Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath announced Monday that she is running to become the county’s first elected chief executive officer, a powerful new position created under a government overhaul approved by voters in 2024.
Horvath, 44, was a leading supporter of Measure G, which called for sweeping changes to county government, including expanding the Board of Supervisors from five to nine members and replacing the appointed county CEO with an elected executive.
The first election for the position is expected to take place in 2028.
“Los Angeles has never been a place that dreams small,” Horvath said in a statement announcing her campaign. She criticized county government for moving too slowly and allowing bureaucracy to interfere with progress.
“That’s why I’m running to become Los Angeles County’s first elected County Executive,” she said.
The elected CEO is expected to become one of the most powerful political positions in California, overseeing a county government that serves and extracts taxes from approximately 10 million residents, employs more than 110,000 people and operates with an annual budget of about $54 billion.
Horvath said the position presents an opportunity to improve government operations and address major challenges, including housing affordability, homelessness, public safety and emergency response.
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a government that finally meets the scale of our challenges and the ambition of our people,” she said.
Horvath was elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2022 and won reelection in June to represent the 3rd District for another four-year term. She previously served on the West Hollywood City Council, including a stint as mayor.
Her announcement comes amid questions from some supervisors about the new position, including whether current board members should be allowed to seek the office and whether the changes approved under Measure G are legally sound.
During a board meeting in late October, District 5 Supervisor Kathryn Barger pledged not to run for the elected CEO position and urged her colleagues to make the same commitment. Supervisors Hilda Solis and Holly Mitchell have said they would not seek the office.
Barger questioned whether supervisors could face conflicts of interest if they vote to establish and expand the powers of an office they might later seek.
“If we are approving these reforms, we should do so in a way that is not self-serving to any of us,” Barger said.
Barger also raised concerns about the position’s potential compensation and lack of term limits. Under the salary parameters established for the office, the elected CEO could earn as much as $558,000 annually, more than twice the governor’s salary.
“With a $54 billion budget, more than 110,000 employees, no term limits, and no professional credentials required, the elected County Executive will be one of the most powerful and most highly paid politicians in the entire state of California and perhaps the nation,” Barger said.
Responding to Horvath’s announcement Monday, Barger called the campaign launch premature, citing unresolved questions about the constitutionality of the new office.
She pointed to a legal challenge submitted to the county last month by a former federal judge representing former Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine. The challenge questions whether the state Constitution allows the county to establish an elected CEO with veto authority over Board of Supervisors decisions and other powers currently held by the board.
In October, supervisors voted to impose a 90-day pause before adopting recommendations from the county’s Government Reform Task Force on implementing the elected CEO position.
“Important questions about Measure G’s legal implications remain unresolved,” Barger said. “While I respect the voters’ decision, the county has a responsibility to ensure those reforms comply with state law.”
The county’s website has more information on Measure G and governance reform.
