It’s neck and neck for L.A. County supervisor
Hertzberg, Horvath are vying for the only seat up for grabs, in the 3rd District.
State Sen. Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) and West Hollywood City Councilmember Lindsey Horvath were neck and neck in early returns Tuesday evening in the race to become Los Angeles County Supervisor representing the 3rd District.
The winner will replace Sheila Kuehl, 81, who is retiring after two terms, on a fivemember board that manages an annual budget of almost $40 billion.
The 3rd District, which spans much of the San Fernando Valley and stretches along the coast from Santa Monica to Malibu, is the only board seat up for grabs. In a once-in-a-decade redistricting process, some conservative Valley communities, including Porter Ranch and Chatsworth, joined the 3rd District last year.
The candidates, both Democrats, have focused on three major themes: solving homelessness, protecting reproductive rights and portraying each other as closet Republicans.
Hertzberg, 67, first took office in 1996 — as Horvath was beginning high school — when he was elected to the California Assembly. He touts his efforts to get “legislators from both sides to work across the aisle.”
Hertzberg rose to speaker in 2000 and left in 2002 before making an unsuccessful run for Los Angeles mayor in 2005. He returned to office by winning a California Senate seat in 2014 and terms out this year.
Hertzberg’s camp hosted a watch party for supporters at the Allure event space in Van Nuys. The state senator said he was “optimistic” he would win and touted his experience in Sacramento.
“The reason I ran has been consistent in that I believe the voters want to elect someone who will get things done,” he said in a phone interview. “I have the experience and the knowledge at this level to deliver for the voters of Los Angeles County.”
Horvath, 40, has been a member of the West Hollywood City Council since 2015, after serving as an appointed member from 2009 to 2011.
She entered her party at Heart WeHo in West Hollywood at 8:15 p.m. to the sound of Christina Aguilera’s anthem “What a Girl Wants” and thanked supporters for their efforts that kicked off with her April 2021 announcement to run.
“It’s not like I’ve been counting the days or anything,” Horvath said. “I’m just so proud of my staff and the volunteers who had fought to create a vision that the people of the 3rd District and Los Angeles County could believe in.”
Hertzberg has a strong base of support in the Valley, while Horvath has sought to distance herself from West Hollywood, scrubbing any mention of the city’s name from her campaign website.
Horvath’s most scrutinized move as a politician came in June, when she voted to trim one sheriff’s deputy position in West Hollywood and add 30 unarmed security ambassadors. The measure passed by a 3-2 vote but was criticized by many residents as a step toward defunding the police.
Horvath recently said she did not support the reelection campaign of Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva and was in favor of Measure A. If approved by voters, the measure will provide a mechanism for the Board of Supervisors, which has clashed with Villanueva, to remove an elected sheriff.
Hertzberg has said he sees no value in condemning a man with whom he may have to work and did not endorse Measure A.