Barbara Perkins may well have been the best candidate for the 7th District council seat in Tuesday’s city elections. Besides being up on the issues, she had the most experience in community activities, high recognition in the North Valley and the longest-standing connections at City Hall. She seemed to know just about everyone in her district, which is the San Fernando Valley’s most ethnically diverse. She’s lived there for a very long time. And she packs a walloping charm.Of all the contenders, she’s networked the closest to past and present elected officials, dealing effectively with numerous politicians who didn’t always agree with each other. Such traits would normally have put her at the head of the candidate pack. But going into this race, she was — most optimistically — handicapped at Number 3 out of six.Perkins didn’t think this was fair, and it’s not hard to see why. “It should not be an ethnic issue,” said Perkins, who is not of the ethnicity “required” to represent this district. “It should be an issue of who’s the best for the job.”I’ve heard it before from many a candidate, and I’ll hear it again. But this was, in fact, the very first time I’d ever heard this statement coming from an African-American. How did this situation come to pass?
Source: Top Dog Politics | L.A. Weekly