Launching his County Board of Supervisors’ autumn campaign, state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Culver City) on Saturday called on the Inspector General of the Metropolitan Transit Authority to launch an immediate investigation into campaign fundraising activities of his rival, MTA Board member and 8th District L.A City Councilmember Bernard Park.
Reportedly, Mr. Parks has received at least $21,000 in contributions for his campaign in the past 10 months from MTA contractors and their relatives while voting on MTA projects where they have an interest.
In a letter to Karen Gorman, MTA Acting Inspector General, Sen. Ridley-Thomas cited the charge and measured it across the last four years.
He further wrote: “Parks is in violation of California Senate Bill 89, signed into law in 1997, which prohibits any Board Member from accepting, soliciting or directing any contributions of over $10 in value or amount from a company seeking a contract with the Authority or which has contracted with the Authority in the preceding four years. We call on your office to take immediate action, as Mr. Parks is using these contributions to further his current campaign.”
Last Friday, Sen. Ridley-Thomas announced he had called for Mr. Parks’ immediate resignation from the MTA Board. At Saturday afternoon’s rally at his campaign headquarters, the senator reiterated his call.
In contrast to Mr. Parks’ alleged acceptance of unlawful contributions from special interests tied to the MTA, Sen. Ridley-Thomas noted that he had authored a freeway gridlock-reducing bill awaiting Gov. Schwarzenegger’s signature that will provide the MTA with more than $210 million in federal transit funds to create new commuter “FastLanes” on Interstates 10 and 110 to ease congestion.
“While I've been working with Mayor Villaraigosa and a broad coalition to reduce traffic and bring more than $200 million in federal grants to the MTA, Bernard Parks is treating the MTA like an ATM machine, collecting tens of thousands of dollars from companies and individuals doing business with the agency,” the senator said. “That's why I've called for Bernard Parks to step down from the MTA and return the money. He's got it backwards. It's M-T-A, not A-T-M,” Sen. Ridley-Thomas said.
Three Sides of Advice
“I have three things to say to Mr. Parks on his unlawful MTA contractor campaign contributions: (1) ‘Give back the money,’ (2) ‘Return it now,’ and (3) ‘Step down from the MTA Board… immediately.’”
According to public financial disclosure documents, Mr. Parks has received at least $21,000 from MTA contractors.
A coalition of neighborhood organizations and community groups has demanded that Mr. Parks return the MTA contractor contributions.
The Citizens’ Campaign to Fix the Expo Rail Line called for a state and county investigation into Mr. Parks’ MTA contractor fundraising activities. To date, Mr. Parks has refused to return any of the contributions he received.
The Meat of the Law
California Senate Bill 89, signed into law in 1997, established the following rules (among others) regarding prohibitions on MTA contractor political contributions to voting MTA Board members (and alternates):
“Any firm, its owners and employees, or members of their immediate families who seek a contract from the authority is prohibited from giving any contribution of over $10 in value or amount.
“Any Board member would be prohibited from accepting, soliciting or directing any contribution of over $10 in value or amount from a company seeking a contract with the authority or which has contracted with the authority in the preceding four years.
“Any Board member who has accepted a contribution of over $10 from a contractor or his agent may not make or participate in a decision on a contract.
L.A. County’s Second District includes the cities of Culver City, Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, Carson, Lynwood, Compton and portions of Los Angeles and unincorporated sections of south and southwest Los Angeles County.
Sen.Ridley-Thomas is chair of the eight-member California Legislative Black Caucus. He chairs the Senate Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development, Senate Subcommittee on Economy, Workforce Preparation and Development and Senate Subcommittee on Professional Sports and Entertainment.
His Background
He is a member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations and Senate Committee on Health. He serves on the 14-member Joint Legislative Audit Committee of the state Senate and Assembly.
He is a member of the Mental Health Services Act Oversight and Accountability Commission and serves on the state’s Prop. 63 Mental Health Commission. As a member of the state Assembly, he chaired the Select Committee on the Los Angeles County Health Care Crisis.
Sen. Ridley-Thomas represents more than 800,000 residents in Los Angeles and Culver City including Baldwin Hills, Baldwin Vista, Beverlywood, Carthay Circle, Century City, the Crenshaw District, Culver City, Hancock Park, Hollywood, Hyde Park, Jefferson Park, Ladera Heights, Lafayette Square, Larchmont, Leimert Park, Los Feliz, Miracle Mile, South Central Los Angeles, View Park, West Los Angeles and Windsor Hills, among others.
He has represented South and Southwest Los Angeles for 16-years as a three-term elected member of the Los Angeles City Council (8th District), the State Assembly (48th District) and the State Senate (26th District).