Barger Touts Bipartisan Support, Deep Local Roots as Keys to Victory in Supervisor Race
By Joe Taglieri
While this may be Kathryn Barger’s first run for elected office, her bid to represent the 5th District on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is by no means her first foray into the world of California politics. From her early years as the daughter of a former state insurance commissioner to her lengthy stint as chief of staff to outgoing incumbent Michael Antonovich, Barger has a lifetime of experience inside the local political scene.
In fact, as her campaign website boasts, “Barger is the only candidate … who was born, raised, and is a lifelong resident of the Fifth District.”
Despite her deep local ties, Barger doesn’t see herself as the heir apparent to her termed-out boss of 28 years who has held office since 1980.
“I don’t see myself as a front-runner, I see myself as someone who is truly fighting for this and is willing to fight for this seat,” she said. “I have never run for political office, and I don’t really have aspirations beyond the Board of Supervisors. … This is not something that is a stepping stone for me.”
A graduate of San Marino High School in 1978, Barger earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1983. She returned home to the San Gabriel Valley where she interned for the newly elected Antonovich before taking a job in the nation’s capital for a company that provided life insurance to military veterans.
Not long thereafter Barger returned to Los Angeles for a brief stint at the L.A. Mart home decor showrooms, then to a job with Anne LeGassick, “who was the primary fundraiser for the Republican Party in California,” Barger recalled. From there Barger began her long tenure as an Antonovich staffer when she received an offer to work in his office focusing on health care and social services.
Barger discussed several key prongs of her campaign platform that offer a glimpse of where she would focus her energies if elected in the general election next fall.
“My key policy priorities are public safety – maintaining a level of public safety in the 5th District and in the County of Los Angeles – to me that’s a quality-of-life issue and a key issue as well as continuing to grow the economic engine of L.A. County,” Barger said. “In looking at the 5th District, especially the Antelope Valley which truly is rebranding itself, we have an incredible relationship with the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale which have in the past been known for aerospace now are looking at bringing in manufacturing jobs. So partnering with them, I remain committed to bringing in businesses.”
Barger pointed out two companies involved in building trains and electric buses destined for use in the public transportation systems throughout the county.
“So building on that momentum to bring manufacturing businesses in, which truly does drive our economy and stabilizes the middle class, that remains a strong commitment of mine,” she said.
Another “quality-of-life issue” Barger focused on was libraries, parks and open space.
“That’s an expectation by the people paying into our system,” Barger said. “So maintaining and increasing access to the parks that we have is a commitment of mine.”
Though most candidates vying for the 5th District seat identify as Republicans, given shifting demographics throughout the county it is not inconceivable that the winner could be the board’s lone member of the GOP.
“My father was insurance commissioner under then-Governor Ronald Reagan, so I was raised in a home that truly was about Reagan Republicans,” Barger said. “Mike [Antonovich] came from the legislature where you had Willie Brown in charge, and Mike worked across the aisle to make things happen. So I’ve had a mentor in my father and in Mike who both have been about reaching across the aisle.”
The candidate also credited her father, Richards Barger, as the chief inspiration that inspired her dedication to public service.
“It’s not about the pay, it’s about giving back,” she said.
Barger observed that she does not “have that partisan view of politics” after working at the board level for three decades and pointed to her bipartisan assortment of endorsements from numerous elected officials including Antonovich, 3rd District Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, former congressmen David Dreier and Chris Cox, Pete Wilson, a former U.S. senator and California governor, and Duarte Mayor Sam Kang, to name just a few.
Her work with issues affecting children and families as well as health care and mental health in addition to her mother’s example has instilled in Barger a strong sense of compassion, she said.
“She served as my role model as far as how you work with people,” Barger said of her mom Ann Fenwick Barger, who passed away in 2002.
“I truly do have a passion for helping people,” Barger said, noting her approach to campaigning is more about connecting with area residents rather than soliciting votes.
“I am humbled by people who walk up to me, especially those that work for the county who know me and stand behind me because they know that I’m running for the seat for what I believe are the right reasons,” Barger explained. “And that is, because I want to make a difference to leave this county better than when I came.”
Barger lives in San Marino with her husband Eric Leibrich, who is retired from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department after a 34-year career.
The primary election, which narrows the field to the top two vote-getters, is scheduled for June 7.
