INSIDE INGLEWOOD-In the last two weeks, a curious pattern appears to have emerged: Black-owned newspapers appear to have taken steps to omit LA County’s District 2 supervisor, Mark Ridley-Thomas, from being mentioned in relation to the special election for Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) District 1 race.
The election is the result of the former board member, Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte, having passed away on December 5, 2013.
There are two top candidates vying for the position: George McKenna and Alex Johnson.
Nearly every Black-owned newspaper is pushing for McKenna. Nevertheless, there is a curious omission of stories in the same newspapers regarding Johnson’s apparently primary backer, Ridley-Thomas.
In the LA Sentinel, which is owned by a developer named Danny Bakewell, Sr., Johnson was taken to task in a remarkable statement that failed to mention the name of his backer. A July 24 story titled “George McKenna Campaign Under Attack” stated “His powerful boss/political sponsor, has cut deals with billionaires and special interests to raise a boatload of money to flood the district with mailers and doorknockers that seek to trash the reputation that McKenna spent decades building by honorably serving our community.”
It is believed that Bakewell (see photo) has a cozy relationship with Ridley-Thomas, the latter of whom is a key person in Los Angeles County Transportation Authority’s (LACTMA) work in South Los Angeles where Bakewell’s paper is distributed. LACMTA, better known as Metro, has a formal relationship with the Sentinel regarding the Crenshaw Line. A station is being built at Crenshaw and 50th Street–just a few blocks from the Sentinel’s office on Crenshaw Boulevard.
Bakewell’s relationship with Metro was mentioned in a prior CityWatch story titled “‘We’re On Church Property, You Can’t Say That’: Did CLC Co-Chair Violate Brown Act?”
According to the Web site PlanItMetro published by Washington, D.C.’s Metro, “New buildings right near Metrorail stations are 23-30% more valuable than buildings farther away, showing that our funding partners can generate significant property tax revenues from Metro.”
The Sentinel claims to be “the largest Subscriber paid African American owned newspaper on the West Coast with a readership of 150,000.”
The Wave recently failed to publish a long-running column by columnist Betty Pleasant who has covered South LA events for 50 years. The column … not published ... spoke out vehemently against Ridley-Thomas’ significant financial support of Johnson.
The column was nevertheless circulated among blogs and e-mail blasts and was published by CityWatch. One of the key statements appeared to be that “…nuclear war was declared this week when residents of LAUSD’s District 1 received two sets of campaign mailings in support of the election of Alex Johnson, King Mark Ridley-Thomas’ chosen minion, to the district’s seat on the Board of Education.”
The end of the column claimed that “[t]he other supporters named are obvious, as Burke’s support of Johnson is quid pro quo for King Mark’s support of her daughter for the Assembly, and Wesson’s support may have something to do with the rumors that Wesson has been anointed to replace King Mark on the Board of Supervisors when he terms out.”
The Wave claims to be “the largest group of community newspapers in Los Angeles” and that it has a readership of “1.2 million people.”
An exception to the apparent pattern was observed in LA Focus, a heavily religious newspaper apparently owned by Central Faithful Baptist Church and published out of the church’s offices. In a July 24 cover story titled “‘Top Two’ Primary Contenders Prepare to Face Off in Upcoming Elections,” it was stated in the opening paragraph that “Mark Ridley-Thomas’ senior education policy advisor [is] Alex Johnson.” Of the three run-off elections and six candidates mentioned, only Johnson’s was mentioned in the manner suggested above.
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Moreover, a story that appeared was designed in an advertorial style appeared on the same spread as the “Contenders” story. None of the other five candidates are featured in a similar fashion.
LA Focus is published out of a church that was accused of covering up an alleged scandal concerning its youth ministers having repeated sex with children. A book published by the wife of one of the youth ministers, Ingrid Michelle, is titled “Life After the Low Down” and details the events and subsequent cover-up. The church owns significant parcels of property adjacent to the Metro Crenshaw Line’s forthcoming Florence/La Brea Station in Inglewood.
(Randall Fleming is a veteran journalist and magazine publisher. He has worked at and for the New York Post, the Brooklyn Spectator and the Los Feliz Ledger. He is currently editor-in-chief at the Morningside Park Chronicle, a weekly newspaper based in Inglewood, CA and on-line at www.MorningsideParkChronicle.com. Mr. Fleming’s views are his own and do not reflect the views of CityWatch.) Photo credit: Randall Fleming
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 12 Issue 61
Pub: Jul 29, 2014