Let’s Do This…and That! — As the Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas-controlled machine has rolled out a relentless smear campaign to get his employee, elected to the School Board Tuesday at any cost, the people (read: voters) in Ridley-Thomas’s 2nd District have jumped the gun on widely discussed plans to recall their supervisor.
While several groups of active residents have been dissatisfied with Ridley-Thomas’s overall job performance and particularly with his increasing disregard for the will of the people in favor of his pursuit of creating his own personal political fiefdom, it was generally agreed that no action would be taken against him until after George McKenna — the people’s choice — was elected to the School Board. The mantra was: “First get McKenna into his seat; then get Ridley-Thomas out of his.”
Well, the last few weeks of Alex Johnson’s School Board campaign had become so vicious, so vile and so relentless that it gave credence to a disaffected Ridley-Thomas associate who declared: “There is nothing Ridley-Thomas won’t do to win!” The Johnson campaign has so angered the people that a faction of the “Recallists” jumped the gun last week and launched an early recall campaign. The group, which calls itself “The Committee to Recall 2nd District Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas,” began attaching big orange-colored posters on trees and street lights in the district, detailing some of the sins of the supervisor and urging his recall. (If they wait awhile, they can list more sins.) One of Ridley-Thomas’s minions was seen removing one of the posters. But the group put it back. It only takes the signatures of 65 voters to file a petition to recall Ridley-Thomas. That ought to be a cinch as I’ve been in meetings in which anti-Ridley-Thomas folks numbered more than that.
Anyway, let’s look at the main cause of the 2nd District’s displeasure: Alex Johnson, whose campaign literature states that he was a hot-shot prosecutor in the Bronx. There is a rumor circulating in the community that Johnson was disbarred in New York. One newspaper editor, one Los Angeles County prosecutor and one Los Angeles lawyer swear up and down that they read something that stated Johnson had been disbarred in New York. They cannot remember where they read it and they, plus a local jurist, have spent considerable time culling through the appropriate information bases looking for a reason why Johnson would give up a bustling legal career in New York to sit on the LAUSD School Board. They can’t find anything. They told me that unlike California, the New York Bar keeps actions against its lawyers private and do not release such information to the public. I asked these legal experts why Johnson would choose to be a Ridley-Thomas flunky rather than practice law, a field for which he was trained and in which he says he excelled. The judge said: “If he was disbarred in New York, he cannot take the California Bar unless he clears up whatever problem he had in New York. And you can’t practice law in California without passing the California Bar.” So, Johnson, what did you do in New York? Were you disbarred or not?
[img]2699|right|Candidate George McKenna with Nate Holden||no_popup[/img]One thing we do know, and which Ridley-Thomas/Johnson have been mum about, is their involvement in the closure of Kedren Head Start — the last black-operated Head Start program in the community. Both men were in the room when Dr. John Griffin, Kedren’s CEO and president, was ordered to give up his $20 million Head Start grant within two hours or the County agency, LACOE, would take it from him. Ridley-Thomas was in office when all the others closed, but he was joined by his “urban development/education specialist” Alex Johnson in June when Kedren closed. So, Johnson, are you an education specialist who specializes in closing down education programs? Looks like it.
Speaking of which, I heard that — pursuant to Rep. Maxine Waters’s request — the federal government is investigating the shady circumstances surrounding the closure of Kedren Head Start.
McKenna has had a great deal of support and assistance from some high profile and highly respected politicians and social activists, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Congresswomen Waters and Karen Bass, mayors, councilmembers from various cities, religious leaders, educators and others. Now comes exalted praise from retired Los Angeles City Councilman Nate Holden, who is still so highly regarded by the people that many 10th District residents think he’s still their councilman and treat him as such.
This is what the community’s political patriarch has to say about the school board race:
“I’m voting for George McKenna for the School Board District 1 seat,” he says. “Here’s the reason why: McKenna is by far the best qualified, has the most experience, has a proven track record and he’s the best educated of the two candidates. He cares for our children and will be the most helpful for them. McKenna is not a mudslinger. He’s not running a dirty campaign. He’s in this race to do a good job and educate our children. We need him now more than ever. That’s why I’m joining the majority of the board of education in supporting him.”
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