Elected Official Mark Ridley-Thomas Pays $25k To Be In “Who’s Who In Black Los Angeles”

Los Angeles County official Mark Ridley-Thomas pays $25,000 to be listed in "Who's Who in Black Los Angeles" with taxpayer funds.

I came across an interesting article on the blog Corruption Chronicles. It seems that Los Angeles County  Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas would rather spend $25,000 of scarce taxpayer funds in his county to secure a spot in a friend’s publication about notable black leaders -- “Who’s Who in Black Los Angeles.” His actions are reckless, considering the unemployment rates in California and his county are in double digits.

Promoted as a “tremendous tool for both networking and educating,” the 344-page publication costs $34.95 and features more than 400 members of southern California’s influential and affluent African American community, referred to as “some of the most tremendous assets the City of Angels has to offer.”

A former Los Angeles City Councilman, Ridley-Thomas said he bought space in the book to tell the history of the African American experience in Los Angeles. Many in the area’s African American community don’t know that there are black people in leadership positions in the county of about 10 million, the supervisor laughably asserts in a local news report.

The money to promote Ridley-Thomas’s version of the African American experience went to a longtime friend (Anthony Samad) who did time for fraud and has donated money to the supervisor's political campaigns. Ridley-Thomas also gave his good buddy a $25,000 city “consulting contract” while he was an L.A. City Councilman for expertise “not otherwise available.” Corruption Chronicles

It should also be noted that this isn't the first time Ridley-Thomas has been reckless with taxpayer funds. A few months ago, he came under fire for his proposal to spend $707,000 on renovations for his county office. If he wants to be in the "Who's Who in Black Los Angeles" directory, or any other for that matter, it should be funded with his money. The reality is he needs to reimburse the county for this ridiculous expense.