Happening in California 31.16
Welcome to Happening in California, a brief look at political news, insights, and analysis of the world’s fifth-largest economy.
Last week, billionaire developer Rick Caruso shook up the race for mayor of Los Angeles — filing the paperwork for his candidacy just hours before the deadline.
While the spotlight and tens of millions of dollars will be focused on the mayoral race, the arguably more consequential elections will occur for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
Here is a quick summary of why you should pay close attention to the County of Los Angeles …
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Tom Ross | President and CEO | Swing Strategies
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The Big Picture: The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is the most politically powerful local government in the United States.
With a population greater than 10 million people, Los Angeles County is the most populous county in the United States.
The county consists of:
88 cities including the City of L.A. that contains roughly 40 percent of the county’s population
122 unincorporated areas that represent 10 percent of the county’s population
The people and businesses combine to make Los Angeles County the third largest metropolitan economy in the world. As for its governance …
… once known as the Five Kings, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors is now an all-female board that wields vast power. In fact, serving as an L.A. Supervisor is viewed as a step up for the region’s Congressional delegation and attracts other high-caliber candidates like President Obama’s first Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis.
The five members of the Board of Supervisors oversee Los Angeles County departments, make laws that govern the county, serve a quasi-judicial role, and manage the county’s $39 billion budget, which is four times the size of L.A. City’s budget. In fact, Los Angeles County’s budget is bigger than all but 16 states.
The current board is composed of four Democratic Supervisors and one Republican, although its partisan composition is less important than its ideological makeup. The board has become more progressive, but that could change …
The retirement of Supervisor Sheila Kuehl has opened a battle between progressive and moderate Democratic candidates. Although, the ideological balance of the board will likely depend more on efforts to enlarge it.
Voters have rejected multiple attempts to expand the Board of Supervisors and a 2018 legislative effort also fell short. A renewed effort to increase the number of Supervisor seats may gain traction after the county’s new independent redistricting commission is recommending expansion.
The Bottom Line: Los Angeles County accounts for 25 percent of California’s population and its Board of Supervisors has a huge effect on policy statewide.
It is vital for businesses and interest groups to pay attention to the County because as Los Angeles goes, so goes California … and then the nation.
As always, give us a ring or shoot us an email if you’d like to chat about what’s happening in California.