Public Corruption and Crime Demoralize Voters #421
Los Angeles, CA—On the second-half of the Full Disclosure Network® cable and Internet television program, Councilman Bernard Parks compared the recent dismal 27 percent voter turn-out in the L. A. Mayor’s race to a 67 percent turn-out in the democracy of Iraq. Parks observed that voters in Los Angeles are apparently voting with their feet, by saying they are not going to participate because government is not working for them.
The former LAPD Chief Parks who is a 40-year government veteran cited reasons for the recent voter disillusionment:
(1) $3 million slush fund scandal in the Department of Water & Power that was used to polish the image of Mayor James Hahn and for fundraisers for candidates at the council level.
(2) The politicalization of the Police Department to promote the Mayor’s policies and views and manipulation of crime statistics for political purposes.
(3) A costly LAPD Federal Consent Decree that asks police officers to create a survey form to validate that they are violating civil rights. Parks says this “makes no sense.”
(4) L. A. Airport contractors being forced to financially contribute to the Mayor’s campaign against the grass roots Secession movement under threat of loosing their contracts.
(5) And on the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Belmont Learning Center debacle, Parks said no one in private business could squander $300 million and then just wander away, without being held accountable.