When the two candidates vying for the open seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors squared off in a debate in the San Fernando Valley Friday, they espoused only minor variations on the issues, choosing instead to accentuate differences in style.
State Sen. Bob Hertzberg, 67, D-Van Nuys, and West Hollywood Council Member Lindsey Horvath, 40, running for the District 3 seat to replace the retiring Sheila Kuehl, took off the gloves toward the end of the hour when asked indirectly about their age difference, attracting young voters and governing styles.
The sharp barbs flew when Richard Fisk, moderator from the United Chambers of Commerce/San Fernando Valley Region, the group hosting the event, asked if Hertzberg was “too old-school” to attract younger voters.
Hertzberg described his time away from his political career, when he pursued business interests in clean energy projects, saying any person working on solutions to climate change is cutting edge. “I am an entrepreneur. I am pushing the envelope. I am not yesterday’s news,” he answered.
Horvath, who began her political career in 2015 when elected to the West Hollywood City Council, has been on the front lines of women’s rights and LGBTQIA+ issues. She discussed her city’s efforts to address homelessness, crime and transportation, emphasizing collaboration.
“People want change,” she began. “They want new solutions, 21st century solutions for 21st century problems. They want practical solutions, not politics” — veiled references to Hertzberg’s tenure in the legislature, where he rose to its powerful post as Senate Majority Leader, as a liability in a world where experienced politicians sometimes lose to younger candidates.
The style-over-substance debate continued at the Porter Valley Country Club in front of about 150 people, with Horvath emphasizing her grassroots efforts in her Westside city and Hertzberg turning that around as a lack of experience.
“There are 4,753 square miles in Los Angeles County. Her city of West Hollywood is 1.9 square miles,” Hertzberg said, adding that she works with council members who are all Democrats. He added that Horvath has been endorsed by four of the five supervisors, including Kuehl, and Supervisors Hilda Solis, Holly Mitchell and Janice Hahn. “There is no change. She will support all four of their policies.”
Hertzberg, endorsed by Supervisor Kathryn Barger, the lone Republican on the board, who also represents the San Fernando Valley, said he would work to change many policies implemented by the county Board of Supervisors.
Horvath is backed by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and LAUSD Board President Kelly Gonez while Hertzberg is backed by public safety unions including the Los Angeles County Firefighters Local 1014 and the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs (ALADS), as well as Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks, and U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, both from the San Fernando Valley.
“Campaigning is one thing. But governing is another. And I know how to govern,” Hertzberg said.
Horvath countered, implying that Hertzberg’s stance as a person who gets things done is not practical for 2022 and is based on Sacramento politics.
“We need to work collaboratively. No one is a single answer,” she said. “I am a bridge builder and a coalition builder.”
Kuehl is stepping down, creating the only empty seat on the powerful five-person Board of Supervisors which manages a county budget of $38.5 billion. Kuehl was a child actor in radio and early television and after earning her law degree from Harvard Law School served in the state Assembly and state Senate before joining the board in 2014.
Some see the race as a contest between the Valley and the Westside. The vast, 431-square mile Third District stretches from Malibu and Santa Monica into the eastern and northeastern San Fernando Valley. The dual-region district divide is further emphasized by the fact that Hertzberg is from the San Fernando Valley and Horvath is from the Westside.
Since all county supervisors also serve on the L.A. Metro board, Hertzberg emphasized that the Valley has not received its fair share of rail lines in comparison to other parts of L.A. County.
“We have had no voice on L.A. Metro in the San Fernando Valley,” Hertzberg said, noting that he would change that if elected to the Board of Supervisors in November.
Horvath said the issue of Valley versus Westside is a false choice, saying, “It is not about one ZIP code over another. You have to bring everyone together.”
Both agreed that the solution to increasing Metro’s ridership and getting cars off the crowded freeways was to provide safer, cleaner rides.
“With Metro, we need to stop treating our transportation system as a de facto homeless shelter,” Horvath said, a line she has used in other media reports.
Both frowned upon Metro’s recent forays into building apartments near train lines and recent articles in the Los Angeles Daily News about its attempts at land-banking. Hertzberg said the agency’s ownership of land makes it a player in the housing market. Horvath said: “I don’t think Metro should be in the housing business.”
Horvath responded to tough questions about a perception that West Hollywood cut back on Sheriff’s Department services. Horvath said the city never cut its law enforcement budget but added “security ambassadors” to be the eyes and ears of commercial and residential districts, similar to a Metro program.
When it comes to the ballot measure aimed for November that will ask voters to give the Board of Supervisors the power to fire the elected sheriff, both shied away from supporting it.
Hertzberg called it “a knee-jerk political reaction” but he supports having a police commission as in the city of L.A. Horvath said she’d like to see the sheriff’s position appointed by the Board of Supervisors, but said that is not what the ballot measure will do.
She wanted the two sides come together on law enforcement issues, while Hertzberg emphasized a need to address the smash and grab crimes in places such as shopping centers.
Both candidates saw the county’s response to homelessness as a failure and pledged to work hard on county solutions, if elected.
At a glance
The District: Spans 431 square miles from West Hollywood and Beverly Hills to Santa Monica and Malibu, to the San Fernando Valley. Population = 1.2 million.
The Candidates: Lindsey Horvath, 40, West Hollywood City Council member; Bob Hertzberg, 67, state senator. In June primary, Hertzberg received 105,923 votes (31%). Horvath received 94,528 votes (28%).
The Election: Nov. 8, 2022
The Issues: Law enforcement, jails, Sheriff’s Department, homelessness, affordable housing, public health, LA Metro, transportation, safe streets, Aliso Canyon, open space, environment.
One thing to know about this race: Supervisor Sheila Kuehl is not running, making this an open seat. Voters will be electing a new supervisor to sit on the five-member board.