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LA County’s CEO starts a months-long leave
L.A. County CEO Fesia Davenport at a county Board of Supervisors meeting in April 2025.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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L.A. County Chief Executive Officer Fesia Davenport is taking a months-long leave of absence with plans to return to the job early next year, according to emails sent to county staff this week.
Second-in-command Joe Nicchitta — the county’s chief deputy CEO and chief operating officer — will serve as acting CEO while she’s out, according to a county spokesperson and Davenport’s internal announcements.
And the CEO’s manager of strategic initiatives, Jeramy Gray, will temporarily step into the No. 2 job, according to an email from Davenport to colleagues.
Davenport internally announced her leave to her staff and county department heads via email Tuesday night, saying it would start the next day.
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Why is she going on leave?
Davenport, who has been L.A. County’s CEO for five years, acknowledged her absence would come as a surprise to a lot of her team.
She did not give a reason for her leave in the two internal announcement emails the county provided in response to a request from LAist. She wrote that it’s her first leave in her 27 years of working at the county.
[Click here to read the announcement emails.]
In a statement provided by a county spokesperson, Davenport told LAist that she was on medical leave. She did not specify the medical issue, while asking for privacy.
“I have left a strong team in place to manage County affairs during my absence,” Davenport said, in a statement provided by a county spokesperson. “In the meantime, I must focus on getting well and hope that everyone can respect my privacy during this time.”
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It’s a difficult time for the county, which administers much of the social safety net for the nation’s most populous county. Officials have been sounding alarms that the county faces a dire fiscal crisis amid cuts to federal and state funding and due the county’s $4 billion settlement over sex abuse allegations.
Changes coming
The county CEO oversees the roughly $50 billion county budget, labor relations with over 100,000 county employees and implementing key priorities of the county Board of Supervisors — including poverty alleviation and addressing homelessness.
The CEO role is scheduled for a massive change in the coming years. Instead of being appointed by the Board of Supervisors, the CEO will be elected by voters starting with the 2028 election, due to a measure voters approved last year.
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