LA County oversees a $46.7 billion budget – bigger than Kansas, Montana, and Vermont combined – and represents 10 million residents.
Even if you’re represented by a city government – like the city of Los Angeles – you have a county supervisor who represents you. The five-member elected Board that controls that budget is elected by voters in their respective districts and is limited to three four-year terms.
If you live in LA county during this year’s March primary election, you may have the opportunity to choose a new supervisor or keep an incumbent in their seat.
The board has immense power and their decisions impact everyone living in the county. They enact county ordinances on issues they have authority over such as public health, safety and welfare; they administer local government functions; and are the main decision-makers in administrative and public hearings.
For unincorporated communities, the Board is the first line of local government. Unlike incorporated cities such as Los Angeles, Huntington Park, and Santa Monica, where residents have their own departments that provide city services and elected officials like a mayor or city council. In unincorporated areas of LA, the supervisors theoretically act like mayors and county departments provide many essential services such as street maintenance, building permits, and recreational programs.
If you’re unsure what supervisor represents you in LA County, see which district you’re in by going to the LA County Registrar-Recorder/Clerk’s website. To do that, select the “district map lookup by address” in the search tool.
This election year three offices are up: District 2, which represents a large portion of Western and South LA County; District 4, which covers a large portion of Southeast LA County; and District 5, which covers much of Northeastern Los Angeles County.
District 2
The Second District of Los Angeles County encompasses the cities of Compton, Culver City, Inglewood, and Redondo Beach; the unincorporated areas of Athens Village, East Rancho Dominguez, Florence-Firestone, and Willowbrook; and the LA city neighborhoods of Baldwin Hills, Exposition Park, Pico-Union, and Watts.
This district features the largest Black population of all five districts, which during the 2021 redistricting process was a primary goal to retain historic Black communities together. In October 2022, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) opened the K Line, previously known as Crenshaw/LAX Line, opening access for residents in the area to travel to work, entertainment, dining, and shopping. The new line was Metro’s largest transportation investment in the South LA region since the construction of the Metro A Line (Blue) and C Line (Green) in more than 20 years.
Candidates
Holly Mitchell (Incumbent)
Incumbent Holly Mitchell was first elected to the Board in 2020. Prior to being supervisor, Mitchell served in the California legislature as a representative for the 54th Assembly District and 30th Senate District, both in LA County. She was the first Black senator to serve as chair of the state senate budget and fiscal review committee. Mitchell says she is big on budgets and ensuring that the Board has enough money to fund county projects and services, earlier this year she co-sponsored a motion to prioritize fiscal responsibility. Her office has also hosted several budget town halls where county officials informed community members of the county’s months-long budget process and allowed residents to give input on issues they’d like to see funded.
Mitchell is endorsed by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and California U.S. Senator Laphonza Butler. She is also endorsed by various unions and advocacy organizations, including the LA County Federation of Labor, Planned Parenthood, and Black LA Young Democrats.
Clinton Carlton
Clinton Carlton has worked providing services and programs for unhoused and vulnerable populations in several capacities. He worked for LA Dream Center, a faith-based service provider for unhoused people, where he led a campaign to feed 5.5 million people during the pandemic, according to his website. In 2022, LA City councilmember Traci Park appointed Carlton as her director of affordable housing and homelessness. Addressing homelessness is a top issue for Carlton, which he hoped to tackle using a “multifaceted approach” by prioritizing affordable housing, mental health, and addiction services.
Carlton is endorsed by actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and his wife Lauren Hashian, advertising executive Craig Huey, and Matthew Barnet, co-founder of LA Dream Center.
Daphne Bradford
Daphne Bradford considered herself a “true non-partisan candidate” and would enact a “common sense policy agenda.” A top priority for Bradford is public safety, which she hopes to tackle by supporting reforming Prop 47, a ballot measure that reclassified certain non-violent property crimes under $950 of damages from felonies to misdemeanors. Although this proposition would be out of the Board’s direct jurisdiction, the supervisors can write letters in support of state legislation.
Bradford is endorsed by John Phillips, a contributor to the Orange County Register and radio show KABC.
Katrina Williams
Katrina Williams is the director of Changing the Faces of Homelessness, a nonprofit providing services to unhoused people. Among her priorities are creating permanent supportive housing programs, funding youth programs, and creating business programs for nonprofits and churches.
Williams has no endorsement publicly listed on her campaign website at the time of publishing this story.
District 4
The Fourth District of Los Angeles County encompasses the cities of Bell Gardens, Cerritos, Long Beach, Palos Verdes, and Vernon; the unincorporated areas of East Whittier, Santa Catalina Island, and Walnut Park; and LA City neighborhoods of Harbor City, San Pedro, and Wilmington.
The district includes many of the “Gateway Cities” of Southeast LA County, which are all bounded by similar issues such as economic development, transportation, air quality, and housing. Due to their location, these cities play a key role in the economic system of the region (and nation), which includes the Port of Long Beach where goods arrive (9th busiest port in the world combined with the LA port); the 710 freeway (carries tens of thousands of heavy-duty trucks daily) and cities of Vernon (houses more than 1,800 businesses that employ approximately 50,000 people) and City of Industry.
Candidates
Janice Hahn (Incumbent)
Incumbent Janice Hahn was elected in 2016 and is running for her third and final term. Her dad served on the Board for 40 years and has many county properties named after him, including the Hahn Hall of Administration where the Board has regular meetings in downtown Los Angeles. Hahn doesn’t shy away from mentioning her father when she can.
Hahn is endorsed by dozens of elected officials and organizations, including LA County Professional Peace Officers Association, Women’s Political Committee, and U.S. Senator Alex Padilla.
Alex Villanueva
Alex Villanueva served as the 33rd Sheriff of LA County from 2018 to 2022. Villanueva has many controversies while serving as sheriff, including protecting deputies in his department believed to be members of deputy gangs and allegedly covering up an incident in which jail guards knelt on the head of a handcuffed man. He was recently suspended from social media site X, formally Twitter, for allegedly harassing his opponent Hahn.
Villanueva is endorsed by several community members, according to his website.
John Cruikshan
John Cruikshan the mayor of Rancho Palos Verdes and a licensed civil engineer. Cruikshank is running on what he’s calling the “core four” platform: public safety, homelessness, infrastructure, and economic opportunity.
Cruikshan is endorsed by conservative-leaning organizations such as the California Republican Party, CA Rifle and Pistol Association PAC, and LA County Young Republicans.
District 5
The Fifth District of Los Angeles County encompasses the cities of Burbank, Glendale, Palmdale, Lancaster, Pasadena; the unincorporated areas of Acton, Castaic, Little Rock; and LA City neighborhoods of Los Feliz, Tujunga, and Sunland.
This district is the county’s largest, covering 2,785 square miles (larger than all the districts combined). The area is predominantly composed of desert communities in the northern area of the county, including the Antelope Valley poppies reserve and Joshua Trees, which face unique environmental needs and challenges. In October 2019, the Board of Supervisors issued a proclamation recognizing the 25th anniversary of the California Desert Protection Act, which is dedicated to preserving the desert lands and supporting the local economy.
Candidates
Kathryn Barger (Incumbent)
Incumbent Kathryn Barger was first elected in 2016 and is running for her third and final term. Although all seats on the Board are nonpartisan, Barger is the only registered Republican. She was her predecessor’s (Michael Antonovich) chief of staff and chief deputy supervisor. Barger was the only supervisor to vote against a 4% rent increase cap for tenants in unincorporated LA County that went into effect this year saying it burdens mom-and-pop landlords.
Barger is endorsed by over 60 bipartisan local leaders and community organizations including LA County Sheriff Robert Luna, Planned Parenthood, and Sierra Club.
Chris Holden
Chris Holden is the former Pasadena mayor and currently serves on the 41st Assembly District. Holden considers himself as a “champion for equity” by fighting for “justice in the classroom, the workplace, transportation, and the criminal justice system.” During his time in the assembly, he has sponsored legislation streamlining educational programs for foster youth and improving the standards for fast food workers.
Holden is endorsed by Congressman Adam Schiff, who is running for California’s open U.S Senate seat, and the LA County Democratic Party.
Konstantine Anthony
Konstantine Anthony is currently a councilmember for Burbank. Anthony says his top issues are: homelessness, affordable housing, clean energy, water, wages, police oversight, animal rights, healthcare, mental health, immigration, LGBTQ inclusion, racial disparities, public education, reproductive rights, small businesses, working families. He was present at several Board meetings in the past few months where he made public comments about various issues and made his candidacy to the Board known.
Anthony is endorsed by Feel the Bern Democratic Club, Los Angeles Stonewall Young Democrats, and the Muslim Democratic Club of Southern CA.
Marlon Marroquin
Marlon Marroquin considered himself a “technologist with specialization in international crime analysis.” He shares that he was a victim of human trafficking in Europe which has guided his focus on cybersecurity. His top priorities are homelessness, public safety, and streamlining government.
Marroquin has no endorsements publicly listed on his campaign website at the time of publishing this story.
Perry Goldberg
Perry Goldberg is a managing partner (and founder) of Progress LLP, a legal practice that focuses on intellectual property litigation. Top issues for him are LA being unaffordable, air quality, wildfires, and over-capacity in animal shelters.
Goldberg has no endorsements publicly listed on his campaign website at the time of publishing this story.