hope and, all too often, trouble and despair. Los Angeles County programs and employees pull abused or neglected children from families crippled by drugs or crime and send them to foster care. Once there, statistics show, children become far more likely to become clients of other heartbreaking county programs: probation, jail, drug rehab, mental health treatment, homelessness placement. For this population, "county" means jail or perhaps a public hospital emergency room.

Looking at Mississippi and Ohio, the Children's Defense Fund detects a "cradle-to-prison pipeline" that feeds on race and poverty and is aided and abetted -- and most often is actually run -- by government. But Los Angeles County's pipeline is larger, and at least as destructive, as those in distant states. And in the 2nd District, the pipeline can seem more like a vacuum cleaner.

Bernard Parks, as Police Chief, oversaw that "cradle-to-prison pipeline". He spent more time covering up Rampart and trying to bust the Police Protective League (no surprise that they are supporting Mark Ridley-Thomas) than working to end that pipeline. And now he wants to take a greater role in that, running the prisons that have so many problems already. Only he and his big business supporters would think that's a good idea.

Why is Bernie Parks Afraid of Debate?

2008-05-20T21:27:00.001-07:00

So my new blog Spotlight on the Second has already attracted the attention of Bernard Parks' campaign, or so I'd assume by the cryptic notice that I got from Google:

This is a message from the Blogger team.

Your blog, at http://spotlightonthesecond.blogspot.com/, has been identified as a potential spam blog. For an explanation of what spam blogs are, please see Blogger Help: http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=42577

You will not be able to publish posts to your blog until we review your site and confirm that it is not a spam blog. To request a review, please fill out the form found here:

It's clearly not spam, but the first post of my new blog was to point out that Bernard Parks is blaming others for the failure of King-Drew Hospital and expecting others to fix the Hospital and give him credit. It was a fairly tame post by my standards--I didn't treat him like I would a Republican. I merely pointed out that his current statement connected with a legacy of making similar statements as Police Chief and as a Councilman.

So I have to ask: Why is Bernard Parks and his campaign so afraid of a public debate? Why do they feel a need to suppress opposition instead of confronting my points and trying to rebut them? Are they afraid that an open debate will reveal the truth of the matter? And what is that truth that they are so embarrassed about as to cower behind trying to stop opposition instead of acknowledging?

I don't know the answer to that. If I had to guess, I'd say the truth is that Bernard Parks did little as police chief to stop crime but much to stop unions and oversee corruption. He has done little as City Councilman but promote the special interests of the rich at our expense and run for office. And now he wants to keep up his streak of do-nothing incompetence and bring it to the Board of Supervisors.

If you ask me, that's not the kind of thing that Los Angeles can afford. So is that why Bernard Parks doesn't want an open debate?

That's the kind of thing that makes me an even bigger supporter of Mark Ridley-Thomas.

Thank You Google

2008-05-20T21:25:00.000-07:00

Thank you for rejecting Bernard Parks' people's attempt at suppressing opposition. I appreciate it.

I'll repost a fuller explanation, too.

Typical Bernard Parks: Passing the Buck Incompetence on King-Drew

2008-05-18T19:05:00.000-07:00

I Just Found This Piece By Bill Boyarsky
LA Observed

Parks blamed cuts in federal and state funding for medical aid to the poor, and he said he wanted to get the University of California medical system involved. That’s a great idea. Maybe someone from the UCLA hospital will teach the King people how to sell confidential information to the tabloids. It also makes no sense with USC located in the district.

That's just typical for Bernard Parks--he blames everything on others. It's never his fault. It wasn't his fault when the corrupt cops of Rampart got involved in gang crime. It wasn't his fault that the LAPD "organization chart ma[de] no sense". It wasn't his fault that Los Angeles wasted $170 million on the failed Santa Barbara Plaza. Over and over again, it's typical political buck-passing. And, of course, it wasn't his fault that King-Drew closed.

And now, he's doing it again. Once again, he's saying that everything is someone else's fault. King-Drew closed because of President Bush and Governor Schwarzenegger, because, of course, Bernard Parks wasn't in office at the time. Like any old politician, he's blaming others for his mistakes and taking credit for the work of others. If the state or federal government increase aid to the County, it will be thanks to a President Barack Obama, not thanks to anything Bernard Parks does.

It's typical Bernard Parks. Passing the buck incompetence.

New Blog

2008-05-18T13:49:00.000-07:00

The Board of Supervisors isn't the most prominent elected position. It's actually pretty low profile because there are only five seats and the seats aren't frequently contested. However, the Supervisors wield plenty of power. They run the county hospitals like King-Drew. They oversee the Sheriff's Department and the County Fire Department. They control the Registrar-Recorder, which deals with voting and voter registration. The District Attorney's office is overseen by the Supervisors. They also are on the board for the Metro. And this year, there will be a competitive election in the district I live in. It's not a well-covered election--the LA Times is not paying much attention to it, so I'm going to help cover what they don't on my new blog:

Spotlight on the Second

Two prominent Los Angeles leaders, Bernard Parks and Mark Ridley-Thomas are both running, and the election is in just over two weeks on June 3rd. It'll be a contentious battle, with very important consequences for our area. I will be profiling the contenders and the contentious issues from my new blog: Spotlight on the Second.

Mark Ridley-Thomas on the web: http://www.markridleythomas.com
Bernard Parks on the web: http://www.bernardparks.com