California and Los Angeles Election Results Summary

Here is an update on MadProfessah's endorsements for the November 4, 2008 election. The results can be found at the Secretary of State's website.

Proposition Number (Topic)                MadProfessah      RESULT

1A (High Speed Train Bond)                YES               YES
2  (Humane Farming)                       YES               YES
3  (Children's Hospital Bond)              NO               YES    
4  (Teen Safety Initiative)                NO               NO

5  (Non-Violent Drug Offenses)             YES              NO

6  (Prison Expansion)                      NO               NO

7  (Renewable Energy Expansion)            YES              NO

8  (Eliminates Marriage Rights)            HELL NO          YES

9  (Victim Rights Amendment)               NO               YES

10 (Billionaire Renewable Energy Scam)     NO               N

11 (Republican-Favored Re-districting)     NO               YES

12 (Veterans' Housing Bond)                YES              YES

COUNTY AND CITY MEASURES

Measure A (Anti-Gang Parcel Tax Increase)  NO               NO

Measure B (Low Rent Housing Update)        NO               NO

Measure J (Community College Vond)         YES              YES

Measure Q (LAUSD School Bond)              NO               YES

Measure R (MTA Sales Tax Increase)         YES              YES

Measure U (Unincorporated County User Tax) NO               NO

State Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas easily won his run-off election with Los Angeles City Councilman Bernard Parks for the 2nd District Los Angeles County Supervisor seat.

Every judge that I endorsed lost except for Hilleri Grossman Merritt.

Ridley-Thomas Leads Parks 45%-39%

In the hotly contested 2nd District Los Angeles County supervisorial race to replace Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, Mad Professah-endorsed Mark Ridley-Thomas ended up placing first in a crowded field with 45.29% of the vote.

MRT will be in a November run-off with Los Angeles City councilman Bernard Parks (39.8%).

L.A.TIMES endorses Parks for County Supervisor

The Los Angeles Times editorial page endorsed Bernard Parks for Los Angeles County Supervisor on Tuesday.

The Times included the editorial on the same day it carried a story ("Black political leaders face a new era in Los Angeles") where it allowed Parks and his main opponent Mark Ridley-Thomas to sling insults at each other.

Leaning back in a swivel chair at his headquarters on Jefferson Boulevard, Ridley-Thomas issued a scathing assessment of Parks, describing him as vindictive and contemptuous of critics.

"It's amazing how anybody can alienate so many groups," Ridley-Thomas said, noting that law enforcement unions have sided unanimously with him over Parks.

He also accused Parks of trying to exploit sympathy over his ouster as police chief. He said the eruption of the Rampart corruption scandal when Parks was chief exposed his failure to fight police misconduct. And every morning, he said, Parks wakes up and asks himself, "What can I go and do to mess with Bill Bratton today?"
Parks said he never could have made it to the top LAPD job if he did not work well with others. He described the department's system for civilian complaints against officers as a showcase achievement of his reform efforts. He recalled that Ridley-Thomas wrote lavish praise of his tenure as police chief in 2002, saying in a newspaper article that Parks' "work ethic is unmatched and his competence unparalleled."

Parks criticized Ridley-Thomas' record on the City Council, saying he had left too many streets unpaved and failed to stop the spread of fast-food restaurants in the district.

Mad Professah has endorsed Mark Ridley-Thomas. If neither candidate gets 50% of the vote next Tuesday, there will be a runoff between the two top vote-getters in November.

Magic Endorses Parks For Supervisor

Earvin 'Magic' Johnson endorsed City Councilman Bernard Parks in his race for Los Angeles County Supervisor in the June 3rd Democratic primary against State Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas.

The Los Angeles Times covered the story

Parks, who has been endorsed by business interests, including the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce and the L.A. Business Federation, is in a tight race against state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles) to replace retiring 2nd District Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke. Ridley-Thomas, a former assemblyman and city councilman, is backed by the powerful public employees unions, which have raised more than $2 million on his behalf.

The endorsement of Johnson, revered as a basketball legend, has been important in past campaigns. The former NBA star has become a successful entrepreneur, building a veritable franchise empire of Starbucks coffee shops, Washington Mutual banks and Loews movie houses.

[...]

The district stretches from Culver City and Mar Vista to Watts and Compton, Lynwood and Carson. Johnson said he will appear on radio spots urging voters to elect Parks.

It looks like the establishment Black community has picked Parks over Ridley-Thomas, with Rep. Maxine Waters and former Speaker Herb Wesson endorsing him.


However, Rep. Diane Watson along with many others has endorsed Ridley-Thomas, including Mad Professah.

Parks Leads Ridley-Thomas In Money Race

The Los Angeles Times reports that Bernard Parks is leading rival Mark Ridley-Thomas in cash on hand although the State Senator actually raised more money in the latest reporting period.

Ridley-Thomas outraised Parks $316,000 to $279,000 for the reporting period March 18 to May 17. However, Parks has now raised a total of $647,000 compared to Ridley-Thomas' $526,000. And the City Councilman has over $223,000 in cash on hand compared to his opponent's $66,000.

Mad Professah has endorsed Mark Ridley-Thomas for Los Angeles County Supervisor.

LAPD Chief Endorses His Predecessor's Rival

Los Angeles Police Department chief William Bratton is endorsing State Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas instead of former LAPD Chief (and now Los Angeles City counciperson) Bernard Parks in the interesting primary race for Los Angeles County Supervisor on the June 3rd ballot. Mad Professah has also endorsed Ridley-Thomas over Parks to replace Yvonne Brathwaite Burke in the County's plurality African American 2nd district.

Bratton's choice is a curious decision by one of the city's most astute politiciams because one would think that Bratton would like nothing less than to have the main who tried and failed to get a second term as LAPD chief (something Bratton achieved last summer despite presiding over a near-riot at an immigrant's rights rally the month before) to no longer be the person responsible for approving the budget of his department, which Parks does as Chair of the Los Angeles City Council Budget Committee.

The local paper of record reported:

"I'm not here as a police chief," said Bratton, careful to comply with a city ethics law requiring employees to make clear that "they are acting as individuals" when making political endorsements. But, he said, he also was "conscious of my right as a citizen."

A spokesman for Parks said the councilman didn't back political candidates when he held the LAPD's top job.

[...]

In backing Ridley-Thomas, Bratton said voters would get a strong leader with experience as a city councilman as well as in the Legislature. The only other time Bratton endorsed a candidate was in 2005, when he backed Alex Padilla's successful race for the state Senate.

Ridley-Thomas has received the backing of most of the county's unions and the Los Angeles Police Protective League. Parks' supporters include three county supervisors -- including Burke -- and six Los Angeles City Council member, among others.

Supervisor Burke Anoints former LAPD Chief Parks Her Successor

Los Angeles County Supervisor (2nd District) Yvonne Brathwaite Burke has endorsed current Los Angeles City councilperson and former LAPD Police Chief Benard Parks over State Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas in the June 3 statewide primary election. Parks now enjoys endorsements from a majority of the 5-member Board of Supervisors, having been previously endorsed by Supervisors Gloria Molina (1st District) and Mark Antonovich (5th District).

Supervisor Burke To Endorse Parks As Her Replacement?

MadProfessah and other Los Angeles-based political bloggers have been following the race to succeed Yvonne Brathwaite Burke as Los Angeles County Supervisor in District 3, which is a "majority-minority" (primarily African American) voting district. The two main contenders are Los Angeles City Councilman Bernard Parks and State Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas. Kevin Roderick at L.A. Observed is reporting that Downtown News is saying that Burke will endorse Parks.

Parks versus Ridley-Thomas Electoral Smackdown Coming

Bernard Parks	Mark Ridley-Thomas

The electoral showdown between former LAPD Chief and current Los Angeles Councilperson Bernard Parks and former State Assemblyperson and current State Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas for the 3rd District seat on the 5-member Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors being vacated by retiring Yvonne Brathwaite Burke has political junkies licking their chops.

Ridley-Thomas has received the backing of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, while Parks has received the endorsement of 1st District County Supervisor Gloria Molina.

The five Los Angeles County Supervisors are known as "the five little kings" because each represents nearly 2 million residents and incumbents often faced only token electoral opposition and served for decades. There are now term limits of 3 four-year terms (following passage of a 2002 ballot measure) but no new member has joined the "Supes" since 1996(!)

After Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, 75, decided to retire when her current term expires in 2008 many people were expected to throw their names into the hat to replace her. Former Speaker of the Assembly and current Los Angeles City Councilperson Herb Wesson was the most prominent but decided not to run for the seat in May 2007. Other people who have demurred from running are Congressperson Maxine Waters, Congressperson Diane Watson, Councilperson Jan Perry: a who's who of black politicians in Los Angeles. The 2nd District seat is gerrymandered to have a plurality of African American voters and the 1st District is gerrymandered to have a plurality of Latino voters.