LOS ANGELES – Lindsey Horvath and Hilda Solis took their oaths of office for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors today — Horvath debuting on the county’s governing body as its youngest-ever elected woman, while the political veteran Solis begins his third and final term.
Solis got the spotlight first during a 10 am ceremony in the Board of Supervisors Meeting Room of the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration in Downtown Los Angeles. Horvath was sworn in during a noon ceremony in the same location.
The new-look board will meet for the first time on Tuesday.
Horvath, a former member of the West Hollywood City Council and twice the mayor of that city, beat state Sen. Bob Horvath in a runoff election last month for the 3rd District seat formerly held by Sheila Kuehl, who did not seek reelection.
Solis — who served in both the Assembly and state Senate before moving to Congress and later becoming US Secretary of Labor under President Barack Obama — easily defeated four challengers in the June primary to claim her third term representing the 1st District.
Term limits make Thursday’s oath Solis’ last as a supervisor. On incumbent supervisor has not lost a reelection bid for 42 years.
Horvath, meanwhile, claimed victory over Hertzberg on Nov. 17, ultimately winning by nearly 29,000 votes, or just under 53 percent after all the ballots were counted.
“I am humbled and honored that the voters have chosen me to serve as their next supervisor,” Horvath, 40, said in a statement.
She took the oath of office from former West Hollywood Mayor Abbe Land, and acknowledged that the five-member board — once known as the “Five Little Kings” — will continue to be all-female.
Horvath said the county’s all-male founders likely could not have envisioned “a board of five bad-ass women now sitting in these chairs.”
Horvath also acknowledged those who might question whether “a Millennial is ready to serve her county.”
“But the median age in Los Angeles county is 38,” she said. “Millennials in Los Angeles are more likely to carry student debt. We are more likely to leave LA County to buy a home, and we’re more likely to struggle to keep up with rent. We and the generations that follow will be the ones to suffer from action on climate change. Our generation asks for no special favor or treatment. We only ask for a government ready to hear our voices and respond to our needs.”
Horvath had been a member of West Hollywood’s City Council since 2015 and was his mayor from 2015-16 and 2020-21.
The 3rd District covers a majority of the San Fernando Valley, stretching from Westlake Village and Malibu to Calabasas, West Hills, Porter Ranch, San Fernando, Panorama City and Northridge. It also includes West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and parts of Venice.
The district’s boundaries changed during the county’s most recent redistricting effort dramatically, giving it great swath of the Valley.
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