Parks Tells Backers He Wants a 2nd Term

Los Angeles Police Chief Bernard C. Parks has told a group of supporters that he will seek a second term, a decision that prompted a cadre of influential business leaders to mobilize a lobbying effort to persuade Mayor James K. Hahn to back his reappointment next year.

During a private meeting Dec. 10 at the California Club, an exclusive downtown establishment, Parks informed about 15 close friends and civic leaders that he will announce Feb. 1 that he wants to serve another five-year term, according to participants in the meeting.

The chief also expressed his frustration at the volley of criticism hurled at him by the police union, which has accused him of being an arbitrary and punitive manager.

After Parks announced his intentions, those assembled for the late-afternoon gathering held a strategy session to devise ways to persuade Hahn that he should keep the chief. Los Angeles limits police chiefs to two terms.

In an interview Thursday, Parks said he attended the meeting at the invitation of some supporters, but would not confirm whether he told them he wants another term. He said the discussions were confidential.

One of the main goals of the group, according to participants, is to demonstrate to the mayor and other city leaders that denying the black police chief a second term would rile not only the African American community but the city’s business leadership, as well.

“That is very important,” said Tom McKernan, president of the Automobile Club of Southern California and a Parks friend who attended the meeting. “I don’t think this comes down to--and it shouldn’t come down to--race. I think he has a very broad base of support, and I think that needs be shown.”

McKernan arrived at the meeting late and did not hear Parks’ announcement that he would seek a second term. But others familiar with the meeting confirmed the chief’s decision.

Among those attending were SBC Pacific Bell executive Chuck Smith; Carol Schatz, president of the Central City Assn.; City Hall lobbyist Maureen Kindel; former Police Commissioner Edith Perez; Fleishman-Hillard executive Doug Dowie; Urban League President John Mack; and Parks’ wife, Bobbie.

Ken Lombard, commissioner of the Department of Water and Power and a business partner of former basketball star Magic Johnson, listened in by telephone and pledged Johnson’s support, according to other participants.

Political Test Awaits Hahn

Parks’ apparent decision and the efforts of some business heavyweights to organize a campaign on his behalf end months of speculation about whether the chief would attempt to keep his job in the face of widespread dissatisfaction among the rank and file and lingering concern about the Rampart corruption scandal.

And it opens up one of the most anticipated moments in Hahn’s young administration, one that will test the new mayor’s ability to finesse a tricky political situation.

Hahn’s choice about whether to back Parks puts him in a tug of war with two key constituencies: African Americans, who remain staunchly loyal to Parks; and the police union, which has loudly criticized him.

Mitzi Grasso, president of the Police Protective League, has repeatedly said the department needs new leadership. In an interview Thursday, she said the union will not support Parks’ reappointment.

“We need someone who is going to embrace a broad-based reinvention of the LAPD,” Grasso said.

A strong push for Parks from business leaders--many of whom endorsed Hahn--would add to the building pressure on the mayor.

Deputy Mayor Matt Middlebrook said Thursday that Hahn has not been informed of Parks’ decision and has not received any calls from business leaders lobbying on his behalf.

Parks must tell the five-member Police Commission by Feb. 13 if he wants another term, and then the Hahn-appointed commission has three months to support or oppose his reappointment. The City Council can veto the commission’s decision with a two-thirds majority.

If Hahn’s handpicked commissioners do not make a decision, the mayor can decide the chief’s fate.

Middlebrook said Hahn will consult with the commission and make a decision about the chief’s reappointment early next year.

“The mayor has had discussions with the chief and has stated publicly that he will make this decision based upon implementation of the [federal] consent decree, improving public safety and improving morale and recruitment with the department,” Middlebrook said.

During the mayoral campaign, Hahn was the only candidate who was noncommittal about whether he would keep Parks in the job. He has remained publicly neutral on the chief since his election.

However, he has prodded the department to make several changes that the chief opposes, including a new flexible work schedule for police officers and a civilian disciplinary review panel. On Thursday, Hahn’s office released a statement saying the two police divisions that have implemented the flexible work schedule have had better coverage and response time in the last month than they had when they were on more traditional shifts.

The mayor, who is on vacation, could not be reached for comment Thursday.

But a source familiar with his thinking said Hahn has reservations about Parks’ leadership, stemming from the chief’s reluctance to implement the new work schedule, his resistance to changing the discipline system and sagging morale in the department.

Parks said Thursday that he has made the changes the mayor requested, but added that he considers it his job to give the mayor his blunt views on policy decisions.

“I hope we never end up with a chief of police who doesn’t have an opinion,” he said.

Last week’s meeting of Parks’ supporters was organized by Smith, president of network operations at SBC Pacific Bell and a childhood friend of Parks. Several other Pacific Bell employees attended the meeting.

Smith did not return calls for comment. Jennifer Langan, a spokeswoman for SBC Pacific Bell, confirmed that he held the meeting but said he was acting as a private citizen, not on behalf of the company.

‘Labor-Management Dispute’ Blamed

Parks told the guests at the meeting that he believes a “labor-management dispute” between him and the police union is coloring the assessment of his leadership.

“There’s a tendency in public to listen to the union campaign,” Parks said Thursday. “I said [to those at the meeting] very clearly, I think it’s a bad situation.”

The chief said it would be inappropriate for him to campaign for his job because it is not an elected office. But he said he was grateful for the support of those who attended the meeting. He said he would not dissuade them from pushing his cause.

“If people have a strong belief about something, they have a right to express their point of view,” the chief said.

After Parks addressed the group, he and his wife left, and Smith led those assembled in brainstorming ways to lobby for the chief, both publicly and privately. Several people volunteered to call the mayor.

“Most of [the meeting] had to do with how could we, as leading citizens and supporters of the chief, convince the mayor that the best thing to do would be to reappoint the chief,” said a person in attendance who did not want to be named. “There was no understanding of what the mayor was going to do, but there was anticipation that the chief was going to need some help.”

Some participants said they are worried that Middlebrook and Tim McOsker, Hahn’s chief of staff, might lead a charge against Parks because they hold a grudge against the chief after wrangling with him over the negotiation of the federal consent decree. Hahn was city attorney when those talks took place.

Middlebrook denied Wednesday that he and McOsker have encouraged the mayor to dump Parks.

The group of supporters also discussed how to broadcast their support of Parks. McKernan said many business leaders believe that Parks has done a good job of lowering crime and toughening discipline, and they are concerned that a new chief would disrupt those efforts.

“My belief is he has a very, very high level of integrity and he is very committed to the LAPD and is very committed to the officers on the street,” said McKernan, who is on the board of the Los Angeles Police Foundation, a charity Parks founded to raise money for the department. “But I don’t ever hear enough people speak up about it.”