Candidate for
Supervisor; County of Los Angeles; Supervisorial District 2

Mark Ridley-Thomas Biography

Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas is unique among officials serving at the local and state level in California. Mark began his career in politics 20-years ago on a simple premise that he has maintained with a firm promise he has kept solid through more than two decades of elected public service: Empowerment for residents and their communities.

As a newly elected Los Angeles City Councilmember, Mark founded the state's first-ever Empowerment Congress in 1991. Today, the Empowerment Congress exemplifies 20-years of grassroots effort promoting community engagement, neighborhood involvement and civic leadership education that is widely regarded as the national model for the neighborhood council movement.

The application of Mark's political and governing philosophy of neighborhood empowerment and civic engagement is clearly visible throughout is stellar career:

A Relentless Pursuit of Empowerment, Change & Progress Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas has been the driving force to restore to Greater South Los Angeles the critical life-sustaining healthcare resource that was lost due to mismanagement and high profile medical failures.

When King-Harbor Medical Center that was forced to close in August 2007 for repeatedly failing to pass medical accreditation reviews, Mark vowed, that if elected in November 2008, he would work tirelessly to create a new Martin Luther King Hospital to replace the long troubled facility.

Through leadership and collaboration, Mark is fulfilling his promise. Mark forged a public-private partnership that will enable Martin Luther King, Jr. Hospital to be revitalized, rebuilt and reopened by L.A. County under the management stewardship of a nonprofit Hospital Board of Directors, a unique oversight arrangement for a county hospital. University of California Health Services will provide staff physicians at Martin Luther King, Jr. Hospital.

The new Martin Luther King, Jr. Hospital spearheaded by Supervisor Ridley-Thomas has created hundreds of new jobs in construction and revitalization of the healthcare facility and will restore hundreds of allied health jobs missing in South Los Angeles since Fall 2007.

A Commitment to Equity, Fairness & Inclusion The Ridley-Thomas formula of empowerment and community engagement has been on full display in the areas of health, mental health, and programs serving the needs of our children.

But Ridley-Thomas' unwavering commitment to equity, fairness and inclusion can be viewed at its brightest in his efforts to transport an entire community along an 8.5-mile, $1.75 billion light rail transit line. The Metro Crenshaw/LAX Transit Project, when completed, will represent one of the largest public works projects ever undertaken to serve residents of Greater South Los Angeles, Southwest Los Angeles, Westchester and the City of Inglewood.

Supervisor Ridley-Thomas won approval of a significant Project Labor Agreement (PLA) for the Crenshaw/LAX Transit line as a member of the Metropolitan Transit Authority (Metro). The PLA will commit contractors hired to build the transit system to employ a portion of their workforce from communities in which the transit line will be built. Mark also sought construction mitigations for small business owners whose businesses will impacted by rail construction.

A Legacy of Leadership Prior to his election to the Board of Supervisors, Mark Ridley-Thomas represented the 26th District in the California State Senate. He chaired the Senate's Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development and the committee's two subcommittees on Professional Sports and Entertainment, and The Economy, Workforce Preparation and Development. Senator Ridley-Thomas served as Chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus in 2008 and led the Caucus in unprecedented levels of cooperation and collaboration with members of the Latino Legislative Caucus and Asian-Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus.

Mark Ridley-Thomas was first elected to public office in 1991. He served with distinction on the Los Angeles City Council representing South Los Angeles' 9th District for nearly 12-years. He departed as L.A. City Council President pro Tem. Mark was elected to serve two terms in the California State Assembly, where he chaired the Assembly Democratic Caucus. His legislative work addressed a broad range of issues with implications for economic and workforce development, health care, public safety, education, budget accountability, consumer protection and civic participation.

Mark is widely regarded as the foremost advocate of neighborhood participation in government decision-making. By virtue of his founding of the Empowerment Congress, arguably the region's most successful 20-year experiment in neighborhood-based civic engagement. Mark is considered the founder of the Neighborhood Council movement.

Ridley-Thomas' political career was preceded by a decade of service as executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) of Greater Los Angeles. Prior to his work for SCLC, Mark was a highly regarded high school teacher for five-years.

Mark Ridley-Thomas earned his doctorate in Social Ethics and Policy Analysis from the University of Southern California. He earned his master's degree in Religious Studies and his bachelor's degree in Social Relations from Immaculate Heart College. Mark graduated from Los Angeles' Manual Arts High School.

Supervisor Ridley-Thomas is married to Avis Ridley-Thomas, former director of the Dispute Resolution Center in the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office. The Ridley-Thomas' are proud parents of twin sons, Sebastian and Sinclair Ridley-Thomas, both of whom are Morehouse College graduates.