In response to what has been labeled a “threat letter” from County Supervisor candidate Bernard Parks, a South Los Angeles community mobilizer and experienced campaign operative has asked the second-term Los Angeles City Councilman to step down not only from his Council seat, but also his positions with the MTA and Expo Line Construction Authority boards or face recall.
A deadline of 5 p.m. Monday was established by Damien Goodmon for “disgraceful, unethical, illegal actions and abuses of power.”
Mr. Goodmon is known as a stickler for detail.
A three-page letter with nine pages of attachments was sent via certified mail, email and hand delivery by Mr. Goodmon, the co-chair of a neighborhood council in Mr. Parks’ district.
He also is the coordinator of the Fix the Expo Rail Line Campaign. Fix Expo is an MTA watchdog group and collaborative effort among 18 South L.A. community groups and the
neighborhood councils fighting for improved safety, equity, and additional investment on the currently under construction MTA Expo Light Rail Line.
Mr. Goodmon reported that he received an initial “threat letter,”dated Sept. 26, from the personal office of Mr. Parks. The young activist said the letter threatened
libel and slander lawsuits if Mr. Goodmon didn’t stop publicly mentioning the $21,800 of donations to the “Parks for Supervisor” campaign from
verified MTA/Expo Line contractors and immediate family members in $300, $500 and $1,000 amounts. In a press release issued by Fix Expo on May 20,
Mr. Goodmon said the candidate “put MTA in the mirror and saw ATM.” He asked for investigations of Mr. Parks for violating an MTA ethics law
that caps donations from MTA contractors at $10.
The activist reported that the Parks’ letter, delivered a week after news broke of his attempt to evict one of the most influential non-profits in South L.A., S.C.O.P.E.,
from its Florence Avenue business home, is “the latest in a series of attacks on community leaders who dare to commit themselves to bettering the 8th District and
South L.A. region to compensate for [Mr. Parks’] failed leadership.” He went on to say the acts were part of an alleged “personal vendetta” analogous to the
infamous enemies list from the days of the Nixon administration.
Mr. Goodmon quoted the activist Carol Tucker, who participated in an earlier FBI investigation of MTA contractors, as saying, “Parks has not only broken the law and
sold out his constituents for MTA, he’s threatened all of the influential community leaders who have the networks and
background to successfully organize against him. A recall has been a water cooler discussion in the community so far. Parks is attacking the people who can
turn it into reality. Damien is a tireless organizer who has led major national campaigns. At 21 years old, he was running the national youth network for a
frontrunner in the 2004 Democratic presidential primary. He is a specialist in starting aggressive campaigns from scratch, overnight, and he’s relentless in
shedding light on political wrongdoing.”
In his charges, Mr. Goodmon cited a state law that holds:
“(2) Neither the owner, an employee, or any member of their immediate families, of any construction company, engineering firm, consultant, legal firm, or
any company, vendor, or business entity seeking a contract with the authority shall make a contribution of over ten dollars ($10) in value or amount to a
member, alternate member, or employee of the authority, or to any member of their immediate families.
“(3) No member, alternate member, or employee of the authority, or member of their immediate families, shall accept, solicit, or direct a
contribution of over ten dollars ($10) in value or amount from any construction company, engineering firm, consultant, legal firm, or any
company, vendor, or business entity seeking a contract with the authority.”
On the FixExpo.org website, Mr. Goodmon provides links to the County Registrar-Clerk’s webpage for Mr. Parks’ campaign donors records and
direct links to MTA’s own website, which identifies the contributors as MTA contractors. Mr. Goomon said that Hope Bullock III, who gave the Parks for Supervisor
campaign a $300 donation on March 5, 2008, is featured in an Expo Authority full-page ad placed in a black newspaper. Underneath Mr. Bullock’s picture, he
is identified as an Expo Line sub-contractor.
In his response letter, Mr. Goodmon addressed Mr. Parks: “One would think a former Police Chief would understand how an action may not violate one section of
the law, but would violate another section of the law. A criminal who robs a bank may not be guilty of murder, but the act is no less illegal. Perhaps my
supposition that, given your tenure as the Chief of Police, you would understand this difference is predicated on my unfounded assumption that
incompetence was not one of the primary reasons former Mayor Jimmy Hahn fired you. It is disappointing and revealing that you have not apologized for taking
and/or soliciting the dirty money, let alone offered to return the donations. Instead, you have the audacity to threaten those who have highlighted this illegal
act by calling for investigations. That may have been how you ran things at Rampart, Sir, but the good people of the 8th District will not permit our
business to be conducted in such a manner.
See http://www.expocommunities.com/dg/threat_letter.pdf for a copy of the letter from Mr. Parks to Mr. Goodmon.