"Harris-Dawson's Fuzzy Math and Unsubstantiated Racism Claim" by Daniel Guss
Add these to the list of things ailing corrupt and, yes, racist Los Angeles City Hall
@TheGussReport - If you need any further proof that Los Angeles City Hall continues to be unprepared for its self-inflicted crises, let’s dial the clock back a few weeks to the immediate aftermath of the corruption indictment of City Councilmember Curren Price for embezzlement, perjury and conflict of interest.
In as few words as possible, this column was first to point out Price’s bizarre maneuvers as far back as February 27, 2017, so his legal predicament should come as a surprise to exactly nobody. It just took the legal system six and a half years to do something about it.
And here’s a little news flash for you: Price might have been undercharged.
More on that in due time.
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As City Council clutched its pearls deciding whether to suspend Price while he goes through the criminal justice system (the law clearly calls for his suspension), his City Council colleague Marqueece Harris-Dawson, MHD, took to the airwaves to bizarrely claim that Price is the latest Black politician to be targeted by racist prosecutors and their investigators.
On the June 22nd episode of “Inside The Issues” with Alex Cohen from Spectrum News 1, it took MHD just four minutes to demonstrate that he understands little, if anything, about the charges against Price.
“It’s not like (Price) is accused of something where you’re like ‘well that really upsets me that he might have done that,’” MHD said at the 3:47 point of the interview, sandwiched between repeatedly saying that the charges are discombobulating and confusing.
For clarity, Mr. Harris-Dawson, Curren Price is accused of monetizing his oath of office by personally profiting on the side from his official votes. He is also accused of embezzlement for obtaining benefits for his significant other, Delbra Richardson, despite knowing she was not entitled to them. And he was accused of lying about these matters.
Harris-Dawson then dismissively compared Price’s criminal charges to cutting the tags off of the mattresses we have in our homes.
News flash for MHD: It isn’t illegal for the owner of a mattress to do this, only the manufacturer. At worst, our doing this voids the warranty. What Price is accused of, on the other hand, may send him to prison.
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During the interview, after a clip was played of LA Mayor Karen Bass saying that Black politicians are held to a different standard, MHD said, “it feels like we are being hunted and scoped-out” by racist prosecutors and their investigators.
He compared Black politicians being charged with corruption to the disproportionality of the number of Black defendants in criminal drug cases, before admitting that he never looked at the data to see if that’s the case.
Harris-Dawson then bizarrely points out that there have been three other Black people elected to City Council while he has been on it, and that only one has not been indicted.
What MHD probably meant is that he has served on City Council with three other elected Black politicians, as Price and Herb Wesson were elected before him, and Mark Ridley-Thomas returned to City Council after MHD was elected, having previously served on it from 1991-2002, and that only Wesson has not been indicted.
A few inconvenient truths that Harris-Dawson glossed over…
He implies that two-thirds of the Black politicians on City Council during his time on it have been indicted, Price and Ridley-Thomas, but not Wesson. That’s 67%.
For some reason, Harris-Dawson didn’t include himself in the statistic, which drops the stat down to 50%. (Note: MHD also didn’t include Councilmember Heather Hutt, who was appointed to the role in the Ridley-Thomas aftermath, in his calculations. I have reached out after publishing to find out why.)
Also, Harris-Dawson myopically doesn’t take into consideration Jan Perry and Bernie Parks, Price’s and MHD’s City Council predecessors, respectively. Perry and Parks, both of whom are Black, each served three full-terms without a hint of corruption. If Harris-Dawson wants to raise me a Martin Ludlow, I’ll re-raise with a Rita Walters.
And so on, and so forth.
So Harris-Dawson is right, provided that you embrace fuzzy math and only see the issue through the lens of his eight years on City Council.
And for some reason, Harris-Dawson doesn’t consider the possibility that Ridley-Thomas and Price really did commit the crimes for which they were charged.
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When I reach out to a politician’s office for comment on an issue, I do so in writing to establish what I specifically want to know. Invariably, I state that I do not accept prepared statements in lieu of written questions and answers, but that I will accept one provided that the questions are answered concurrently. Responses must also be in writing so that nothing can be misinterpreted or massaged through a phone call with their media reps.
And they hate that.
When I contacted Rhonda Mitchell, MHD’s Communications Director, for examples of how it "feels like Black politicians are being targeted” by racist prosecutors and investigators, she wanted to speak instead of responding directly in writing so that “context” could be provided. I declined, preferring to wait for a written response.
That was on June 22nd.
When I checked in again on July 12th, there were still no examples.
In fact, there isn’t even a pattern of such alleged racism. Mark Ridley-Thomas was prosecuted and convicted of corruption by federal prosecutors, while Curren Price stands charged by the District Attorney.
There is already enough legitimate racism in society. The last thing we need are false allegations of it, particularly in LA City Hall, where some members of City Council irrefutably conspired to undermine Black Angelenos.
If unsubstantiated rumor is all that now-City Council president pro tem Marqueece Harris-Dawson has to offer, LA is in even worse shape than we realize.
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(Daniel Guss, MBA, is a multi-award-winning journalist. In June ‘23, he won the LA Press Club’s “Online Journalist of the Year” and “Best Activism Journalism” awards. He is City Editor for the Mayor Sam network, and has been a featured contributor for CityWatchLA, KFI AM-640, iHeartMedia, 790-KABC, Cumulus Media, KCRW 89.9 FM, KRLA 870 AM, Huffington Post, Los Angeles Daily News, Los Angeles Magazine, Movieline Magazine, Emmy Magazine, Los Angeles Business Journal, Pasadena Star-News, Los Angeles Downtown News and the Los Angeles Times in its sports, opinion, entertainment and Sunday Magazine sections among other publishers.)