Skip to main content
Donate

Women May Make History in L.A. County Election

Kathryn Barger and Janice Hahn
By City News Service
June 7, 2016
Support Provided By

Hillary Clinton may not be the only woman making gender history in today's election.

It's possible that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, once the all-male home of the "five little kings," could end up with a female majority for the first time.

Rep. Janice Hahn, D-San Pedro, has a significant edge in name recognition, high-profile endorsements and campaign funding in the race for supervisor of Los Angeles County's 4th District going into today's primary against former Manhattan Beach City Councilman Steve Napolitano and Whittier School District Board member Ralph Pacheco.

Hahn has raised nearly $1.4 million for her campaign, according to the latest filings, compared with Napolitano's nearly $1.1 million, $790,000 of which was self-funded. No filing for Pacheco was posted on the registrar- recorder's website.

Women already on the board are Sheila Kuehl and Hilda Solis. If Hahn wins outright today, or is victorious in a November runoff, that would make three women on the five-member board.

The board could even end up with four of the five members being women.

Kathryn Barger, chief of staff to termed-out Supervisor Michael Antonovich, is running to succeed her boss. Besides his support, Barger also has strong backing from unions representing sheriff's deputies and county firefighters, as well as the Service Employees International Union Local 721, which represents most county employees.

But Los Angeles City Councilman Mitch Englander has a narrow edge in fundraising, with $1.3 million to Barger's roughly $1.2 million, based on the latest available filings.

A victory by Hahn would not only be significant for women, it would also return the Hahn name to the board. Her late father, Kenneth Hahn, was a board member for 40 years. The County Hall of Administration, where the board meets, is named for him.

Support Provided By
Read More
Gray industrial towers and stacks rise up from behind the pitched roofs of warehouse buildings against a gray-blue sky, with a row of yellow-gold barrels with black lids lined up in the foreground to the right of a portable toilet.

California Isn't on Track To Meet Its Climate Change Mandates. It's Not Even Close.

According to the annual California Green Innovation Index released by Next 10 last week, California is off track from meeting its climate goals for the year 2030, as well as reaching carbon neutrality by 2045.
By Alejandro Lazo, CalMatters
A row of cows stands in individual cages along a line of light-colored enclosures, placed along a dirt path under a blue sky dotted with white puffy clouds.

A Battle Is Underway Over California’s Lucrative Dairy Biogas Market

California is considering changes to a program that has incentivized dairy biogas, to transform methane emissions into a source of natural gas. Neighbors are pushing for an end to the subsidies because of its impact on air quality and possible water pollution.
By Emma Foehringer Merchant, Inside Climate News
A Black woman with long, black brains wears a black Chicago Bulls windbreaker jacket with red and white stripes as she stands at the top of a short staircase in a housing complex and rests her left hand on the metal railing. She smiles slightly while looking directly at the camera.

Los Angeles County Is Testing AI's Ability To Prevent Homelessness

In order to prevent people from becoming homeless before it happens, Los Angeles County officials are using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to predict who in the county is most likely to lose their housing. They would then step in to help those people with their rent, utility bills, car payments and more so they don't become unhoused.
By Marisa Kendall, CalMatters