Lindsey Horvath, Hilda Solis to take oaths of office for Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors

LOS ANGELES (CNS) — Lindsey Horvath and Hilda Solis will take their oaths of office for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Monday — Horvath debuting on the county’s governing body as its youngest-ever elected woman, while the political veteran Solis begins her third and final term.

Solis got the spotlight first on Monday during a 10 a.m. ceremony in the Board of Supervisors Meeting Room of the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration in downtown L.A. Horvath will be sworn in during a noon ceremony in the same location.

Horvath, a former member of the West Hollywood City Council and twice the mayor of that city, beat state Sen. Bob Horvath in a runoff election last month for the 3rd District seat that is being vacated by Sheila Kuehl, who did not seek reelection.

Solis — who served in both the Assembly and state Senate before moving to Congress and later becoming U.S. Secretary of Labor under President Barack Obama — easily defeated four challengers in the June primary to claim her third term representing the 1st District.

Term limits make Thursday’s oath Solis’ last as a supervisor. An incumbent supervisor has not lost a reelection bid for 42 years.

Horvath claimed victory over Hertzberg on Nov. 17, ultimately winning by nearly 29,000 votes, or just under 53 percent after all the ballots were counted.

“I am humbled and honored that the voters have chosen me to serve as their next supervisor,” Horvath, 39, said in a statement.

“Their confidence and support fueled our people-powered campaign across the finish line, and I could not be more grateful for the opportunity to represent the people of District 3.”

Horvath also pledged to make reducing homelessness one of her priorities — as it was in West Hollywood — while touting her credentials and a millennial and a renter.

“The significance of this victory is not lost on me,” she said. “Voters chose a new path forward — a path where we humanely and effectively solve our homelessness crisis, a path where we invest in meaningful public safety solutions, a path where we fight unequivocally for full reproductive freedom, and a path where we urgently protect our environment and create a sustainable future for generations to come.”

Horvath’s victory means the five-member board — once known as the “Five Little Kings” — will continue to be all-female.

The board achieved that status in 2020, when Holly Mitchell defeated then-L.A. Councilman Herb Wesson to succeed Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who was prevented from running for reelection because of term limits.

“I would not be here without the countless women that paved this path for me today,” Horvath said. “I especially want to thank Supervisor Sheila Kuehl for her support and confidence. Because of them, I will soon become the youngest elected woman to serve on the Board of Supervisors, while maintaining the all-female board that we fought so hard to gain.

“At this critical juncture in Los Angeles’ history,” she added, “I am proud to bring a new perspective to the board as a renter, as a millennial, and as a staunch believer that the solutions we are looking for are rooted right in our own communities.”

Horvath had been a member of West Hollywood’s City Council since 2015 and was its mayor from 2015-16 and 2020-21.

Her 3rd District covers a majority of the San Fernando Valley, stretching from Westlake Village and Malibu to Calabasas, West Hills, Porter Ranch, San Fernando, Panorama City and Northridge. It also includes West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica. The district’s boundaries changed dramatically during the county’s most recent redistricting effort, giving it a larger swath of the Valley.

Solis, 65, a former supervisors chair, was first elected to the board in 2014 after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2001-2009, then as Obama’s labor secretary from 2009-2013 — becoming the first Latina to hold a presidential cabinet post.

Previously, she was a state senator from 1994-2000, and a member of the Assembly from 1992-1994.

“My priorities continue to be mitigating the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, expanding affordable housing and healthcare for all, creating good-paying local jobs, improving access to parks and open space, enhancing veterans’ services and making our neighborhoods safer through community based crime prevention,” Solis said in her official candidate statement.

In winning a third term in the June 7 primary, Solis rolled to a landslide victory by capturing nearly 76% of the 1st District ballots cast. Her 166,858 votes were more than double the total of her four challengers combined.

She beat back La Puente City Councilman David Argudo, businessman Kevin Dalton, county sheriff’s Deputy Brian Smith and businesswoman Tammy Solis.

On her county website, Solis touts the accomplishments of her first two terms by saying she “accelerated the county’s efforts to combat homelessness and allocated funding to build thousands of affordable housing units in her district and around the county.”

In addition, Solis said, she “authored the groundbreaking Measure A to invest in communities without green space, expand open and recreational park space in their neighborhoods, and protect water quality” — and is “leading the effort to reimagine public safety in Los Angeles County and prioritize expanding healthcare and jobs instead of mass incarceration, leading the effort to cancel a $1.7 billion contract to build a new jail.”

Solis’ 1st District 1 seat represents an eastern swath of the county, including Monterey Park, Azusa, Pomona, Diamond Bar, Rosemead, West Covina, Highland Park and Lincoln Heights.

Copyright 2022, City News Service, Inc.