Bernard Parks

Two committees of the Los Angeles City Council recommended Monday that the city stop hiring police officers starting next month and wait until January to see if the budget picture has improved enough to resume recruitment. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will veto the proposal if the full council approves it next week, officials in the mayor's office said. The Budget and Finance and Public Safety committees agreed to discontinue a new recruit class in November as part of the effort to eliminate a $405-million budget shortfall.

Nearly 400 people jammed a West Adams church hall Saturday to watch a rare event in local politics: a debate featuring three candidates for an unusual vacancy on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Healthcare, education and jobs took center stage as candidates for the 2nd District seat promised to fill the gap left by the closing of King-Harbor Medical Center, reduce school dropout rates and bolster job creation and training. Los Angeles City Councilman Bernard C. Parks, a former L.A.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke, who nearly two years ago announced she would retire from one of the region's most powerful elected positions, endorsed Los Angeles City Councilman Bernard C. Parks on Thursday in the hotly contested race to succeed her. The veteran politician's endorsement of Parks, whom she called "dedicated and thorough," comes as the former Los Angeles police chief competes with state Sen.

When it came time to make his endorsement in the hot race to succeed Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke, Sheriff Lee Baca didn't pick just one candidate to fill the 2nd District seat. He picked two. His selection of both state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles) and Los Angeles City Councilman Bernard C. Parks -- widely considered the two leading contenders -- was not a matter of hedging his bet in the June 3 race, a Baca spokesman said.

Two veteran public officials -- Bernard C. Parks and Mark Ridley-Thomas -- accused each other of catering to powerful special interests in their contest to capture a rare open seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, during a charged debate Thursday night. The exchange, which was sponsored by the Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters, underscored differences that could alter the dynamics of county government for years to come.

Using a political tool that sidesteps campaign financing limits, Los Angeles labor unions have raised an unprecedented $2.5 million to elect state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas to the county Board of Supervisors. Before voters head to the polls in June, union officials say they will add an additional $1.5 million to the "independent expenditure committee" pot.

City Councilman Bernard C. Parks and state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas criticized each other's record on issues including police misconduct, development and Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Medical Center on Saturday, during one in a series of debates in their race to win a seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. While answering a question about gangs, Ridley-Thomas intimated that Parks did not fully address the Rampart police corruption scandal while serving as Los Angeles police chief.

At a Mardi Gras-style opening of his campaign headquarters, City Councilman Bernard C. Parks received a candid assessment of his entrance into the race for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. "I saw Barack Obama dance on the television, and that boy can dance," joked Los Angeles City Councilman Herb J. Wesson Jr., a Parks supporter. "I just saw Bernie Parks dance and, Bernie, you got a little work to do."

With days to go before Tuesday's election, the hot contest for the 2nd District seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is sending volleys of attack brochures to voters' mailboxes. Both main contenders in the nine-candidate field are experienced leaders. State Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles) served on the L.A. City Council before being elected to the Legislature, and Councilman Bernard C. Parks was previously chief of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Candidates for a rare open seat on the county Board of Supervisors visited black churches large and small Sunday, hoping to grab last-minute support before Tuesday's vote in one of the most vigorously contested election campaigns in decades. State Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles) and Councilman Bernard C.