The Antelope Valley Times

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Investigators search home, office of Palmdale mayor

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Jim Ledford

PALMDALE – Investigators with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office raided the home and office of Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford on Wednesday, CBS2 reported.

The report did not say what investigators were looking for, but did say that the DA’s office served search warrants at six locations.

City Councilman Austin Bishop confirmed to the station that DA’s investigators were at City Hall for about two hours on Wednesday. Bishop also said Ledford did not show up for two public events scheduled for Wednesday.

Lancaster Mayor Rex Parris, an attorney who represented a Palmdale man who sued the city over election districting in 2013, told the station that he thinks a deposition given by Ledford in that case might explain the raids.

“He testified that he was getting $60,000 a year that he was supposedly working by the hour, but he did no work for it.  That is a gift,” Parris alleged.

Bishop also told CBS2 that the council has had concerns lately about “transparency issues” and how money was being allocated for certain projects.

Ledford, 63, was elected to his 13th two-year term as Palmdale’s mayor last November. The city does not have term limits.

Ledford could not be reached nor comment, and the DA’s office did not immediately return a request for comment.

A Palmdale spokesman told CBS2 that the city is fully cooperating with the investigation.

View the CBS2 report here.

[Information via City News Service.]

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Filed Under: Palmdale, Politics

70 comments for "Investigators search home, office of Palmdale mayor"

  2. … the object, renovating downtown Lancaster, had nothing to do with improving downtown Lancaster. By design, perhaps you’ve denoted increased difficultly, traversing East to West, across Lancaster. Arguably so, the most significant nuisance in Antelope Valley history since the advent Section-8 housing, the traffic impediments imposed upon Lancaster Boulevard, between Sierra Hwy and 10th Street West, effectively bisected Lancaster, its semi-affluent West Side, from its high crime, drug infested, gang-banger infested east side ghetto. There is no more Lancaster, per se. Either, you live on the West side? Or, God help you, you live on the east side. For those of us on the west side, thank our luck stars for that stupid, winkie downtown renovation. If only we could build a wall –

  3. R. Rex Parris is a wealthy SOS that has let power go to his head. Before he became Mayor he was running commercials about “his” town enticing people to move here. He campaigned on bigotry and hate against the poor. He turned Lancaster Blvd. into an unsafe thoroughfare with expensive shops and restaurants. Bottom line Parris is an ruthless, unscrupulous shyster that needs to be voted out at the next election. Term Limits are a good thing!

    • I completely agree in principle, but wouldn’t call Lancaster Boulevard a thoroughfare. It’s basically a parking lot.

  4. The DA doesn’t get a warrant just because Rex says so. By Jim’s own words he really couldn’t say what he did to earn $60K.

    If he’s guilty others at COP will go down with him

    • Unfortunately, history has shown that the DA DOES get a warrant just because Parris says so. They do pretty much anything that Parris tells them to do as they are clearly bought and paid for by him.

      Which also explains why they refused to investigate or do anything regarding all of Parris’ clearly corrupt actions in the fiefdom of Lancaster.

  5. shame on all of you. not one of you know what is going on. Palmdale and Lancaster both have good and bad. I have lived in both towns. Lancaster Blvd. is a nice place to eat, take a nice walk, stores to shop. And you have the mall. I do not like Mr. Ledford and some of the things he has done. Mr. Parrish has done a lot of good for Lancaster. have any of you been on the Blvd. at any of the events. or had dinner. I go to the mall ,and other stores. If you live in Palmdale and if the winds is blowing that’s because Lancaster sucks. but then if Lancaster is windy then Palmdale sucks. Any way Know matter where you live have a good windy day

    • The BLVD is a terrible place to eat, because the places to eat are either trying to pay the exorbitant fees so they have to overcharge, or they are exempted from the fees as friends of Wrecks and overcharge because they can. Same for the stores. As for taking a walk…there are plenty of parks to walk in, and they don’t require staying on high alert for the traffic nightmare spilling onto the sidewalks. If you want to ‘walk and shop’ there’s the mall. That’s what they are for.

    • When I want to give change to panhandlers, I go to the BLVD. Otherwise, I avoid it like the plague.

      • It’s also a good place to get stuck in traffic. A chance to experience what a really super congested city is like without having to drive very far.

  6. Rex is a lawyer and a Mayer . I guess what he makes is not enough for him . you should be a friend with your next door Mayer . shame on you Rex .

    • Actually, an Oscar Mayer hot dog has more integrity than Rex could ever have. One of these days he may actually say something truthful or do something that benefits someone other than himself or his cronies.

  7. They use to be good friend about 10 years ago parris is not right he is up to somrthing and its not goo yes i agree another trump open an investigation on parris he has alot hiding in his closest im just saying i been out here for 16 years before parris’s term he is no good and i know because if i called about the city being at falt6and you call the next city to give heads up amd not take my case hes fraudulent in my eyes

  8. Wish both Mayors would work together to make AV a better place. Please Mayors help the AV

    • They’d have to both be interested in making the AV a better place to work together, and Wrecks isn’t interested.

  9. Palmdale has the upper hand on Lancaster geographically speaking. The city of Palmdale has done nothing to separate itself for Lancaster no Welcome to Palmdale sign from the freeway same old ABCDE street names no city beautification no attempt to be different from Lancaster. Something tell me the two Mayor has a vested interest keeping the AV just like we see it all the same.

    • LOL…keep pretending. Palmdale may be a few miles closer to LA by freeway, but Lancaster has two or three times the freeway access that Palmdale has, so the old “geographic advantage” excuse is flat BS. Fact is that Palmdale has had a pretty good city government for most of its history, while Lancaster was incorporated by a bunch of ‘get rich quick’ schemers and has had among the worst city governments in the state ever since…and it shows.

      • You a lie Lancaster has come a long way and our beautiful, Lancaster blvd proves it. I think Lancaster is way better than Palmdale.

        • The BLVD is a wonderful gathering spot for panhandlers. I would never take a date there after dark. Crime is high, our roads suck, there is no shopping, the mayor is a nut, and the cronyism is disgusting.

          • I don’t like the boulevard. The sidewalks are narrow where the restaurants stick out into them and it’s not pedestrian friendly at all. I’d like to know if Bishop is just looking for a problem or if there is something here. It’ll be interesting to see what works out .

          • Indeed Rachel. It sux for pedestrians…it REALLY sux for drivers. It hasn’t been good for any business that isn’t on Wrecks’ crony list. Basically, the whole thing is a boondoggle.

        • Your beautiful Lancaster Blvd can’t keep a business in business without being subsidized by the city…which is only available to friends of Wrecks.

          Meanwhile you have huge blighted areas where all the developer fees charged for improvements of access roads get funneled into a few blocks that border a crony’s development, leaving the rest barren…or not even connected. You have ‘planning’ that is based strictly on what development best improves land value of land owned by cronies, which is why your city is a random hodgepodge of residential, commercial, and vacant. You have traffic control that is obsolete on all but a handful of intersections, inadequate sidewalks, and decaying pavement on most streets.

          And the east side has been ignored completely for decades.

          That’s your ‘better’ city.

          That history of the two cities I mentioned? I’ve been here for all of it. I watched the fiasco of incorporation in Lancaster first hand. Take a closer look at your city government before there’s nothing to salvage.

        • Might I say, I just moved to lancaster and I only shop and do any and all activities on the west side. I came from Palmdale and prefer it to Lancaster any day. Rex wants tax dollars and is willing to put in a Wal-Mart on 60th street west but I’m positive he doesn’t want one next to his gated community. Lancaster is trashy and full of transients. The BLVD always has the homeless wandering around. I feel like I’m in downtown Los Angeles, next to a homeless park.

  10. Dear Rex, Marv, Drew and the rest of you who stick your nose in where it doesn’t belong:
    Please stay out of our business. Stay out of our politics. Mind your own business. Fix your own city. We don’t need your advice. We don’t want your advice. Take care of your own people. Take care of your own issues.
    Go away. Thank you.

  11. Parris was a rip off settlement in my experience, greedy , and took most of mine! And that was years ago!

    • Parris plays every scam in the shyster book.

      Take your case on contingency, but you pay the expenses. You have no case and no chance of EVER seeing a settlement, but he’s getting kickbacks from every ‘investigator’ and ‘expert consultant’ he hires “for you” until you either run out of money or figure out you are being conned.

      If you are likely to get a settlement he makes sure to stall it out until his ‘expenses’ eat up most of the two thirds you get, since they aren’t taken out of his cut.

      He’s a con man, start to finish.

  13. Where’s Tim Scott and his accusations of libel? I’m guessing the handyman doesn’t understand the definition of libel.

    Perhaps he can watch the news coverage on the townhome TV and shake his fist in anger at that 32″ Zenith.

    • I waiting for you to go back to work so I can find out who your sources were.

  14. Were there any investigations in to why Parris’ wife owned all of those properties in Lancaster where the City of Lancaster poured money into redevelopment? Hmmm??

    • What’s to investigate? Parris and his cronies have been pumping city money into their own pockets in plain sight for decades. Anyone even vaguely paying attention knows it, no investigation required.

      • When you own judges and the DA’s office, how can you get an investigation. The best bet would be to have someone outside the area do an investigative reporting piece and get the feds to stop by Fern St. That would be movie material.

    • Why didn’t Paris’ wife have to finish her community service for bringing a loaded gun onto a plane? Who doesn’t Rex own.

  15. Look at the logo on parris’ s building . It looks to me to be a SNAKE . Parris is the Bad guy.

  16. Jim was partners in a cocktail bar at Ave P and Sierra Hwy in the ’80’s and it closed under suspicious circumstances

    • Yep…meth selling location….hmmmm yet the fine folks of P-dale keep him in position for 13th time.

      • VS REX SLINGING HEROIN IN HIS YOUTH? “hmmmm yet the fine folks of Lancaster keep him in position for a 3RD time.” I also believe there was a lot of coke running through the “gold rush” when rex and his bro ran it.

    • It closed when they decided to close. Stop with the BS. Go back to Lancaster and get lit up at Bex. Just don’t drive.

  17. Both parties are douche bags…old Ledford a Meth seller back in the 80’s…Karma!!!…its a bummer but it always comes back.

    • I think you have him confused with the former dope dealer who runs Lancaster and his sidekick.

        • No. The former drug dealers are now running Lancaster, not Palmdale. They want to run Palmdale and they’re working hard to take over Palmdale. But for now they are in Lancaster.

  18. This is like the third time Rex has gone down the same path on this crapola? He must have made a nice contribution to get this to the top of the pile. We’ll see how this turns out. I would bet big bucks that this is much ado about nothing, just like it has been in the past.

    • The City of Palmdale was found guilty of discrimination against African Americans and Hispanics in the election process and in violation of the California Voters Rights Act.

      • Rex has sebt our racist fmhit mailers against African American veterans. Rex passed as Islamiohobic ordinance to keep dead terrorists from being buried in Kancaster. Rex declared war on Section 8, a program that aids many people of color. Rex ignored the will of the people for districted elections on ebven years in November. Which city is more unfriendly to people of color?

    • First R. Jennings. Not guilty. After wasting almost 2 decades of the man’s life. Then Randy Floyd. A year of public attacks from rex. No charges filed! And now Ledford. One would think the DA would get a clue!

      • When you give the key to the city to the head deputy of the district attorney’s office and campaign contributions, what else do you expect? One of these days, the media will figure out what a dirt bag Paris is and do a real investigation on a real corrupt person.

    • This was covered by the media twice. Nothing but a political witch hunt brewed up by DUI Drew and Rex to try to take down Ledford. This is an abuse of power and a waste of tax dollars, which is nothing new in Lancaster. There’s a long history of wasting tax money on BS like LEAPS, Ecolution, Traction Seal, land deals with Visco, yada, yada, yada. Maybe this time Ledford will be able to sue them into oblivion. That would be true justice.

    • Why not? Seems to work fine in Lancaster! Isn’t Lancaster council women Angela getting $100,000 a year from a east coast solar company? And who got the contracts to cover our desert in solar panels? The question is why is Lancaster given a pass on what rex accuses others of?

  20. Leave Jim alone. Doesn’t matter what bad stuff he did. He’s a good guy.

  22. I was so happy to get out of Lancaster, but now this AH is following me, why doesn’t he leave us alone and screw up his town, Oh he already has

    • Paris, has wanted Palmdale for a while he’s a awful man just like Trump! He thinks cause he’s an attorney he can push people around he’s a jerk!

  25. Why won’t Parris stay in his own lane!! Stop trying to be involved in matters that are of no concern to the City of Lancaster.