[2] Parrot received his law degree in 1909 and was admitted to the bar, but he found his talent as a deal-maker with tremendous people skills.

Parrot became active in local politics, and in 1921 he teamed up with George E. Cryer, an assistant district attorney who had prosecuted public corruption cases.

[3] Cryer's campaign promised to close the "dens of vice"[4] and attacked Snyder as being corrupt and unfit to be mayor.

Cryer's opponent in the 1925 mayoral election, Benjamin F. Bledsoe, focused attention on Parrot's role in city government: "I ask, as I shall continue to ask through this campaign: 'Mr.

"[9] The Los Angeles Times in April 1925 ran a front-page editorial under the headline, "SHALL WE RE-ELECT KENT PARROT?"

The Mayor of Los Angeles, who should be free from domination by any individual or interest, is cloaked with official authority that does not require the additional support of a political fixer.

There should be no one attached to the office of Mayor whose peculiar genius runs to the business of controlling patronage, of fixing cases in police court, of interfering with police activities, of ordering the affairs of the gambler, the bootlegger, the bookmaker and other breakers of the law.

[12] Though the Times had been a strong backer of Cryer, the paper in 1927 published an editorial referring to the city government as "Our Local Tammany", with Parrot in the role of Boss Tweed.

He must learn to think up plausible reasons for the actions of the organization and not let the purely political motive stick out like a sore thumb.