Kathryn Barger, the Los Angeles County supervisor of the Fifth District, announced on Friday, Feb. 10, that she intends to run for another term on the powerful board.
Barger, a registered Republican in a non-partisan seat, is the only member of the GOP on the five-person, all-female Board of Supervisors.
But supporters say Barger knows how to work with, and perhaps, influence her fellow progressive Democrats that make up four-fifths of the Board.
She is serving her second, four-year term on the Board. Her district, the county’s largest spanning 2,785 square miles, includes parts of the San Gabriel, San Fernando, Crescenta, Santa Clarita and Antelope Valleys and encompasses 20 cities and 83 unincorporated communities.
She will be running for her third and final term on the board, since members are limited to three, four-year terms. The Board oversees a county budget of $39 billion.
Voters will get a chance to cast ballots for Barger in the March 5, 2024, primary election.
In a video announcing her re-election bid, Barger mentioned two issues — tackling homelessness and providing more mental health and substance abuse resources — similar to what she said were her top issues when she ran for her second term in 2020. She was first elected to the Board in 2016.
“I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished challenging the status quo on homelessness, supporting public safety and expanding mental health care for our communities – more needs be done,” she wrote in a Facebook page post on Thursday, Feb. 9.
She’s announced support from labor groups, including the Los Angeles / Orange County Building and Construction Trades Council, the Electrical Workers IBEW Local 11 and the SEIU Local 721. She’s also supported by Los Angeles County Firefighters, Local 1014; the Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association and the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs.
“I am deeply honored and grateful to have the support of our L.A. County Firefighters. Whether it be a fire, natural disaster, health emergency or other crisis in our community, these men and women never fail to meet the moment and rise to the occasion,” she wrote on her Facebook page.
“She has a voting record of supporting union issues,” said Mark Gonzalez, Los Angeles County Democratic Party Chair on Friday, Feb. 10. “If I were her, I’d register as a decline-to-state.”
Barger also has gathered endorsement from mayors and city council members from Lancaster to Sierra Madre. She received the endorsement of Fourth District Supervisor and Board Chair Janice Hahn.
“Kathryn has been a voice of common sense when others choose politics over people,” said Glendora Mayor Gary Boyer in a prepared statement.