Mark Ridley-Thomas takes oath of office, vows change

3:02 PM | December 1, 2008

Former state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas was sworn in this afternoon as Los Angeles County’s newest supervisor, replacing Yvonne B. Burke, who retired this month after representing the 2nd District in southwest Los Angeles County for 16 years.

"This is a significant and very gratifying time in my life," Ridley-Thomas said. The ceremony, which lasted nearly two hours, was held in the supervisors' hearing room at the county building and included a color guard from Ridley-Thomas’s alma mater, Manual Arts High School, several choral performances and speeches by members of Ridley-Thomas’ transition team, including USC President Stephen B. Sample and Maria Elena Durazo, executive secretary–treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.

Ridley-Thomas was welcomed by Supervisor Don Knabe, the board’s incoming chairman, who said the five supervisors will have to band together to cope with tough economic times ahead.

“The stakes are just too high here in the county to not have shared goals and a common purpose,” Knabe said. “I know one shared goal we have, and that is to reopen Martin Luther King Hospital.”

The standing room only crowd of about 400 broke into applause at the first mention of the 2nd District’s beleaguered hospital. Ridley-Thomas has said he hopes to reopen the hospital by January 2010, and plans to detail his approach at an appearance Tuesday morning outside the hospital.

The reopening of the hospital has been difficult for the incumbent board, and Ridley-Thomas seemed conscious of the difficult negotiations over finances and labor arrangements that are ahead. "No single member of the County Board of Supervisors will be able to reopen Martin Luther King Hospital on their own," Ridley-Thomas said.

In the effort, he has the support of not only labor leaders who campaigned for him, but business owners in the 2nd District, said Cynthia McClain-Hill, president of the National Assn. of Women Business Owners.

“Reopening Martin Luther King Hospital will not be possible without the involvement of the private sector,” McClain-Hill said during her remarks this afternoon, calling Ridley-Thomas an “inspired leader” who can forge alliances between business and labor leaders, including Durazo, who shared the stage with McClain-Hill this afternoon. Durazo said Ridley-Thomas will be a voice for working people on the board. “With President Obama in the White House and Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas in our house, we will stop Wal-Mart from sending jobs overseas and Wall Street from keeping us underwater,” Durazo said.

California Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, who lives in the 2nd District, appeared via video conference from Sacramento to congratulate Ridley-Thomas.

“I have a long list of things that I want to work with you on,” Bass said, mentioning foster care, probation and Los Angeles County schools. “I am very excited for the two of us to get to work.” "This is a great period of change," Ridley-Thomas said. "There is much more history to be made."

--Molly Hennessy-Fiske and Garrett Therolf