Political Scorecard for Urban Races
We are a week out from the June 3rd election. LA County is still seeking poll workers, who can make up to $175 for the day. The Urban communities have many qualified candidates to choose from for LAUSD and the 62nd & 64th Assembly races, along with selecting our governor, state superintendent of education and attorney general. Lets take a look at what Asalinotes has put together.
62nd District
This scorecard was spot on but not really! Although Mike Stevens is from Inglewood, the concern is upstart newspaper, The Morningside Park Chronicle (MPC), campaigned heavily on Mike’s behalf during his reelection and he lost. Simona Farrise has been spotted at several MPC related events and has ironically received the endorsement of the MPC? In January, MPC wrote favorably about Gloria Gray, calling her “neighbor” then came along Simo-mo and her war chest and the rest is history. Simona is a well-known trial attorney for fighting asbestos claims against employers. She previously ran for the American Association of Justice, which she lost. We hear the Inglewood Unified School District has buildings full of asbestos and with Simona being a mesothelioma expert attorney, she can definitely get some work there. Hopefully Paul Kouri will run for his local school board and help usher in the dire changes that are so desperately needed. Regular readers are familiar with my disdain for Gloria D. Gray. She has a plethora of experience, however, that didn’t translate into money to support her efforts. It was interesting to see the Los Angeles Newsgroup aka Daily Breeze endorse her, when they failed to endorse her a few years ago, when she ran for this same seat. Her supporters argue she has “community” support but NOT one elected official from the City of Inglewood is endorsing her. Autumn Burke has been beat up this campaign season over allegations of her allegiance to oil and the many PAC’s that are supporting her. She has raised significant money and has labor support in addition to the family name. She also has the endorsements of TWO current supervisors, Mark Ridley-Thomas and Don Knabe. 2UrbanGirls sees Autumn Burke and Simona Farrise headed to the primary.
64th District Now this scorecard is a doozy. You have an all male slate with candidates ranging from inexperienced to a seasoned politician. Prophet Walker brings enthusiasm and eye candy to the table. Although inexperienced, he is well versed on the issues, which we saw firsthand during an online candidates debate with Starlett Quarles. It appears he has picked up some key endorsements, with Compton Mayor Aja Brown endorsing him today. We expect good things to come. If this doesn’t work out, we would love to see him run for the 15th District in Watts. Having come from the area he would be ideal now that his name is out. He may have to face Justin Brimmer, but we welcome the next generation stepping up. Compton native and twice elected Compton School Board Trustee, Micah Ali, has drawn concern in he failed to get the endorsements from the teachers unions and the mayor of his hometown. Although he has raised significant amount of money, to not secure the endorsement of your teachers and mayor… what does that imply? The teachers unions ended up supporting Mike Gipson. Gipson is a seasoned elected in the City of Carson and his campaign website boasts that the majority of the 64th District voters come from his city. During the online debate with Starlett Quarles, Gipson can be heard saying “…he will not sellout to oil and he can’t be bought…” Well…he has A LOT of explaining to do with his ABSTAINING on voting to maintain the fracking moratorium, which is effecting the mostly black residents in his district. Long Beach councilman Steve Neal is picking up steam. PIcking up key labor support and the endorsement of the Los Angeles Newsgroup aka Daily Breeze is HUGE. 2UrbanGirls sees Mike Gipson and Steve Neal heading into the primary but definitely keep an eye out on Prophet Walker! The endorsement from Mark Ridley-Thomas is still up for grabs in this one.
LAUSD District 1 This race is a literal “who’s who” in terms of name recognition. Reality star, turned ordained minister, Omarosa Manigault, started the campaign full of enthusiasm, spreading her message of why she is running for school board. Manigault is supported by the National Action Network (NAN) headed by Al Sharpton, Rev. Tullos and Najee Ali. A recent online poll found on political analyst Jasmyne Cannick‘s website shows NAN has little to no name recognition in the South Los Angeles community, although the members named above do. Confusing right? A review of her website shows she is still passing the collection plate, but the message has dissipated. There are a handful of teachers running, one a former City of Gardena councilmember (no carpet baggers allowed) which leads us to the top three candidates- Genethia Hudley-Hayes, Alex Johnson and George McKenna. Genethia Hudley-Hayes is a former one-term LAUSD board member, who sat in this very seat she is running for again. Due to issues with decisions she made during this term, she has lost crucial union support and subsequent endorsement. Alex Johnson is backed by LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, and due to the “colorful” nature of this blog, he has refused all interview requests. He did oblige us on twitter Memorial Day to discuss items on his website. He answered questions surrounding Head Start and Freedom Schools and declined to state his specific involvement in securing funds for LAUSD via LACOE and First 5LA. Johnson has raked in the dough and endorsements and is a former LAUSD student himself, having attended LACES. Working under the supervisor puts him on ground zero of issues facing residents in the 2nd District but is that enough? Which leads us to the most recognized candidate, George McKenna. This author knows many former students of McKenna, who attended Washington Prep during his tenure. One of his former students is the current principal at Dorsey High School. With his history of innovation in education, his story was made into a television movie. Between the first hand accounts from former students, staff and faculty, they wholeheartedly support his campaign and encourage others to do so. As a veteran in not only education, but also working within LAUSD, George McKenna has the experience and heart one would need to go up against the current board. 2UrbanGirls sees George McKenna as the obvious choice but will most likely end up in a runoff with Alex Johnson.
Long Beach Mayoral Race
This race is getting NASTY! First, the most recognized name of all, Bonnie Lowenthal, got booted right out of the primary. It didn’t help that her campaign mailers featured the San Diego skyline impostering Long Beach (thats a big no-no). Which leaves us with Damon Dunn and Robert Garcia. This blog discovered that Garcia still hold financial interests in the Long Beach Post while Dunn has put over $700k, of his OWN money, into this race. How much will the upcoming mayoral race in Inglewood cost? Garcia and Dunn both have roots as Republicans and have spent a good amount of time attacking each other but will not attack issues facing the city, such as the blatant discrimination by Long Beach Police department and their stopping blacks at a higher rate than any other race in the city. 2UrbanGirls sees Damon Dunn as the next mayor of the LBC.
LA County Sheriff
Although Bob Olmstead has made a name for himself as being a whistleblower, to have anyone elected attached to the Sheriff’s department is not ideal. Jim McDonnell, current Long Beach Police Chief, touts his “endorsement” by the Los Angeles Sentinel, however, the author Danny Bakewell Jr., failed to ask critical questions surrounding the issues facing blacks in Long Beach. There are multiple former LBPD police officers litigating against LBPD for discrimination, whereas one trial scheduled to start last month, was pushed back to July. Coincidence? 2UrbanGirls supports Lou Vince, a Los Angeles Police detective, who will bring much-needed reform to the department.
Don’t forget to vote June 3rd.
