Barbara Ferrer (Ph.D.) joined the LA County Department of Public Health January 2017. She implemented protocols that dramatically changed how things work at LA DPH. This was previously overseen by Jonathan Fielding, an internationally-respected epidemiologist.
According to several long-time employees who’ve spoken to RedState, LA DPH was not the place for patronage jobs, but that all changed when Barbara Ferrer came to town.
As her partner-in-purpose George Gascon would do the next year, one of the measures Ferrer took was to install allies in key positions to warn against potential mutinies, and leverage the considerable powers of appointment she had to do favors for people whose support she would need… namely, her bosses, members of the Board of Supervisors.
This is how a politically-connected, recently-released felon who was convicted of filing a fraudulent tax return (for failing to report $750,000 in “lobbying” income, including nearly $220,000 from a drug trafficking kingpin), Carl Kemp, came to work as Chief Communications Officer in the Environmental Health Division of the LA County Department of Public Health.
Environmental Health, while not the most glamorous part of county government, is still a very important one. This department performs tasks such as restaurant inspections. It also responds to gas leaks and blowouts at Aliso Canyon. They can grant permits for businesses based on potential environmental problems in nearby communities and county. In other words, it’s an area in which opinions can be shifted based upon whom one knows — and how much money gets into the right hands.
Kemp has a great deal of contacts and needed to find work after he got out on federal parole. Claudia Gutierrez, Kemp’s wife, was a long-time legal aide of former Supervisor Mark Ridley–Thomas. RedState has confidential information that she asked Ridley–Thomas for help to find her husband work. Ridley–Thomas hired Kemp at Ferrer in 2019. Ridley Thomas is facing federal corruption and bribery charges. These charges have nothing to do with Kemp.
Kemp, who was once a powerful government relations/communications consultant based on Long Beach, was convicted in November 2016. John Melvin Walker (his client) was a twice convicted felon and was thus not eligible to operate a marijuana dispensary. Walker and his attorney created a few corporations and registered owners. Walker was still the owner. Walker was able to move a lot of marijuana through these storesfronts. He also used his contacts with Kemp and Richard Bridenstine to harass at least one local company. Walker paid Kemp $4500 per month in cash, which he used for lobbying duties and as a spokesperson for many years. Kemp admitted to knowing that the money was coming from a criminal business as part of his plea bargain. Walker’s indictment is sealed, but there are a few details that have been made public about the raid on his properties:
Federal drug agents [Walker] was one of the major players that they have prosecuted in Southern California’s medical marijuana business.
The amount of cash found in his property was shocking to detectives when they first searched it. They found over $390,000.00 worth of groceries in four bags inside his Long Beach garage. The couple also discovered a Beretta handgun, a shotgun, and an AK-47 fitted with a bayonet. In another house they found cash in the furniture. It was worth over $700,000.
Department employees tell RedState that Ferrer herself announced Kemp’s hire in a department-wide email on September 3, 2019, though Liza Frias is his immediate supervisor, not Ferrer.
Ridley Thomas gave Barbara Ferrer a glowing endorsement when she visited Los Angeles in January 2017.
“Dr. Ferrer is uniquely qualified to lead and serve Los Angeles County’s diverse populations, and has a gift for engaging youth and families. I look forward to the energy and creativity that she will bring to protecting the health of our communities during this time of uncertainty in federal healthcare policy.”
When Ridley-Thomas left the Board of Supervisors in 2020 for the Los Angeles City Council, Kemp’s wife remained in the office and now works for Supervisor Holly Mitchell.
Kemp has longtime supervisor Janice Hahn as a supporter.
Carl Kemp, one of my very best friends and colleagues (which I would like to express my gratitude to), is a special thank you. @CountyofLA employees) for organizing today’s #Juneteenth Celebration and bringing us together to recognize this important moment in our nation’s history. pic.twitter.com/jbCguQg5Kn
— Janice Hahn (@SupJaniceHahn) June 19, 2021
While Los Angeles County has a Fair Chance Initiative, which allows those with criminal records to be hired, it’s unbelievable that Ferrer was able to hire Kemp, who had never worked for the County before, in such a position just two years after he went to prison on public corruption-related charges. The terrible details of what happened in Kemp’s case will be discussed in an upcoming article.
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