County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas today marked the second anniversary of taking the oath of office. He looked back at major accomplishments and ahead to his strategy for the coming year.
Since taking office on Dec. 1, 2008, Mr. Ridley-Thomas has spearheaded a number of projects in the Second District and throughout the County. In partnership with community leaders, elected officials, and with the continued guidance of his transition team, Supervisor Ridley-Thomas has:
• Secured nearly $4 billion in County funds for major capital projects throughout the Second District;
• Reached major milestones in opening a new Martin Luther King Jr. Medical Center, a $400 million investment that will bring high quality patient care to the district. The new 38-acre site will include space for an emergency department, inpatient pharmacy, operating rooms and 120 patient beds. Mr. Ridley-Thomas broke ground on the campus’s $20 million South Health Center in September, and he is working with the U.C. Board of Regents, the newly appointed Board of Directors, and community stakeholders to open an Inpatient Tower and a Multi-Service Ambulatory Care Center for outpatient services beginning in 2013;
• Won approval of local worker hiring policies for both the new MLK Medical Center and Expo Line Phase II construction projects. The unprecedented policies will ensure that 30 percent of total construction hours are performed by workers living within five miles of the project areas and that 10 percent of hours worked are reserved for workers living in zip codes with unemployment rates of at least 150 percent of the County average, which is 12.6 percent. Mr. Ridley-Thomas is working to secure approval of Project Labor Agreements for both projects that will ensure the effective enactment of the Local Worker Hiring policies;
• Called on the U.S. Justice Dept. to end abuse and mismanagement at the L.A. County Probation Dept.’s juvenile detention camps, which house 2,000 mainly Black and Latino incarcerated youth;
• Worked with environmental leaders to win a ban on single-use plastic bags in the County’s unincorporated areas, making Los Angeles the nation’s largest municipality to take such bold action to protect our environment;
• Called for an overhaul of the Dept. of Children and Family Services’ data collection and sharing methods, to more effectively track — and ultimately prevent — deaths of children in DCFS custody caused by abuse and neglect;
• Brought five Freedom Schools to the District last summer, using the groundbreaking model created by the Children’s Defense Fund’s Marian Wright Edelman;
• Kicked off exploratory drilling on the $1.7 billion Crenshaw/LAX light rail project, the largest public works investment in South Los Angeles history;
• Reopened his Florence-Firestone district office with a comprehensive Constituent Services Center, which includes a senior center, fitness area, community space and Los Angeles County Registrar Recorder services;
•Hosted public forums to discuss young offender re-entry issues, federal funding for transportation projects, and the community’s vision for the new MLK Medical Center.
A list of the top 100 accomplishments of the Supervisor’s second year in office can be found on his website, at http://ridley-thomas.lacounty.gov/.
Jamarah Harris may be contacted at jharris@bos.lacounty.gov
