Bernard Parks for the BoardThe Times endorses in the race for the county's 2nd
Supervisorial District.
Many of you may already know, but it's definitely worth repeating, and worth passing along to your friends and co-workers, the Los Angeles Times has endorsed me, Bernard C. Parks, for Supervisor of the 2nd District. This comes as welcome news as we make our big push for the June 3rd election.
Here is the article in it's entirety.
The Times endorses in the race for the county's 2nd
Supervisorial District.
May 27, 2008
Of the nine candidates to succeed Yvonne B. Burke on
the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, two --
Bernard C. Parks and Mark Ridley-Thomas -- have the
ability and experience to make the most of the
position. In the hard-fought match between two
qualified candidates, The Times opts for Parks.
The career Los Angeles police officer and chief and
now second-term councilman has shown a steady hand
chairing the City Council's budget committee, and
would bring similar care to the much larger county
government. He has deep roots in South Los Angeles,
which forms the heart of the 2nd Supervisorial
District. As he has noted since entering political
life in 2003 -- to succeed Ridley-Thomas on the
council -- his career in the LAPD allowed him to
observe firsthand the results of government failure.
As a county supervisor, he would be well positioned to
correct those failures and make the government of the
nation's most populous county more effective and
efficient.
Parks also offers something rare in a candidate for
political office: He has administrative experience,
having been in effect the general manager of one of
the nation's best-regarded local law enforcement
agencies. Parks' term as chief was wracked by the
Rampart corruption investigation, but the corruption
that led to a federal consent decree happened before
he took over the LAPD. Critics properly challenged his
handling of the aftermath -- Parks sometimes
stubbornly resisted public and political scrutiny --
but acknowledged that he was untainted by the criminal
activity of disgraced officers.
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-noteshill 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.
More important, the demands of the position will
require the next supervisor to demonstrate
intellectual, legal and political skills that
transcend a right-left or business-labor approach. The
supervisor, with his board colleagues, must work to
break the chain of human misery that county government
is charged with resolving. He must be an independent
and flexible thinker unafraid to upset the status quo,
willing to upset managers, employees and interest
groups in the name of better serving the clients of
county departments such as Children and Family
Services, Probation and -- especially -- Health
Services. We are counting on Parks to resist the
county's tendency toward mediocrity.
Both Parks and Ridley-Thomas are up to the job. Either
would make a good county supervisor. Either, to be
fully effective, would need the support of his
constituents and even an occasional push, given the
secretive nature of county government and the
propensity of any elected official, once in office, to
conform himself to the contours of the job as it has
been conducted in the past. Either, when elected, is
likely to hold the post not just for the next four
years but for 12.
The Times gives the edge to Parks based on
hisexperience as a patrol officer, police chief,
manager and budget watchdog.
For previous Times endorsements in the June 3
election, visit
www.latimes.com/news/opinion/elections .
Supervisorial District.
May 27, 2008
Of the nine candidates to succeed Yvonne B. Burke on
the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, two --
Bernard C. Parks and Mark Ridley-Thomas -- have the
ability and experience to make the most of the
position. In the hard-fought match between two
qualified candidates, The Times opts for Parks.
The career Los Angeles police officer and chief and
now second-term councilman has shown a steady hand
chairing the City Council's budget committee, and
would bring similar care to the much larger county
government. He has deep roots in South Los Angeles,
which forms the heart of the 2nd Supervisorial
District. As he has noted since entering political
life in 2003 -- to succeed Ridley-Thomas on the
council -- his career in the LAPD allowed him to
observe firsthand the results of government failure.
As a county supervisor, he would be well positioned to
correct those failures and make the government of the
nation's most populous county more effective and
efficient.
Parks also offers something rare in a candidate for
political office: He has administrative experience,
having been in effect the general manager of one of
the nation's best-regarded local law enforcement
agencies. Parks' term as chief was wracked by the
Rampart corruption investigation, but the corruption
that led to a federal consent decree happened before
he took over the LAPD. Critics properly challenged his
handling of the aftermath -- Parks sometimes
stubbornly resisted public and political scrutiny --
but acknowledged that he was untainted by the criminal
activity of disgraced officers.
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-noteshill 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.
More important, the demands of the position will
require the next supervisor to demonstrate
intellectual, legal and political skills that
transcend a right-left or business-labor approach. The
supervisor, with his board colleagues, must work to
break the chain of human misery that county government
is charged with resolving. He must be an independent
and flexible thinker unafraid to upset the status quo,
willing to upset managers, employees and interest
groups in the name of better serving the clients of
county departments such as Children and Family
Services, Probation and -- especially -- Health
Services. We are counting on Parks to resist the
county's tendency toward mediocrity.
Both Parks and Ridley-Thomas are up to the job. Either
would make a good county supervisor. Either, to be
fully effective, would need the support of his
constituents and even an occasional push, given the
secretive nature of county government and the
propensity of any elected official, once in office, to
conform himself to the contours of the job as it has
been conducted in the past. Either, when elected, is
likely to hold the post not just for the next four
years but for 12.
The Times gives the edge to Parks based on
hisexperience as a patrol officer, police chief,
manager and budget watchdog.
For previous Times endorsements in the June 3
election, visit
www.latimes.com/news/opinion
No comments:
Post a Comment