Bernard Parks officially wins City Council District 8 election



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Bernard Parks officially won a third term on the Los Angeles City Council today after the City Clerk’s Office released a final tally giving him 51.21 percent of the vote in the March 8 election.
 
Parks received 9,482 votes, while his closest challenger, Forescee Hogan-Rowles got 8,058 votes, or 43.52 percent, according to the clerk’s figures.

Parks did not wait to declare victory—he announced that he had won on election night after unofficial results gave him 50.89 percent of the vote. Hogan-Rowles, however, did not concede,
saying the number of provisional and vote-by-mail ballots meant that Parks might not have the 50 percent of the vote needed to avoid a runoff.
 
In a campaign update sent via email, Hogan-Rowles said, “I’m proud of our campaign and the coalition we built together with workers and neighborhood leaders. We came just a few votes away from forcing Bernard Parks into a runoff—even though he used to be one of the most popular leaders in the City.”

She continued, “Our campaign sends an important message to elected leaders like Bernard Parks, who ignore their constituents and the workers who keep our city working: no matter how popular you think you are you can’t take the people for granted.”
 
Photo by Sarah Golden

Read more on this topic:
Hogan-Rowles advocates a run-off election
Bernard Parks celebrates election in Leimert Park
City Council candidates discuss the issues in South LA

Hogan-Rowles advocates a run-off election



imageWhile incumbent Bernard Parks celebrated his supposed victory early Wednesday morning, opponent Forescee Hogan-Rowles said emphatically, “It’s not over.”

Parks garnered 50.89 percent of the vote to Hogan-Rowles’s 43.99 percent. But with 1,800 to 3,000 ballots yet to be counted in Los Angeles City Council District 8, Hogan-Rowles still believes in the possibility of a run-off election.

“While the results of the election are inconclusive as of tonight, I’m proud that we’ve got Bernard Parks on the ropes,” said Hogan-Rowles in a statement Wednesday. “And he’s desperately swinging and missing.

“Given the trends we saw as the results came in tonight, we are in a position to force a runoff.”

Parks’ press secretary Dennis Gleason told Neon Tommy that while the Parks respects Hogan-Rowles’ desire to see all the votes counted, the results of the election will most likely stay the same.

“Based on our number-crunching last night, she would have to get somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 percent of the remaining ballots,” Gleason said.

Hogan-Rowles expects the final ballot count will come out late Wednesday.

Stay tuned for updates on Intersections South LA.

Intersections South LA was at election parties across South Los Angeles as the drama unfolded Tuesday night. Watch our slideshows and videos from the events:

Hogan-Rowles supporters remain hopeful

Bernard Parks celebrates election in Leimert Park

Herb Wesson takes early lead in District 10 election

Marguerite LaMotte takes steady lead in school board election

Hogan-Rowles supporters remain hopeful



In the hours following the March 8 election, supporters of candidate Forescee Hogan-Rowles gathered at her campaign headquarters on Crenshaw Boulevard.

The mood in the air was hopeful–confident even–as the supporters chanted “Yes, We Can” and “Tonight’s going to be a good night.”

Intersections South LA was there, talking to supporters and chronicling the affair through photographs.

Hogan-Rowles and LaMotte greeted by crowds of supporters



Candidate Forescee Hogan-Rowles focuses on job creation



This story is a part of our series of interviews with the candidates for Los Angeles City Council Districts 8 and 10.

Listen to an audio story by Annenberg Radio News:

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Forescee Hogan-Rowles is running for the second time.

“I lost that race to Bernard Parks and I determined then that if the district wasn’t doing better in eight years, I would run again,” Hogan-Rowles said.

If elected, Hogan-Rowles says she intends to bring jobs into the community through redevelopment.

“There’s a number of things that have gone unattended under the leadership or lack of leadership of Bernard parks,” Hogan-Rowles said. “The first thing I want to work on is new job creation because we have the highest unemployment and that’s coupled with expanding local business and expanding new local business development within our district. Our corridors don’t have enough businesses operating in them and so if you have new business, then that will create new jobs.”

Hogan-Rowles served as commissioner for the Department of Water and Power, as well as commissioner for the California Commission for Economic Development. In both positions, she said, she focused on how to create jobs, and “impact new industries and support existing industries.”

Hogan-Rowles is one of incumbent Bernard Parks’ competitors. But Hogan-Rowles says what distinguishes the two of them is their relationship with the community.

“I actually like to attend meetings and enter into dialogue and hear the responses of and requests of people so we can work through and build consensus,” Hogan-Rowles said. “So when we do make a decision, everybody knows what it is. The people united will never be defeated, so we will win on March 8.”

Listen to more interviews with city council candidates.