Driving hard to present his opponent for County Supervisor unfit for office, state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Culver City) charged today that Bernard Parks has been claiming a $7,000 annual property tax exemption on the home he owns in an unincorporated area – even though he doesn’t live there, as required by state tax laws.
The senator’s campaign produced a series of annual property tax statements they said proves their assertion.
According to the campaign:
Mr. Parks, a Los Angeles City Councilman, is registered to vote at 4132 Don Ibarra Pl., in the city of Los Angeles. State law allows individuals to register to vote only where they live. This address is in the 8th Council District, which he represents.
According to the produced documents, Mr. Parks claims his $7,000 annual property tax exemption at 5561 Onacrest Dr., in unincorporated County territory. Ironically, Mr. Parks is claiming a homeowners’ exemption for a principal residence outside the city he was elected to represent.
“Bernard Parks has an obligation to pay back taxes and penalties for the years in which he claimed a homeowner’s exemption on his Onacrest property despite not living there,” the senator said.
Tracing History
The Ridley-Thomas campaign said that Mr. Parks has not been registered to vote at this address since May of ‘02, when he registered to vote in the city of Los Angeles.
That was the year, the Ridley-Thomas campaign pointed out last month, citing the Registrar of Voters records, that Mr. Parks changed his membership from the American Independent Party to the Democratic Party while getting ready to run for Council.
Sen. Ridley-Thomas said that Mr. Parks owes his constituents an explanation:
“Why didn’t he pay his fair share of property taxes that fund essential services such as law enforcement, public safety, K-12 education, community colleges, state colleges and universities, highway maintenance, and health care for uninsured children?”
The senator challenged whether Mr. Parks “really does live in the City Council district he was elected to represent.”
A spokesperson for Sen. Ridley-Thomas said the state Constitution “provides a $7,000 reduction in the taxable value for a qualifying owner-occupied home. The home must have been the principal place of residence of the owner on the lien date, Jan. 1. To claim the exemption, the homeowner must make a timely filing of a simple form with the county assessor. A partial 80 percent exemption may be granted for homeowners who file a late affidavit and claim for exemption with the assessor between Feb. 16 and Dec. 10.”