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Bernard Parks, Mark Ridley-Thomas, Mervyn Dymally, Rod Wright And Karen Bass: Welcome To The World Of LA's Black Politics

According to a poll released last week by San Francisco-based David Binder Research, the five-point advantage Los Angeles 8th District Councilman Bernard Parks has in name recognition over California State Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas, in their race for the 2nd District supervisorial seat, is blown away as soon as voters hear the positives and negatives of both candidates.

In a simulated campaign conducted in mid-March, the Binder firm found that among 804 likely voters, Ridley-Thomas took a strong 22-point lead over Parks once they saw the difference between the two candidates and learned something about them other than their names.

Read The Compelling Our Weekly Article On Both Candidates

According to the poll, which was commissioned by labor unions and conducted independently of the Ridley-Thomas campaign, the senator leads the councilman, 45 percent to 23 percent, and improves his position substantially among Democrats, the largest group of voters in the 2nd District.

In other developments in that race, Ridley-Thomas recently added United Teachers Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County Teachers Assn., the United Farm Workers of America, the Sierra Club, and the unanimous endorsement of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party to his list of endorsements.

In addition to getting the powerhouse endorsement of Congresswoman Maxine Waters as well as sitting supervisor Yvonne Braithwaite Burke, Parks got the endorsement of the Los Angeles County Business Federation, the new group of business owners formed to counteract the effectiveness of organized labor. Parks is far ahead in fundraising and name recognition as the former Los Angeles Chief of Police as well as being named as People Magazine's Most Beautiful People.


Meanwhile Mervyn Dymally and Rod Wright, both candidates for the 25th state Senate District race, are duking it out as well. While my Kappa brother Dymally has raised more money and currently serves as an assemblmen, Wright has secured the endorsement of the California Teachers Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.

Linda Harris-Forster, candidate for Dymally's seat and daughter of the legendary Sweet Alice of Compton, won the endorsement of the California Democratic Party at its convention last weekend, as well as the endorsement of that endorsin’ machine Sheriff Lee Baca. Deborah Sims LeBlanc, also running for the 52nd Assembly District, has been endorsed by the Peace Officers Research Assn. of California — South Bay.

And it looks like Fabian Wesson, wife of LA City Councilman and former California Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson, may be taking a stab at her husband's old seat after Karen Bass is termed out in 2010.

Bass, who will be sworn as the first African American female Speaker of the California Assembly on May 15th, currently represents the 47th District. We have much love for Fabian and we think she would pack quite a wallop in Sacramento. Who knows, Wesson could end up replacing Bass in more ways than one!

BLACK WOMAN MAKES HISTORY! KAREN BASS BECOMES SECOND FEMALE SPEAKER OF THE CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLY!

This Sistah Is One Class Act!

Second only to the governor in power and prestige in California government, Los Angeles Assemblywoman Karen Bass has secured the votes to become the next speaker of the California Assembly. Why is this a big deal? Because an African American woman is being elevated to the post for the first time in California history.

Bass, a Los Angeles Democrat representing the predominantly African American 47th District, was one of 10 Assembly Democrats who were openly competing for the speakership, a political job considered by many as second only to the governor in power and prestige in California government. Her predecessor, Herb Wesson, also served as speaker during his tenure in the assembly. The African American politico is currently serving on the Los Angeles City Council.

Bass, 54, has been a top lieutenant to the current speaker, fellow Los Angeles Democrat Fabian Núñez who has served as leader since 2004.

But Núñez will be forced from office by term limits at the end of 2008. The end of Latino LA lawmaker's reign as speaker, the longest of the term limits era, was sealed after a Feb. 5 ballot measure to extend his term in office failed.

The scramble to put together the votes to become speaker began in earnest the next day, with nearly a dozen Democrats expressing interest in the powerful post. Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, a San Francisco Democrat who vied for the speakership herself, said Wednesday evening that Bass "does have the votes."

There are 48 Democratic members of the state Assembly and Bass needs at least 25 votes to become speaker. An official vote was planned for March 11, but several Democratic members said the vote could as early as today.

The first female speaker was Doris J. Allen, who served in the assembly from 1982 t0 1995. As Speaker of that body from June 5 to September 14, 1995, she would later be recalled from office by her irate Republican constituents who recognized that she was only given power to keep longtime Democratic Speaker Willie Brown's hold on power.
As the first African American speaker in California, Brown would go on to accomplish another feat -- becoming the first Black mayor of San Francisco. Doris Allen would later die of stomach and colon cancer in 1999 at the age of 63.

Bass was first elected in 2004, but will have to leave the Assembly no later than 2010 under term limits. With former assemblymember Laura Richardson now serving in Congress, looks like the sistahs are really start to flex their political muscle. And hey, we ain't mad at them! [LA Times]