State Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas’s campaign for the County Board of Supervisors charged yesterday that with six days left until the election, rival Bernard Parks is almost $340,000 in debt.
A spokesman said that the Los Angeles City Councilman, who is a sitting member of the Metropolitan Transit Authority board, “is tapping MTA contractors” to make up the deficit of $338,423.63.
“How can we trust Parks to manage a multi-billion dollar County budget when he can’t keep his campaign solvent without breaking the law?” the spokesman said. “Bernard Parks’ campaign continues to be buried in debt, and he has seized on yet another opportunity to prove that he thinks he is above the law.”
Relying on “official Parks’ campaign reports,” Sen. Ridley-Thomas (D-Culver City) said his opponent has raised “at least $52,300” from companies that contract with the MTA and the Exp Metro Line Construction Authority.”
According to the Senator, Mr. Parks has also been given credit in the amount of $111,000 from another MTA contractor, California Litho Art, the printing company owned by his close friend Helen Mars. Mr. Parks’ use of the MTA as his campaign’s ATM machine “flies in the face of the laws banning MTA board members from raising funds from contractors.”
“Why does Parks keep going back to the ‘MTA Money Machine’ for cash?” asked the Ridley-Thomas representative. “ Because his campaign figures he can bully contractors for contributions. But Parks’ ethical lapses have not gone unnoticed by the community he is supposed to represent. The Citizens’ Campaign to Fix the Expo Rail Line exposed Parks’ behavior – and demanded his resignation from the MTA Board and the Los Angeles City Council. (See www.FixExpo.org)
“What does Parks’ fiscal mismanagement of his campaign say about his management abilities?” the sppokesman added. “ Clearly, if he can’t manage his campaign budget, he cannot be trusted to manage the multi-billion dollar L.A. County budget.”
For a copy of Mr. Parks’ campaign report, seehttp://efs.lacounty.gov/public_rpt_sf.cfm?doc_id=1136&city=la
