Kathryn Barger, Janice Hahn, Sheila Kuehl, Holly Mitchell and Hilda Solis
Kathryn Barger, Janice Hahn, Sheila Kuehl, Holly Mitchell and Hilda Solis
Board of Supervisors at County of Los Angeles
Talk about power: jurisdiction over the most populous county in the United States.
Supervisors Kathryn Barger, Janice Hahn, Sheila Kuehl, Holly Mitchell and Hilda Solis together have more discretionary power than most governors in the U.S. — with more than 10 million residents, L.A. County has more people than 40 individual states — and the board has major influence over housing and development regulations.
As de facto leaders of the public health department, too, the board’s influence ballooned the past 20 months as it dictated how and when each type of business could operate through the pandemic — sometimes overruling guidance from the state, and sometimes overruling guidance from local health directors.
The board also played a major role in the balance between landlords and tenants navigating an era-defining pandemic and subsequent back rent. The supervisors will continue to regulate landlords and tenants grappling over that missed rent due to the pandemic. A survey earlier this year from University of California, Los Angeles and University of Southern California found that L.A. renters owe their landlords a median monthly rent of $2,800.
And the supervisors got to weigh in on vaccine mandates for large events and places like bars, nightclubs and lounges.
Even without the pandemic, and separate from lawmaking, the county is one of the most active entities in the region in terms of development and financing for permanent supportive housing and affordable housing projects.
The historically diverse board also uses its budget and discretionary power for massive landmarked projects. That includes approval of the $650 million redesign of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art currently underway. — G.C.
