Horvath declares victory in Los Angeles County supervisors race

West Hollywood City Councilmember Lindsey Horvath declared victory Thursday evening for the only vacant Los Angeles County supervisor seat after taking a nearly 20,000-vote lead over state Sen. Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys), who also conceded Thursday.

The 40-year-old will become the lone millennial and renter on the five-member board, which remains all female after her victory. The board is in charge of a budget of nearly $39 billion.

As of Thursday’s vote drop, Horvath leads with 52.24% of the vote with more than 450,000 ballots counted.

“I am thrilled, humbled, excited and feeling a whole range of emotions,” she said in a Zoom interview Thursday. “We had so many people join our team, many who saw a bit of themselves in us, and we picked up the fight together.”

Horvath’s triumph came despite a more than 3-to-1 fundraising advantage for the seasoned Hertzberg, 67, who picked up endorsements from California Gov. Gavin Newsom and U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla.

“I want to offer my most sincere and humble congratulations to Supervisor-Elect Horvath,” Hertzberg said in an emailed statement. “The challenges that we face as a county are extraordinary and it will take someone with Lindsey’s work ethic to be successful.”

Horvath rallied a coalition, including outgoing Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, whom Horvath will replace Dec. 5, along with all but one supervisor. Horvath also earned most endorsements from neighborhood Democratic clubs along with the Los Angeles County Democratic Party.

Horvath will represent a sprawling 431-square-mile 3rd District that includes the Westside of Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley. In total, 10 cities, 25 unincorporated communities and parts of 50 neighborhoods in Los Angeles constitute the water-pistol-shaped district of 2.06 million residents.

The 3rd District is about 43% white, 37% Latino, 12% Asian and 4% Black.

Horvath campaigned as a decision maker unafraid to make tough calls. She backed Los Angeles County’s Measure A, which granted the Board of Supervisors the ability to remove an elected sheriff. She called out Sheriff Alex Villanueva and did not support his campaign.

Measure A passed with slightly more than 70% support, while Villanueva was handily defeated in his reelection bid by retired Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna.

Conversely, Hertzberg lukewarmly supported Measure A and often refrained from publicly criticizing Villanueva.

Throughout her campaign, Horvath labeled homelessness, safety and the environment as the district’s three most pressing issues.

“I want to make sure that we know where the resources are and that they’re appropriately allocated to address those needs and concerns,” Horvath said. “We need to build a team that is not just reflective of the diversity of the district but of the diversity of interests that we need to serve.”

Hertzberg led Horvath on election night, with the first ballots giving him a 5,000-vote advantage, as he jumped ahead with 51.24% of the vote.

Horvath received more votes on every subsequent update, including narrowing Hertzberg’s advantage to 4,000 on the second night’s vote drop. Horvath eventually surged ahead by less than 700 votes on Nov. 11 and continued to build her lead.

Hertzberg, the former speaker of the Assembly, will term out of the Senate on Nov. 30.

His defeat comes a week after his son Daniel Hertzberg, who was attempting to capture his father’s 20th Senate District, was bested by Marine Corps veteran Caroline Menjivar.