Supervisor Gloria Molina endorses John Duran for Yaroslavsky’s seat

Candidate John Duran added another high-profile endorsement to his run for Zev Yaroslavsky’s open seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, winning praise from Supervisor Gloria Molina as a local Latino politician “who represents a younger generation of leadership.”

“He has a proven track record of delivering high-quality municipal services as a West Hollywood City Councilman and has a well-earned reputation for being in touch with all of his constituents,’’ Molina said in a statement.

Molina said that when she was first elected to the Board of Supervisors in 1991, Latinos made up 38% of the county population. That figure is now 48%, “yet, to date, just one Latino has served on the board,” she said.

Molina’s backing comes a day after Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti endorsed Duran for Yaroslavsky’s District 3 seat, which covers the Westside and much of the San Fernando Valley. Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Koretz also announced his support this week, and Duran has been endorsed by the Los Angeles Times.

Duran, 54, said he was gratified by the support. Molina, like Yaroslavsky, is leaving her Eastside seat after two decades due to term limits.

Duran and Molina have known each other “through politics” during Duran’s 14 years on the West Hollywood Council, he said. Molina and his mother, Carmen Gloria Duran, a former Los Nietos school board member, were “Latina activists together way back when, before either of them became Latina elected officials.”

With just five days left before Tuesday’s primary, Duran finds himself in the position of earning coveted endorsements but having little time, or money, to get the word out to voters.

“I will take it!,” Duran said. “Hope it’s not too late to matter.”

One of Duran’s rivals, former Santa Monica City Councilman and Mayor Bobby Shriver, has been endorsed by Supervisor Don Knabe. The three other sitting supervisors — including Yaroslavsky — have so far not weighed in on the District 3 race.

Shriver is endorsed by Los Angeles and Hollywood business chambers, former state Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg, Los Angeles City Councilmen Paul Krekorian, Tom LaBonge and Mitchell Englander and the Los Angeles Daily News.

Former state lawmaker Sheila Kuehl, also vying for Yaroslavsky’s seat, is backed by the county Democratic Party, the Sierra Club, the National Organization for Women, the California Nurses Assn. and a number of unions.