Are You Ready?

There are less than 7 days left until this election season is over. I think I speak for most of you when I say I'm tired of all the ads and robocalls and want it all to end soon. But while we're in the home stretch, little suprises keep popping up.

A campaign mailer got into the hands of this blogger yesterday. It was shoved in a friend's mailbox, which is against United States Postal Service rules. A minor detail.

This mailer for Gardena Councilmember tells me that "The Choice is Clear. Only One Candidate is Ready." Then it blasts all his opponents with "Not Ready" stamped across their accomplishments that don't measure up to Shannon Lawrence's, apparently stellar qualifications.
Steve Bradford, incumbent City Councilman, is quoted, "For years we have invested in Gardena Youth...now one of our best and brightest is ready to serve." So I'm thinking, is the Youth serving us with insults? Where are your manners, Shannon?

Then there is mention of Shannon understanding the power of coalition building. Why, of course. Coalition building. But look closely and you'll find an interesting tale that unravels to find layer after layer of political wheeler-dealers and ties to a union that is getting less than favorable news lately. Bradford and the Ridley-Thomas camp have set him up with some primo endorsements and campaign contributions with major ties to the SIEU--the largest union in the state of California. In an August 2008 Los Angeles Times article, it was reported that "A congressional committee has opened an inquiry into a financial scandal enveloping the Service Employees International Union's biggest California local because of six-figure payments made to firms owned by relatives of its president."

Another recent article in the LA Times in October 2008 states, "For every $1 raised by Ridley-Thomas, those unions have raised nearly $9 for a separate campaign on his behalf, according to fundraising reports."

I've heard of helping to open doors but this "best and brightest" doesn't look like he even put his hand on the doorknob to open it. Bradford and Ridley-Thomas helped open the doors and the unions have forked over the money. Less than a handful of Lawrence's endorsements come from Gardena residents. Who is this Youth serving? The SIEU? The United Food and Commercial Workers? I thought this campaign was for serving the City of Gardena's residents.

So Gardena, are you ready?

FORT (Friends of Ridley-Thomas)

Look closely, Gardena voters. Gardena City Council candidate, Shannon Lawrence, is endorsed heavily by unions, including the SIEU, and Ridley-Thomas, mentioned in this article. He is also backed by incumbents Steven Bradford and Rachel Johnson.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY ELECTION
Unions' campaign fund for Ridley-Thomas raises fears about special interests
'Independent expenditures' outside the candidates' control could play an increasing role in city and county elections, some officials believe.
By David Zahniser October 26, 2008


Three years ago, campaign finance experts watched with alarm as one-fifth of the money raised on behalf of Los Angeles mayoral candidate Antonio Villaraigosa came from "independent expenditures," special interests with no limits on how much they could collect and spend.The numbers were even more jaw-dropping for Villaraigosa's opponent, then-Mayor James K. Hahn. Although he lost his bid for a second term, Hahn saw one-third of his financial backing, or $2 million, come from such groups.

But those amounts look tame compared to the $8.5 million amassed so far this year by an array of labor unions seeking to elect state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas to the county Board of Supervisors on Nov. 4. For every $1 raised by Ridley-Thomas, those unions have raised nearly $9 for a separate campaign on his behalf, according to fundraising reports.The change has not gone unnoticed by other city and county politicians, who fear the supervisorial election will establish a new precedent, inspiring real estate developers, billboard companies, employee unions and other special interests to pursue a similar strategy in future campaigns."It's out-and-out buying an election," said Supervisor Gloria Molina, who has endorsed Ridley-Thomas' opponent, City Council member Bernard Parks.

"If the special interests see this as being successful, there's no telling how far it will go, and it will be much easier for candidates to submit to special interests instead of going out, working hard and raising [their own] money," she said.Molina predicted that she would be the next target of a union independent expenditure campaign when she comes up for reelection in 2010.

Meanwhile, one veteran Los Angeles lobbyist marveled at the sheer size of the union campaign, calling it "off-the-charts extraordinary.""Other than governor, I don't know that there are statewide candidates that spend that much," said lobbyist Steve Afriat.Ridley-Thomas said Parks and his supporters are simply upset that they failed to secure the backing of the county's powerful Federation of Labor, known for its ability to win elections. And he defended the current campaign arrangement, saying he is following all laws that apply to outside campaign groups."It's appropriate. It's fair. It's legal," he said.

"And the only reason they're criticizing it is because they don't have this level of support."The Alliance for a Stronger Community, a union coalition, has raised the vast majority of independent expenditures for Ridley-Thomas, whose own campaign must adhere to the city's rules limiting donations to no more than $1,000 per contributor per election cycle.

In return for having the ability to raise unlimited amounts, independent committees are legally prohibited from coordinating with the candidates they support.Independent expenditures came into being in the mid-1970s, after Congress passed a law placing a $1,000 limit on campaign contributions.

In 1976, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the limits on individuals and groups spending independently on behalf of candidates, saying they violated donors' constitutionally protected right to free speech.The first significant independent expenditures appeared in 1980, when the National Conservative Political Action Committee and the Fund for a Conservative Majority spent more than $10 million on behalf of President Reagan.

Five years later, the Supreme Court ruled again, saying that any effort to limit spending by such groups would violate the 1st Amendment.In Los Angeles, such groups began to play a significant role in 2001, when term limits created 10 competitive city government races.At the top of the ticket, labor threw its weight behind Villaraigosa, and Indian gaming interests financed some of the nastiest attacks of the campaign on behalf of Hahn.

Two years later, independent expenditure groups contributed $1 for every $1 raised by the City Council campaign of Martin Ludlow, a union activist. Ludlow won the seat but left in 2005 to run the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. While serving in that role, he was convicted on charges that he illegally took union contributions while running for council that exceeded the spending limits. In most city races, independent expenditures essentially ran a secondary campaign, one that represented a fraction of the efforts by a candidate.

This year's county contest reverses that equation, with independent expenditures dominating the race and Ridley-Thomas' campaign looking like a bit player.


So far this year, the labor coalition has used its largesse to hire researchers, send campaign mailers, erect campaign signs, purchase full-page newspaper ads, reserve radio advertising time and develop 30-second television spots in English and Spanish for Ridley-Thomas, none of which can be coordinated by the candidate.The overwhelming effort means that Ridley-Thomas has been able to avoid some of the expenses that candidates typically face.

For example, many who run for office in South Los Angeles, including Parks, place at least a few advertisements in the Los Angeles Sentinel, the region's most prominent black-owned newspaper.

Last spring, two union groups bought at least 11 full-page ads promoting Ridley-Thomas as part of their independent expenditure. Ridley-Thomas did not purchase any.

Service Employees International Union Local 721, the biggest donor to the union initiative, called a news conference Friday at which Ridley-Thomas was expected to discuss county hospital funding. Only union officials attended, not Ridley-Thomas.

"Mark doesn't even have to show up," Parks said. "Mark could take a vacation and the [union] campaign would keep running."

Ridley-Thomas, in turn, accused Parks of "bashing" unions. And he pointed out that he has not faulted Parks for benefiting from three other independent expenditure committees, which are primarily backed by real estate interests.

Those groups raised nearly $450,000 during the period ending Oct. 18, according to campaign reports.With such a financial mismatch, Parks has spent much of his time calling donors, $1,000 at a time.

Even if he increased those efforts, the county election law bars him from spending more than $1.4 million in the runoff, a fraction of the union effort.Parks warned that if Ridley-Thomas is elected, the county Federation of Labor would use the same strategy to install two more pliant county supervisors by 2012.Arnella Sims, a board member with SEIU Local 721, said she could not predict whether her union would wage another massive campaign.

But Afriat, the lobbyist, said warnings about a tidal wave of independent expenditures strike him as overblown.

"The unions don't have to do that at City Hall because they already control what happens there," he said.

"And I think the business community, which said they would step up for Parks, is demonstrating that they are not capable of doing it the way the unions are doing it.

"Labor unions do not have a monopoly on huge independent expenditures.

In this year's June legislative primary, state Senate candidate Rod Wright benefited from at least $990,000 spent on his behalf by the Alliance for California's Tomorrow, a business group bankrolled by healthcare companies, casinos and other entities.

That independent expenditure group hired campaign consultants, secured billboard space and placed ads for Wright in newspapers stretching from Inglewood to Long Beach.Wright's own campaign organization spent just $330,000.Officials with the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission fear the huge money spent in the supervisorial race will lead to louder demands from elected officials that the city roll back its fundraising limits on individual candidates.

The only thing that could stem the tide of independent expenditures -- frequently called I.E.s by political professionals -- is a successful lawsuit before the high court, said Bob Stern, president of the Center for Government Studies, a Los Angeles group that tracks campaign finance laws.

"Until it reaches a point where the court says it's gone too far and is corrupting the system -- and I think it does -- there will be unlimited I.E.s," he said.Zahniser is a Times staff writer.

david.zahniser@latimes.com

Jean-Paul Renaud contributed to this report.

City Official Arrested

This is an oldie but worth posting for our archives.

By Daniel Hernandez
October 14, 2002 in print edition B-3

A Gardena city councilman is facing possible assault charges for allegedly hitting a Hawthorne police officer with his car at the scene of a traffic accident in a busy South Bay intersection.
Gardena City Councilman Steven C. Bradford was released Saturday after posting $50,000 bail for his arrest that morning.

Bradford had no comment when reached by phone Sunday. But his attorney, Winston K. McKesson, said the councilman was only trying to help out at the crash scene and blamed officers for any miscommunication.

According to police, the councilman disobeyed traffic officers’ orders to stop as he drove away from a gas station near the scene of a two-car collision at El Segundo and Crenshaw boulevards, an intersection that divides Hawthorne and Gardena.

When Bradford’s car inched forward in a stop-and-go movement, Officer Vince Arias signaled for him to stop, police said. Instead, Bradford yelled through his closed windows as he moved forward, eventually hitting Arias in his left leg and knocking him down, Hawthorne police Lt. John Beerling said.

Beerling said Bradford then “got out of the car and became verbally uncooperative and semi-combative.”

Arias tried to place Bradford in handcuffs, but he resisted, police said. When another officer approached Bradford and threatened to use pepper spray on him, he complied, police said.
Arias did not require medical attention.

Bradford was taken to the Hawthorne police station, where he was booked on suspicion of felony assault with a deadly weapon on an officer and resisting arrest.

“All he was trying to do was tender service,” McKesson said.

The accident involved a car that had rear-ended another, sparking a fire on one of the vehicles. Police said no serious injuries were reported.

Bradford, a spokesman for Southern California Edison, has served on the Gardena City Council for five years. He was first elected to the council in 1997, making him the city’s first black elected council member.

http://articles.latimes.com/2002/oct/14/local/me-gardena14

Mirror, Mirror

Well Gardena, in less than a few weeks the councilmember position vacated by Medrano will be filled. Who will it be? The four running mates have appeared at forums in Hollypark and at the Nakaoka Center. Fliers have been circulated. But to quote the great Yogi Berra, it's deja vu all over again. It concerns this blogger that the ex-Mayor othewise known as Don Dear, who brought us quasi-bankruptcy is again pimping a candidate who has already flipped on an important issue--redevelopment. Was Dan Medina pandering to the Hollypark residents when he said that redevelopment was what we needed? In North Gardena, the folks there have often complained, and rightly so, that the Rosecrans Corridor is blighted, and there are no good stores and restaurants. Was he just telling them what they wanted to hear? Was anyone paying attention at the Nakaoka Center when this candidate told us that that he was against redevelopment? Is that what folks on this end of town wanted to hear?

The ex-Mayor, thankfully whose following has declined, also brought us the councilmember who vacated the position suddenly when he was imprisoned and indicted on charges that, well, we won't get into here. I suppose this proves that old politicians never die--their legacies live on.