Rod Wright

The race to succeed Marguerite Archie-Hudson in South-Central Los Angeles' 48th Assembly District traipsed along for weeks as a rather genteel affair, with none of the candidates speaking ill of their rivals as Tuesday's primary election approached. But no race involving Sacramento political operative Richie Ross could remain that way for long, political insiders say. Ross, campaign consultant for Democratic candidate Bob Campbell, practically basks in descriptions of himself as an attack dog.

When former Assemblyman Roderick "Rod" Wright talks about his upcoming election bout against Assemblyman Mervyn M. Dymally (D-Compton), he sometimes refers to a classic 1980 boxing match -- the one in which a younger Larry Holmes defeated legendary champion Muhammad Ali. "If you're Larry Holmes, you don't feel good about that fight," Wright said. "I would love to be in the [state] Senate being confirmed along with Mervyn Dymally, but that's not going to happen."

Political consultant Rod Wright has dropped out of the race for the 50th Assembly District seat of the late Curtis R. Tucker. He endorsed Tucker's son, Curtis R. Tucker Jr., in the Feb. 7 election. A longtime campaign consultant, Wright said Wednesday that the short campaign period and the backing of powerful Democrats make Tucker unbeatable. "I'm not interested in being a spoiler," said Wright, who had never run for office before.

This week begins the real test for an outnumbered band of Los Angeles legislators trying to protect their poor constituents from the worst ravages of the great social revolution of the 1990s--welfare reform. The tide of history is against them and their impoverished urban constituency. The population changes of the last two decades have shifted political control of the Legislature to the suburbs.

When former Assemblyman Roderick "Rod" Wright talks about his upcoming election bout against Assemblyman Mervyn M. Dymally (D-Compton), he sometimes refers to a classic 1980 boxing match -- the one in which a younger Larry Holmes defeated legendary champion Muhammad Ali. "If you're Larry Holmes, you don't feel good about that fight," Wright said. "I would love to be in the [state] Senate being confirmed along with Mervyn Dymally, but that's not going to happen."

This week begins the real test for an outnumbered band of Los Angeles legislators trying to protect their poor constituents from the worst ravages of the great social revolution of the 1990s--welfare reform. The tide of history is against them and their impoverished urban constituency. The population changes of the last two decades have shifted political control of the Legislature to the suburbs.

The Pittsburgh Pirates will make one final effort to re-sign Barry Bonds before general manager Larry Doughty begins entertaining serious trade offers for the All-Star outfielder. Rod Wright, Bonds' agent, and Doughty discussed contract generalities over the phone and will meet this weekend at baseball's winter meetings in Miami. Bonds has one season left on his Pirate contract, after which he can declare free agency.

Barry Bonds agreed to a one-year, $4.7-million contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday and left open the question of whether the outfielder will file for free agency after the season. Bonds, who lost in salary arbitration the last two years, got the most lucrative one-year contract in baseball history, topping the $4.5-million Cecil Fielder got from the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday.

The Crenshaw Cluster, a coalition of community groups focused on improving the quality of life in the Crenshaw district, is hosting a meeting 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Department of Water and Power, 4030 S. Crenshaw Blvd. Titled "Crenshaw 2010," the meeting will review current economic, cultural and political trends in the Crenshaw area.

The state Fair Political Practices Commission accused a Los Angeles taxi company Thursday of laundering $17,000 in campaign contributions to nine Los Angeles City Council candidates in 1990 and 1991. A 35-count accusation filed by the FPPC alleges that Bell Cab Co. made the contributions through employees and others without disclosing that the money came from the company.

The race to succeed Marguerite Archie-Hudson in South-Central Los Angeles' 48th Assembly District traipsed along for weeks as a rather genteel affair, with none of the candidates speaking ill of their rivals as Tuesday's primary election approached. But no race involving Sacramento political operative Richie Ross could remain that way for long, political insiders say. Ross, campaign consultant for Democratic candidate Bob Campbell, practically basks in descriptions of himself as an attack dog.

Political consultant Rod Wright has dropped out of the race for the 50th Assembly District seat of the late Curtis R. Tucker. He endorsed Tucker's son, Curtis R. Tucker Jr., in the Feb. 7 election. A longtime campaign consultant, Wright said Wednesday that the short campaign period and the backing of powerful Democrats make Tucker unbeatable. "I'm not interested in being a spoiler," said Wright, who had never run for office before.

Democratic Party members in the 48th Assembly District have elected 12 new representatives and officers in hopes of boosting community participation in local and state politics. The representatives will gather local input on issues and make policy recommendations to the State Central Committee of the Democratic Party.

Officials at Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science announced this week that former California Lt. Governor and U.S. Congressman Mervyn M. Dymally will lead a new health institute at the school that aims to improve healthcare in poor communities. The new Urban Health Institute is a policy and research center that will focus on childhood obesity, diabetes, mental illness and "other persistent health problems that plague poor and underserved communities," according to the university.