Final city election tallies give Bernard Parks a third term
Los Angeles City Councilman Bernard C. Parks won 51.21% of the vote in the March 8 election, narrowly avoiding a runoff with his main challenger, Forescee Hogan-Rowles, according to final vote tallies released early Friday.
Public employee unions spent at least $1.2 million to defeat Parks, who has called for layoffs and furloughs as councilman for the 8th District and has argued that city employee pensions are too generous.
After a bitterly fought race, Parks won his third council term with 9,482 votes, according to the final results. Hogan-Rowles finished second with 43.52% of the total (8,058 votes). A third candidate, Jabari Jumaane, won 5.27% (975).
The final citywide election tallies included 42,000 provisional and vote-by-mail ballots counted in recent weeks. The contest between Parks and Hogan-Rowles was the only City Council race with prelimary results close enough to potentially turn on the absentees.
Election night returns showed Parks with 50.89% (7,934 votes), followed by Hogan-Rowles with 43.99% (6,858) and Jumaane with 5.11% (797).
Parks, a former Los Angeles police chief, declared victory after unofficial returns showed he had won more than the 50% of the vote required to avoid a runoff.
But Hogan-Rowles, who heads a nonprofit in South Los Angeles, did not concede, saying she would wait until the outstanding provisional and absentee ballots are counted to decide what to do next.
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-- Kate Linthicum
Photo: Bernard Parks. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times
EDITOR'S PICKS:
LET'S SEE....SHE'LL SUE! Mark, dont call me rodney allen ripley, Ridley will get the union cronies to finance the lawsuit, and they will do their best to overturn our democratic process, because, eventhough the people have spoken, these two boneheads believe the people are wrong and only THEY have the ability to right all social ills...just ask them, ...don't ask to see their results, because results are immaterial to this discussion...they have ideas....sure these ideas get them richer, while the problems of this district continue..but they have ideas....
Posted by: sammy culture | March 25, 2011 at 04:47 AM
Hard earned union dues wasted by the thug leaders wanting to get more control of city money.
Posted by: THINK123 | March 25, 2011 at 05:46 AM
The unions wasted a fortune. They just don't realize or want to admit, the public opinion has turned. Like the union auto workers whose wages and benefits destroyed an industry, the greed of public employee unions, coupled with their total disconnect from those paying the salaries will transform public employment in this state and the country. Pigs got fed but these hogs are headed to slaughter.
Posted by: James Andrews | March 25, 2011 at 06:56 AM
This is a great win for the Crenshaw District. Councilman Parks has done so much to revitalize the area bringing new business and attracting young professionals to move to the area.Los Angeles should have elected him Mayor. I am anxious to see the new developments in the district.
Posted by: Brent D. Page | March 25, 2011 at 07:33 AM
Doesn't Parks receive a generous city pension for his LAPD career? Another hypocritical politician.
Posted by: Just Ed | March 25, 2011 at 08:15 AM
But wait, Forescee Hogan-Rowles hasn't given up yet. She is going to call for a recount. The voters goofed and didn't get her in.
Posted by: S.S. Sam Taylor | March 25, 2011 at 01:02 PM