His presence was unobtrusive but significant.
[img]133|left|Mark Ridely Thomas ||no_popup[/img] State Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas was the only person on the property who came close to resembling a County Supervisor at last Thursday night’s Culver Crest neighborhood informational meeting on expanded oil drilling. The meeting, that attracted more than 100 persons, pitted worried residents against Los Angeles County officials, on the feared expansion of nearby oil drilling, scheduled to resume in a few weeks.
The air will fill again with the sounds and perhaps smells of drilling as soon as the present County Board of Supervisors sifts through recommendations from County planners and environment experts on what safeguards to approve when Plains, Exploration & Production, PXP, sets out to drill nearly as many wells in the next 20 years as have been drilled in the last 84.
For pure public relations value alone, Sen. Ridley-Thomas’s presence — dapper, faultlessly attired — on the perimeter of the living room — was a blue-ribbon gesture.
On a night when some of the guests in the meeting sought a glimpse of their County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, they were disappointed she was absent. Even though she will be retiring in the late autumn after 16 years on the Board of Sups, many residents are banking on Ms. Brathwaite Burke’s accumulated wisdom and pride in her legacy to steer sharply tightened oil drilling regulations past her colleagues, in what residents hope will be a strong gclampdown on PXP.
Sen. Ridley-Thomas is running for Ms. Brathwaite Burke’s seat, and he is favored to capture it. After handily defeating L.A. City Councilman Bernard Parks 6 weeks ago in the primary — falling short of the 50 percent plus 1 threshold — Sen. Ridley-Thomas is running almost as hard as if this were late October instead of mid-summer when fewer people presumably are watching.
One for Three
Of 3 possibilities, only the senator was in the room. Mr. Parks, like Ms. Brathwaite Burke, was m issing but sent a deputy.
Sen. Ridley-Thomas, after handily winning last month’s primary election —for the retiring Ms. Brathwaite Burke’s seat — over L.A. City Councilman Bernard Parks, is favored to win the runoff election in November.
Given that he alone was at the meeting, and that Ms. Brathwaite Burke who is supporting his opponent, skipped the meeting, the senator said, “Being here is what responsible representation is about. I am here to fundamentally support the constructive engagement on the part of the residents here and beyond,” the senator said in his precise, measured manner of speaking. “I have an obligation, as a state senator who represents this area, to further ferret out the issues of concern on behalf of my constituents. I will do that.
“Regular references have been made to the Air Quality Management District, for example. We have to find out if the AQMD is fully engaged, to the extent it can and should be.
“As I said, I am here to support my constituents, to make sure the quality of life they have come to enjoy is sustained. If there is no resistance to encroachment, entities such as PXP, just as an example, will take whatever latitude they think they can get away with. I know that to be the case. And that is the reason for the safeguards that government represents.”
The uncommonly environmentally sensitive city of Santa Barbara successfully fought a lengthy battle against what it considered encroachment by an oil company, and Sen. Ridley-Thomas said, “ There is no reason such standards should not be applied in this context. The question is, how do we maximize the appropriate protections that should be accorded the communities that surround this project. My point is, nothing gets done unless you have engagement such as this.
Alertness Is Crucial
“There is nothing better in the democratic process than an informed citizenry acting in its best interests.
What is more fundamental than the quality of life of a community? That is, essentially, what this meeting is. These residents are raising their hands in objection to encroachment and in objection to the devaluing of their properties. They are objecting to the very potential, to the threat, of diminishing their quality of life.
I think they are fully justified in so doing. Not just the aesthetics, not just the property values, but the rather substantial quality of life issue as it relates to the health of residents. Reference was made to toxins, to carcinogens, implications of diesel and more. All of these are hugely important issues. To the extent that is the case, I am here to learn more about them.”
Having defeated Mr. Parks in the Culver City section of the vote last month, Sen. Ridley-Thomas is maintaining a decided presence in this community during the runup to November.
Earlier Thursday evening, he made an appearance at opening night of the Summer Music Festival at City Hall.
