What’s at stake in this race

The five county supervisors hold huge power in Los Angeles County and together represent more than 10 million people. That's more residents than most U.S. states.

The supervisors steer a nearly $50 billion annual budget and determine countywide policy for jails and juvenile halls, foster care and the Sheriff's Department. The board plays a key role in regional homelessness planning and has at times come into conflict with the city of L.A.

What do L.A. County supervisors do?

• They serve as the de-facto city council of unincorporated areas of the county.
• They adopt an annual county budget.
• They create local laws, known as ordinances.
• They supervise county departments.
• They determine policy for jails, juvenile halls, foster care and the Sheriff's Department.
• They sit on the L.A. Metro Board of Directors.
• They appoint the county superintendent of schools and county Board of Education.

You might know them from

• The supervisors moved last year to stop sending hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer money to L.A. Homeless Services Authority — known as LAHSA — and established their own department on homelessness. It was a seismic shift, overhauling the regional approach to homelessness.
• The supervisors have ordered new transparency measures around settlements between the county and its executives after current county CEO Fesia Davenport had quietly received a $2 million payment.
• The board oversees the county's juvenile hall system, which has had a litany of scandals in recent years, including overdoses and accusations of gladiator fights. These issues led California Attorney General Rob Bonta to attempt to place the juvenile halls under state control — a move a judge has blocked for now.
• The board also oversees the troubled county jail system — and has recently voted to implement a number of changes, including asking the Sheriff's Department to fix water-quality issues.

Here are some things the Board of Supervisors doesn’t do

The supervisors have limited power in the 88 incorporated cities in L.A. County, where city councils run the show. In unincorporated communities — such as Marina del Rey, Baldwin Hills and Altadena — the supervisors act as a city council of sorts. You can find a list of all 125 unincorporated communities here.

Fast facts about the Board of Supervisors

• Major changes are in store for the Board of Supervisors. The board will expand to nine members, from the current five, by 2032. And in 2028, the board will no longer appoint the county chief executive — that will become a voter-elected office.
• Supervisors are elected to four-year terms and can hold office for a maximum of 12 consecutive years — meaning they can run again after taking a break.
• The district lines were updated in 2021.

What’s on the agenda for next term

• L.A. County faces bleak budget problems due to federal funding cuts, liabilities from systemic child sexual abuse, costs related to the Palisades and Eaton fires and more.
• Federal cuts are expected to slash $2.4 billion from county health programs over three years — so the Board of Supervisors put an initiative on the June ballot to temporarily raise sales taxes.
• The county will also head into the next fiscal year with a homelessness spending plan that includes nearly $200 million in reductions to programs and services.
• The board will continue to reckon with the ongoing immigration raids across the county. In January, the supervisors moved to designate county property as "ICE Free Zones."
• The county will keep addressing its troubled jail and juvenile halls, which have been tasked with making major changes to address concerns over health and safety.

What it takes to win

A candidate could win outright June 2 with more than 50% of votes cast. If no candidate crosses that threshold, the top two finishers will compete in a runoff in the November general election.

The candidates for L.A. County Board of Supervisors, District 1

Five candidates are in the running to be the L.A. County supervisor for District 1. The winner will fill the seat currently occupied by Hilda Solis, who is termed out this year.

The district stretches from Silver Lake and Eagle Rock east to San Bernardino County and includes downtown Los Angeles.

Elaine Alaniz, disaster recovery specialist

Elaine Alaniz

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Courtesy Elaine Alaniz

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Elaine Alaniz is the president of the Westlake North Neighborhood Council. Alaniz, the only registered Republican in this contest, works for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience.

In her own words

Cost of living and affordability: Alaniz tells LAist she'd focus on the cost of housing and economic opportunities to address the cost of living. She says she'll prioritize streamlining permitting and reducing regulatory delays so housing can be built faster. She also said she will expand workforce pathways for county residents.

Homelessness: Alaniz says the county's new department on homelessness creates "an opportunity for accountability, but it must deliver results." She says that on Day 1, she will establish real-time tracking of outcomes for the county's different approaches to homelessness. She also emphasizes the need for services that address not just housing, but also mental health and addiction.

"I’m not interested in managing homelessness, I’m focused on reducing it through accountability, coordination, and measurable results," she told LAist in the survey.

County finances: Alaniz tells LAist she would start by auditing existing spending and directing funds to critical services like healthcare and public safety.

Immigration: Alaniz says she would focus on ensuring L.A. County residents are able to continue to access healthcare and emergency services. She also says she would focus on communicating with residents to make sure they know their rights.

Juvenile halls: Alaniz tells LAist she does not support state receivership "as a first step" and that the county must act to implement strict oversight of the system.

More voter resources:

• Website: http://www.elainereadytoserve.vote
• Full endorsements list here.

Noel Almario, women's health advocate

Noel Almario is a doula and advocate for maternal health and underserved families, according to her website. Almario says her focus is families in District 1 and that she will prioritize mental health, housing for all, affordable childcare and related issues.

In her own words

Almario did not respond to requests from LAist to share more details about her campaign and priorities.

More voter resources:

• Website: https://www.noelfordistrict1.com/
• Full endorsements list here.

David Argudo, La Puente City Council member

David Argudo is a La Puente City Council member who says he's running to improve public safety, address homelessness and focus on environmental justice.

In his own words

LAist asked Argudo to answer a survey ahead of the election. Here is where he stands on key issues:

Cost of living and affordability: Argudo told LAist that he'd focus on expanding the housing supply in the county by streamlining approvals. He also said he wants to make sure developers build housing that working families can afford.

Argudo called Measure H — a 2017 sales tax to fund homeless services passed by L.A. County voters — a failure, saying it shows that "throwing money at a problem without accountability fails."

Homelessness: Argudo told LAist that "top-down spending without accountability" doesn't work — pointing to LAHSA. He says he will focus on "performance-based funding" that tracks homelessness spending closely.

"We must prioritize local control, proven programs and real-time transparency the public can track," he said.

He says his first action in office would be an audit of all homelessness spending.

County finances: Argudo told LAist he opposes raising taxes to address the county's budget problems. He instead pointed back to his plan to audit spending. He also pointed to the county's liability payouts, saying the supervisors need to improve risk management.

Immigration: Argudo said he would not interfere with federal operations but would focus on strengthening access to legal services for families in the county.

County juvenile halls: Argudo told LAist he does not support moving juvenile halls under a state receivership immediately but would support the move if the county "fails to act quickly." He said he would focus on restoring safe staffing levels and expanding mental health services.

More voter resources:

• Website: https://www.davidargudo.com/

Maria Elena Durazo, California state senator

Maria Elena Durazo

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Courtesy sd26.senate.ca.gov

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Maria Elena Durazo is a longtime labor leader and major figure in L.A. Democratic politics. She has been a California state senator since 2018, representing the 26th District, which includes Hollywood, East Los Angeles and Alhambra.

As a state senator, she has pushed back against cuts to healthcare for undocumented immigrants. She opposed Senate Bill 79, legislation that is now California law that allows apartment buildings in neighborhoods near transit stops that are zoned for only single-family homes. According to CalMatters, Durazo was concerned the legislation does not require developers to build low-income units.

She was previously the executive vice president of Unite Here and the first woman to serve as secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, a role she held from 2006 to 2014.

In her own words

LAist asked Durazo to answer a survey ahead of the election. Here is where she stands on key issues:

Cost of living and affordability: Durazo pointed to her long career in public service, saying her focus on affordability comes down to one issue: raising wages. She pointed to protections for hotel workers, garment workers and farmworkers that she has fought for in her career as a legislator and union activist.

"Politicians don’t like this approach to the affordability issue because it means transferring wealth from those who have more to those who have less," she told LAist.

Homelessness: Durazo told LAist that she was "unaware of any large-scale successful homeless model" developed in any big city. "But I recognize our massive collective failure," she said. She said Angelenos need to mobilize to respond to homelessness.

She called claims that the city and county are working together "more of the tired sameness," saying that there is no "off the shelf" response to homelessness and that current approaches aren't working.

County finances: Durazo pointed to decades of tax loopholes as a reason for the county's budget woes. She told LAist, "I will fiercely oppose any new tax breaks, tax incentives, tax subsidies or any other fancier ways of giving away money to people who don’t need it."

Immigration: Durazo sums up her approach to immigration enforcement with two words: "Disobey Trump.”

County juvenile halls: The state senator did not respond to LAist's question on whether she supports attempts to move the county juvenile halls under state control. She pointed out that the young people in juvenile halls are typically poor, majority Black and brown, and that many of them are disabled, homeless or in foster care.

"I am in favor of trying anything and everything to change those numbers," she told LAist.

More voter resources:

• Website: https://www.durazoforsupervisor.com/
• Endorsements: Outgoing District 1 Supervisor Hilda Solis, labor leader Dolores Huerta. 
• Full endorsements list here

Annabella Figueroa Mazariegos, L.A. County employee

Annabella Figueroa Mazariegos did not respond to multiple requests from LAist to share more details about her campaign and priorities.

Campaign finance