The Antelope Valley Times

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Lancaster politics: Pot calls the kettle black

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(L to R) Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris; Lancaster City Council candidate Johnathon Ervin; Lancaster Councilmember Marvin Crist; and Lancaster Councilmember Ron Smith.
(L to R) Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris; Lancaster City Council candidate Johnathon Ervin; Lancaster Councilmember Marvin Crist; and Lancaster Councilmember Ron Smith.

By Lancaster resident Nax Stuart

The pot calling the kettle black would best describe the vitriol that comes out of the mouth of Lancaster’s Mayor R. Rex Parris. His latest berating of a political contender for Lancaster City Council, Johnathon Ervin, is nothing short of Parris’ racist grandstanding telling Lancaster’s constituents through a ‘hit mailer’ that Ervin is an anti-police gangster.

Now The Associated Press takes issue and ‘blasts’ Parris for this racist attack on Mr. Ervin, this gives Parris a platform to apologize, only to further the resentment he has  for his former commissioner, Mr. Ervin of what was supposed to be a ‘perceived slight’. In Parris’ manipulative retort, he knows one can always ask feign forgiveness for lack of permission.

Having personally met Jonathon, his wife and daughters, nothing Parris says can be further from the truth, but is at best a feeble attempt by Parris to impugn Jonathon’s character.

Jonathon, who is a standup guy, an Air Force veteran, currently a civilian aerospace engineer, who is endorsed by Mayor Ledford, does not have the political divisiveness as the self-confessed recovering drug addict Mayor Parris. When pointing fingers, there are three fingers pointing back at you, Mr. Parris.

Besides his own self-aggrandizement, Parris should look no further than his current council.

Marvin Crist, Parris’ Vice Mayor, will tell you how, as a former firefighter, he is now a crime fighter. The bigger issue is why, out of 18 firefighters put on leave then re-hired, did Marvin, when he was head of the local I 25 International Assn. of Firefighter’s at Plant 42, lose his base clearance and get fired. [Read more here.] Documented facts show that Crist was aware of firefighters’ regular drug and alcohol use in the base’s firehouse.

There is also an issue of current councilman Ron Smith, another self-claimed former public servant, who as an armed bailiff, ran out the front doors of a Van Nuys court room when a defendant brandished a firearm and started shooting courthouse personnel. Smith took a stress leave then retired from his bailiff position. [Read more on that here.] How does the logo read? “To Serve and Protect” – When We Feel Like It?

In Parris’ arrogance, he surrounds himself with lesser ‘yes’ people to make himself look large, then points fingers to deflect any fingers that should point at him or his current council.

Based only on his opinions, Parris will not only verbally criticize but will lambast anyone who doesn’t agree with his criteria. This includes using the media as a platform at any given opportunity to do so for his political gain.

Parris isn’t necessarily insecure; he just has an exaggeration of his own self-importance.

When Johnathon is elected to the Lancaster Council, will Parris sue Lancaster for allowing at large elections?

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Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of The AV Times.

Email letters@www.theavtimes.com to submit a story to Your Issues | Your News.

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Editor’s Note: The Lancaster city election takes place April 8.

 

Filed Under: Opinion

38 comments for "Lancaster politics: Pot calls the kettle black"

  1. Raymond Perris is a discriminating as evidenced by the best yes-men his money can buy.

    • This is ridiculous. ….anytime a city can partake in grandstanding and stealing from the local fa payers. We all know the truth the real estate fraud has been going on for years here in antelope vley. The fact is I don’t have to give up my property.

      • The facts are the facts the sheriff department is the ones fueling this mesz

  2. Parris, Smith, Crist, knight, Strickland, McKeon, McCarthy, all rich powerful men who have lived off us for decades and bring a mix of ego and ignorance that has no bounds. Somehow if I want to to keep my healthcare and don’t want to go to chili’s with people carrying AR 15, I’m your enemy to be destroyed. You went too far for me, I don’t live in Texas, I’m a donor state to Texas, so why would I want have policies that mirror them. No the thanks Grumpy Old People.

  4. Thank you for your editorial, perfect, so right. Some didn’t understand that. Now no is a republican, it’s too embarrassing so they are independent and there new mission is to convince us both parties are equal, so don’t we don’t vote. One party believes in science one doesn’t, one in for equal rights, minimum wage increase, student loan reforms one doesn’t. And one party condones racism, sexism and the dumbing down of America

  5. Once again we politics at its finest in Lancaster. I always say in this case that if you can live with yourself so be it just don’t look at yourself in the mirror as you would be shocked at what you see

  6. This is not a political contest- this is a race war. None of these [removed] racist Bozo’s should be running for re-election… they should be sent packing and cleaning-out their desks!

    Join me in voting by voting for Johnathon Ervin, or if you are too much of a [removed] yourself, then simply vote “NONE OF THE ABOVE”…

    • Believe it or not, I do not think that Parris is a racist, per se. I DO believe that he is a conniving scumbag who will USE racism tactics to try to get what he wants. The other two? Much the same, I expect.

      With that in mind, I disagree with you that it is some kind of ‘race war.’ It IS a pitched battle to reclaim the honor, heart, and soul of the City of Lancaster from the evil people who have stolen it from the rightful owners – the citizens of the City.

      I agree that a bullet vote for Ervin is the mort effective way for this battle to be won decisively. After all, Parris and his cheating cronies can only get away with so much in voter fraud before it becomes too obvious for them to not be found out.

      • I think it’s racist, they’ve gone that far. Look at the policies, it’s a train to craxy town and apparently it’s not stopping till they we stop it.

  7. Just so you know how deep the Mayor’s hatred for veterans is, he has been a no call/no show on several appointments with Congressman McKeon who heads the Armed Services Committee. You’d think that if Rex had any respect for veterans, he would at least show up to a meeting with the Congressman to discuss veterans affairs, but does he do it? No. A meeting is scheduled and he just. doesn’t. show. If you think I’m making this up, call him up and ask him when the last time he met with the Congressman was and did they discuss veterans’ affairs. The Mayor may lie about it, but the Congressman won’t. I know all of you lovers of the Mayor couldn’t believe that he’d shine on a Congressman, but check around. You’ll find out that I’m right. When are you guys going to realize what a poser he is?

  8. It is so sad that the Republican Party in the Antelope Valley has become the party of corruption. I am so looking forward to casting my one vote for Johnathan Ervin on Tuesday of next week. It is only one vote, but I refuse to let my vote be diluted by all of the shills that the Mayor has put forward. If you truly want to make a difference in Lancaster politics this year, cast just one vote…..for Johnathan Ervin. It’s only one seat, but we’ve got to start somewhere.

    • Thank you. I feel exactly the same. The republicans are only interested in making more money for rich people and they don’t care about our rights. They’re blinded by hate. After they shut down our government, congressman McCarthy took everyone out to the movies, really Congr

  9. Kenny Rogers should sue Rex Parris for using his likeness for dirty, filthy, rotten political purposes.

    And, the horse he rode up on.

  10. I already voted for Johnathon Ervin on a absentee ballot. I’ll take my chances with a veteran any day over the current crop of self serving politicians on the counsel now.

  11. So I’ve been an avtimes reader for quite awhile, and I must say that I don’t particularly back any one of these politicians/ would-be politicians at the moment. However, I’m a little bit disgusted by the blatant bias displayed in this article. This website is a local news source, as the biggest issue that we’ve had with The A.V. Press is misinformation based on certain writers’ personal opinions. I’ve always valued this site for providing us with many articles pertaining to crime, justice, and local activities. Extremely one sided opinions are a serious issue in our local media these days, I’m on this site to discover the goings on in our Valley, not read you barrage your own personal political opinions in what is supposed to be “an honest local news source”. It’s your job to report the issues, not cause even more, whether you’re right or wrong is completely beside the point, you’re writing these articles as an observer. Please keep your angst settled within a social domain such as Face Book, thank you.

    • Ever heard of a guest editorial? It’s a tradition as old as news reporting itself is. I don’t think that anyone reading this particular article believes that it is anything other than a guest editorial… With a few significant facts thrown in to support the authors’ position.

      You don’t agree with it? That’s fine. You have that right.

      :-)

    • If you really want to clear the scum out, maybe the Antelope Valley needs to try and enter this century. What else can you expect when the Mayor is elected by his cohorts. Yes, that is right, Lancaster voters elect the counsel and the counsel decides who will be Mayor. The Mayor then decides who the Assistant Mayor will be and so on….Start by elimination of the only parliamentary system of Mayoral elections. The voters of Lancaster should be electing the Mayor, Assistant Mayor….(and other officials-hence ELECTED Officials)..the same way other cities do!

      • Ummm… Renee? The Mayor of Lancaster is a position directly elected by the electorate.

        • Huh? I thought Rex ‘appointed’ himself mayor.

          Well, you learn something new every day.

          Now, what to do with the ‘maroons’ who voted for him?

          • No, no, no… He managed to get elected Mayor. He then ‘appointed’ himself King.

            Get it straight. ;-)

          • Thanks, Stinger. Trying to keep up with Rex’s alternate universe is very difficult, even with a computer.

            Where’s he been lately? Marv seems to be doing all his work.

            And, Ron is just sitting on his thumb.

  12. Lancaster’s politics, especially those politics of R. Rex Parris, Marvin Crist and Ron Smith make me embarrassed to be a Republican.

    I registered as a Republican because I believed in the rich history of the Party of Lincoln, and standing up for civil rights in the 1960s. In Lancaster, we have a mayor who sends out racist mailers, supports a homophobic/anti-Semitic commissioner in Stan Muhammad, an supported a Muslim hater Sherry Marquez.

    I registered as a Republican because the party stood for individual rights. In Lancaster we have these three politicians supporting the Eye in the Sky which spies on us whenever it is in the air. It is also a huge waste of money. I thought Republicans were more fiscally conservative. Not in Lancaster. Our mayor and his council have spent us into such massive debt that we now pay for it on the bond market. We have achieved the lowly position of being a municipality with junk bonds.

    Those individual rights also include freedom of religion. In Lancaster, we have a mayor that is trying to build a Christian community, with no opposition or push back from Crist or Smith. What message does that send to our Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Sikh, Pagan or atheists? It appears that the Christian community concept in Lancaster centers around one large church. What about all the other houses of faith?

    I registered as a Republican because the party stood for smaller government. Since Parris, Crist, and Smith have been in office, the number of commissions and token appointments has exploded. While I believe public input is a great thing in a democracy, these commissions are nothing but hand picked lackeys for Parris.

    I registered as a Republican because the party stood for free enterprise. In Lancaster, we have a mayor who sues businesses and they leave town. Parris and Crist fought a proposed power plant from coming to the valley even though it would produce hundreds of jobs. Parris, Crist and Smith approved spending $2 million to steal a business from Santa Clarita, and $600 thousand to steal a business from Palmdale. That is not free enterprise. That is government subsidized bribery.

    These three are poor excuses for Republicans. The Republican Party in the Antelope Valley should be ashamed of itself for not calling these phonies out.

    • Thank you. I’ve been waiting for honest Republicans to take back their party and they’ve seemed few and far between. And, mostly silent.

      On the one hand, you’ve got the extreme right-wingers and on the other hand authoritarian people like Rex Parris who are hypocrites regarding everything the Republican Party once stood for.

      I simply can’t fathom how members of the LBC reconcile Parris’s dirty politics with their faith and continue to support him. Do they really think he represents what a ‘Christian community’ acts like?

    • What happend to the so called jobs that would be available to AV from the move of Morton Manufacturing to Lancaster. The High Desert Health system is near completion, I havn’t seen one classified hiring ad for this facility.

  14. IS THIS NEWS OR A COMMENTARY? DO NOT BEAT A DEAD HORSE UNLESS YOU WANT TO MAKE IT STINK.
    PARISH IS ONLY HUMAN, WHEN YOU DEGRADE HIM FOR BEING IMPERFECT YOU ACTUALLY SEE HIM HIGHER THAN YOU,OTHER WAYS YOU WILL CONCEDE THAT ALL OF US ARE AT AN EQUAL LEVEL.

    • And if you complain about Parris degrading you, you’re just being a whiner? Is that it? Don’t pick on the poor bulley?

      If Rex can put out race baiting lies and criminally suggestive innuendo while playing on people’s bases fears, you’re going to get some blowback. The price of freedom of speech. Rex can say whatever he wants, and people can respond however they want. Get it?

      Or are you the guy on Youtube, crying “Leave Brittney alone”! In which case, carry on.

    • Not really! When a person is in authority, he is held to a higher standard. As a leader of this community, Mayor Parris needed to have the wisdom to step away from self and represent his community in a morally upright way.

    • ya, obviously this news site has a strong opinion regarding Lancaster politics, but fortunately its the same opinion most of us have. I think Lancaster needs a new mayor/city council and a fresh start.

    • First news worthy, it’s a commentary. Second, that argument only works when the person you are talking about isn’t in public office. People in public office are (and absolutely should be) held to a higher standard. Everything that was said in this commentary is absolutely true. Parris is a bully politician lawyer who uses his influence to get what he wants, and gets into pissing contests with the neighboring mayor instead of finding a way to work with him. I have no use for Parris or any of his little cronies. They all need to be gone!

  15. I no longer live in California, but several years before leaving I changed my voter registration from Republican to Independent. This was after I observed A.V. so-called Republicans. There were the “friends of Angelo”. let’s fight the ban on plastic bags (too much big brother), but drones are welcome. and finally the sewer politics of Lancaster. I predict that eventually there will be more flat-earthers in Cali than Republicans.

    • Interestingly, the Flat Earth Society was located in Lancaster. Fancy that. Some of its original members write letters to the Valley Press daily. They are also ‘experts’ on any and all other subjects as well.

  16. Well said!!!!!!!!!In my entire life I have never seen or endured the hypocrisy, lying, cheating, and deceit that I have seen coming from Lancaster since R. Rex Parris came into power. Yes Jim Gilley was a crook but Parris has taken it to a new low. Flush the toilet this election!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  17. This is truly heartbreaking, watching people that call themselves Christians, not understanding what that means. Calling yourself a Christian, and not acting like one means you’re a poser, a hypocrite. Shame on the lot of you.