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Horvath, Solis take oath for LA County Board of Supervisors
LA County Dec 05, 2022
Lindsey Horvath is sworn into the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. | Photo courtesy of LA County via Facebook
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Lindsey Horvath and Hilda Solis took 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 during a 10 a.m. ceremony in the Board of Supervisors Meeting Room of the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration in downtown Los Angeles. Horvath was sworn in during a noon ceremony in the same location.
The new-look board will meet for the first time on Tuesday.
Horvath, a former member of the West Hollywood City Council and twice the mayor of that city, beat state Sen. Bob Hertzberg in a runoff election last month for the 3rd District seat formerly held 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.
“I stand here with the utmost gratitude to all of you, especially the residents of the 1st District,” Solis said after taking the oath of office from Kuehl. “I’m humbled by each and everyone of you for entrusting me with the great responsibility of representing the 1st District for another four years. It is a testament to you that we arrived at this moment, a moment that exemplifies a movement driven by our community, by equity, by dignity and respect.”
Solis said she would be dedicated to a host of issues during his final term, including continued efforts to address the homelessness crisis and overseeing an expansion of parks in the district, including the planned 142-acre Puente Hills regional park. She also announced plans for the opening of a $35 million aquatics center at her former elementary school, Temple Academy.
“This will be one of the only aquatics centers in the unincorporated San Gabriel Valley … where we grew up,” she said.
Horvath, meanwhile, 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.”
She took the oath of office from former West Hollywood Mayor Abbe Land, and acknowledged that the five-member board — once known as the “Five Little Kings” — will continue to be all-female.
Horvath said the county’s all-male founders likely could not have envisioned “a board of five bad-ass women now sitting in these chairs.”
“It is with great honor and humility that I accept this call to serve as supervisor for L.A. County’s 3rd District,” she said. “Los Angeles today stands on the precipice. In the past five years we’ve suffered a once-in- a-lifetime pandemic, witnessed growing inequality and homelessness and a call to action by the largest racial justice movement in a generation. We know this is a moment of profound change. We can sense it. We can feel it. The question isn’t whether change is coming. It’s whether we will embrace it.”
She noted the nationwide debate over abortion following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, saying the county “must be open to all who seek reproductive freedom,” and adding it “must be a right for all, not a privilege for a few.”
Horvath also acknowledged those who might question whether “a Millennial is ready to serve her county.”
“But the median age in Los Angeles county is 38,” she said. “Millennials in Los Angeles are more likely to carry student debt. We are more likely to leave L.A. County to buy a home, and we’re more likely to struggle to keep up with rent. We and the generations that follow will be the ones to suffer from inaction on climate change. Our generation asks for no special favor or treatment. We only ask for a government ready to hear our voices and respond to our needs.”
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.
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.
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.
