Bolstered by support from a wide range of city leaders, former Los Angeles Police Chief Bernard C. Parks collected nearly $157,000 in his bid to represent parts of South Los Angeles on the City Council, according to campaign finance statements released Wednesday.
Parks--who stepped down as police chief several months ago after the Police Commission denied him a second five-year term--received $500 donations from attorney Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., businessman Eli Broad, activist Danny Bakewell and Councilman Nate Holden. Parks also received the maximum individual contribution of $500 from Police Commissioner David S. Cunningham III, the only commissioner to vote in favor of a second term for Parks, according to statements.
Parks was among 30 City Council candidates required to file campaign finance statements for the first six months of 2002 with the ethics commission. The statements had to be postmarked by midnight Wednesday.
Parks, who announced his candidacy in late May, raised the most money in the shortest amount of time. He brought in $127,541 in donations--most of it during a one-week period in late June. He also lent his campaign $25,000, and received about $3,700 in non-monetary contributions.
Among his rivals in the race to succeed Mark Ridley-Thomas in the 8th Council District, Karen Bass reported raising $79,800 and Assemblyman Rod Wright (D-Los Angeles) raised $33,570.
In all, voters next year will decide seven of the council's 15 seats in a nonpartisan March primary and the May 20 general election.
Four seats are occupied by council members who cannot run again because of term limits.
Two seats are held by Wendy Greuel and Tom LaBonge, who were elected in the last year to finish partial terms and now are seeking full four-year terms. No challengers to Greuel and LaBonge had filed finance reports by Wednesday afternoon.
The assemblyman who lost to Greuel last spring, Tony Cardenas, is running for a northeast Valley council seat being vacated by Ruth Galanter. Cardenas' finance forms were unavailable Wednesday.
The remaining race features incumbent Nick Pacheco, who is seeking a second term in the 14th Council District, which includes parts of Eagle Rock, Mt. Washington and Boyle Heights. Pacheco raised $237,538 during the first six months of 2002. Challenger Alvin Parra, who works for Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina, raised nearly $101,700.
