UpFront Ridley-Thomas Trial to Get Underway March 7, Ecumenical Community Holds Solidarity Service

As jury selection for the trial of suspended City Councilmember

Mark Ridley-Thomas is scheduled to get underway on March 7 at 8:30am in downtown Los Angeles, the South Los Angeles Clergy for Public Accountability (SLACPA), a network of pastors and ministers in South Los Angeles churches representing over 50,000 members, organized “An Ecumenical and Interfaith Service In Solidarity supporting Mark Ridley-Thomas.”

According to organizers, the event will call on the power of each participating faith traditions’ demand for truth and justice to prevail at Councilman RidleyThomas’ trial.

Ridley-Thomas was indicted by a federal grand jury in October 2021 for alleged criminal wrongdoing during his service on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in 2017.

In September, Marilyn Flynn, former dean of the University of Southern California’s school of social work, pled guilty to a federal charge that she bribed RidleyThomas by funneling $100,000 he provided from his campaign account through USC to a nonprofit operated by his son to obtain a lucrative county contract.

Lawyers for Ridley-Thomas countered that the plea deal made a number of erroneous assumptions — “specifically where she alleges an understanding as to what Mr. Ridley-Thomas understood or thought. Mr. Ridley-Thomas is innocent of the charges levied against him. We look forward to his day in court to clear his good name.”

In December, the L.A. City Council voted to reinstate both his salary and benefits and pay Ridley-Thomas a total of $364,573 finding that the city controller did not have the authority to suspend his pay.

“Mark’s personal faith is a cornerstone of his servant leadership and South Los Angeles clergy have directly witnessed his tireless efforts to empower our beloved community,” stated Rev. Dr. Norman S. Johnson, convener of SLACPA. “He doesn’t just show up to fellowship with us around election day. From health care delivery to homelessness, constitutional policing, public transit, economic development, local hiring and the fight for a livable wage – Mark has always been about addressing the most pressing needs of his constituents.”

“We want this expression of solidarity to fortify Mark and his family and reinforce their resolve as he faces one of the most significant challenges to his 30-plus year public service life,” added Pastor Mary Minor, of Brookins-Kirkland AME .

“Mark Ridley-Thomas is one of the finest illustrations of what an elected official in a democratic society should be,” stated Dr. James Lawson, the iconic civil rights leader and Pastor Emeritus of Holman United Methodist Church without equivocation. “His trial is a trial for all of us who want racial justice and freedom.”

For Ken Walden, senior pastor of Holman UMC and service host, the impact of the case was bigger than Ridley-Thomas’ effort to exonerate himself.

“The racism articulated by then City