By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief
Audience and board members alike had the opportunity to hear from Los Angeles County Supervisor Candidates for District 3 Lindsey Horvath and Bob Hertzberg during a Meet and Greet at the most recent Pacific Palisades Community Council meeting on Thursday, October 27.
Horvath and Hertzberg are headed to a run-off on November 8 to replace incumbent District 3 Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, who opted to not seek reelection. LA County’s Third District, which includes Pacific Palisades, stretches from Westlake Village/Agoura Hills to Porter Ranch and Sylmar in the San Fernando Valley, Hollywood and Venice.
Hertzberg is a member of the California State Senate, representing District 18, which encompasses a swath of LA County in the San Fernando Valley, including Sherman Oaks, Studio City and Arleta. Hertzberg described himself as a “businessman, clean energy entrepreneur and the Valley’s senator,” according to his website. If elected, he plans to take on “urgent issues,” including homelessness and mental health, public safety, and economic development.
Horvath was elected to the West Hollywood City Council in 2015, after previously serving from 2009 to 2011, according to her website. She was the “longest consecutively serving mayor of West Hollywood, leading the city in 2020 and 2021.” Among her priorities, as noted on the website, are combating homelessness, affordable housing, environment and sustainability, transportation, and public safety.
Hertzberg and Horvath each addressed PPCC for roughly 30 minutes, with introductions and responses to a set of questions regarding priorities related to the Palisades that were shared with the candidates in advance of the meeting. Hertzberg spoke first.
“From a political perspective, what I like, what makes my heart sing, is the community,” Hertzberg shared. “Being involved, talking to people, getting engaged, listening deeply. It’s informed everything that I’ve done since I’ve been in government.”
Hertzberg, a lawyer by training, shared that he did not run for office until he was 42 years old.
“I think one of the core assets that I bring is bridge building,” Hertzberg shared of the District 3 race. “Bridge building from deeply divided communities. My opponent … she represents a very beautiful and wonderful harmonious community of 1.9 square miles. I had to work with people from every corner of the state, every party, in order to figure out, as a leader, to solve problems and get things done.”
After responding to the series of questions, delivered by PPCC Chair Maryam Zar, Horvath took the floor to introduce herself.
“No matter what level I’ve been serving at, I’ve always been focused on local issues, and I believe strongly in local control,” she shared, after explaining she has served for about 15 years in West Hollywood, as well as president of California Contract Cities Association, in the executive leadership for the Clean Power Alliance in the county, and on the state and national board for the League of Cities.
“With the [county] resources, we need to tackle the challenges of homelessness and safety, addressing climate change and protecting our environment, getting people back to work and good jobs that afford themselves and their families a good quality of life, building out our regional transportation infrastructure, and connecting people to jobs and to health care,” Horvath said. “These are some of the primary responsibilities of the supervisor.”
For those who missed the presentation, a full video, including responses to the questions posed by PPCC, is available at pacpalicc.org.
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
