Mark Ridley Thomas

The most expensive Los Angeles County race in history is about to get even costlier -- and more contentious -- during the upcoming runoff between Los Angeles City Councilman Bernard C. Parks and state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas for a rare open seat on the Board of Supervisors. The Democratic state senator from Los Angeles bested Parks 45% to 40% in Tuesday's primary, thanks in large part to an independent, $4.4-million campaign by labor unions on Ridley-Thomas' behalf.

Tuesday's county supervisorial election among Bernard C. Parks, Mark Ridley-Thomas and seven other candidates failed to end a months-long campaign that too often focused on the power of labor unions, the clout of business interests, statements from old news stories taken out of context and image over substance. Ridley-Thomas was the top vote-getter, but he came up short of the 50% plus one he needed to wrap up the race. That means there must be a Nov.

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.

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.

Re "In Bradley's shadow," Opinion, May 25 The summary of black politics in Los Angeles since the era of Tom Bradley fails to mention Rita Walters. Walters comes from the same political tradition as Tom Bradley. To neglect to mention her is to neglect to remember the first African American woman to sit on the City Council. She is another of the trailblazers for Board of Supervisors candidates Bernard C. Parks and Mark Ridley-Thomas. Teresa Riddle Los Angeles

The battle between City Councilman Bernard C. Parks and state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas to replace retiring Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke in the 2nd District in the south and central portions of Los Angeles County provides both a glimpse of where African American politics has been and where it's going in an era of increasing urban diversity.

During a day of stop-and-go campaigning for the 2nd District seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas paused for a little criticism from his campaign manager: You need to do more to toot your own horn. "You have to close the deal," said Vincent Harris after Ridley-Thomas' debate last weekend with his chief rival for the seat, L.A. City Councilman Bernard C. Parks.

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.

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.