State Sen. Henry Stern Thursday officially announced his candidacy for the Third District seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors being vacated by Sheila Kuehl.
Standing at the corner of Ventura Boulevard and Stern Avenue in Sherman Oaks — with the Stern Avenue street sign serving as a backdrop — the lawmaker announced on Zoom, “I’m running.”
Stern said he waited until after the recently redrawn supervisorial districts were approved before announcing his run, saying, “I didn’t want to declare for this office not knowing who I’d be working to represent. That didn’t feel right.”
He indicated that, if elected, he would focus on quality-of-life issues in L.A. County — saying, “You may not even know who your county supervisor is, but you do know that something’s not working right in L.A.”
“This job is really not a political steppingstone,” Stern said. “The job of county supervisor isn’t about politics or gender, it’s not about playing games at the high level or even the important policy debates necessarily that have been going on in my job as state senator in Sacramento, or the red versus blue that’s defining the existential future of this country.
“The job’s about getting work done on the ground. And it’s not working.”
Stern — a Senate Democrat who is seeking what is officially a nonpartisan seat on the five-member Board of Supervisors — joins a field that also includes West Hollywood Councilwoman Lindsey P. Horvath, Los Angeles City Controller Ron Galperin and Assemblyman Richard Bloom, D-Santa Monica. Horvath has been endorsed by Kuehl, Supervisor Janice Hahn and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, confirmed on Tuesday to the political news website Politico that he is “seriously considering” running for the seat representing the San Fernando Valley and Westside.
Stern was elected to the state Senate in 2016 and re-elected in 2020, representing a district stretching from Encino to eastern Ventura County and north to the Santa Clarita Valley and including Malibu. He has chaired the Senate Natural Resources & Water Committee since 2018 and the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Management since December 2020.
He has sought to bolster the state’s wildfire preparedness, push to have the state address climate change, change the state’s election laws, aid people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and assist the elderly and disabled populations.
Stern was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October as one of the three co-chairs of the Governor’s Council on Holocaust and Genocide Education along with Attorney General Rob Bonta and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.
The council was inspired by the Never Again Education Act, introduced by Stern in February, intended to provide teachers with training and resources for teaching content such as genocide within existing curriculum and the social science framework.
“As the generation of survivors in many of our families pass on, it is essential we find alternative ways to express the impact of hate and bias to ensure atrocities like the Holocaust, Armenian and Rwandan genocides never happen again,” Stern said in October in connection with the appointment.
“Education is a key component of the puzzle to lift up the stories of our community long after they’re gone.”
Stern is a sixth-generation Californian and a graduate of Malibu High School and Harvard University, playing water polo at both schools, and the UC Berkeley School of Law. Stern served as counsel to then-Rep. Henry Waxman, D- Los Angeles, on the House Energy & Commerce Committee, was a law lecturer at UCLA and UC Berkeley and founded a tech incubator.
Stern is the son of actor Daniel Stern, best known for his roles in “Home Alone” and “City Slickers,” and their sequels, and as the voice of the adult Kevin Arnold on the 1988-93 ABC comedy, “The Wonder Years.”
The younger Stern delivered the next-to-last line of the series in a voiceover as Arnold’s son, calling to his father, “Hey Dad, wanna play catch?” to which his father replied, “I’ll be right there.”
Copyright 2021, City News Service, Inc.
It is doubtful that Horvath will win the primary. If not, she will be on the ballot for WeHo City Council, again. I believe this all happened with Duran, a few years ago (I could be mistaken). With these contenders, I would expect her to be back on the ballot for the Council. Not sure if she’s even announced it, or how the timing and politics work in this situation. Don’t like her? Then don’t vote for her. It will be a challenging election, knowing that D’Amico is stepping out, which leaves an empty seat. Lauren Meister will surely be… Read more »
Well, I don’t know much about Mr. Stern, but he will bring two new qualities to the Board of Supervisors that have always been lacking, that I feel anyway: He looks charismatic & he’s handsome. So for that reason, he has my vote. I’m sure he can learn the rest as he goes along.
He will also “focus on quality of life issues”. Something else that the current Board of Supervisors has been lacking.
Quality of Life is central to everything. Focus on it and positive approaches can exponentially inspire improvement.
Yes, indeed. He will be a breath of fresh air on a dreary collection of political hacks that form the Board of Supervisors. He has my boat. Hopefully, he will win.
His record on public safety during his time in the state Senate has been abysmal. Incredibly soft on crime and spineless. Votes in whatever direction the wind blows. I guess that makes him a great politician but a terrible decision maker and an even worse leader. In fact, he’s a follower. Do we really need one more of these slimy dudes with greasy hair and no backbone in local government? With that said, the other candidates aren’t any better. What a shame. LA just keeps getting more and more hopeless. The same ineffective losers keep hopping from one political gig… Read more »
LACS candidate and former WEHO Mayor Lindsey Horvath has made a new achievement! The 40 year old West Hollywood Council member seems to be about as popular as Hitler would be in Israel!
So many contenders for who is the worst councilmember in the history of Weho, but Lindsey has to be right up there in the worthless category. It’s hard to understand how people who have accomplished so little suddenly feel a desire to accomplish even less for greater numbers of people.
Right?!?
She was always just using this position as a stepping stone. She barely lived here when she was appointed in her first term. I’m looking for ANYONE but her on the County Board.
Just keep Horvath out. We’ve had enough of her negligible governing in West Hollywood. The County of Los Angeles shouldn’t need to suffer too.
So true. I used to support her until she went off the deep end.
Me, too! I started out as a supporter, but the past two years have been a disaster. I’ve had more than enough e-mails from Horvath’s dog and other supporters begging for money.
Anyone but Horvath!!!
Hear! Hear! Enough of the emails from her dog asking for money! Now this race has gotten interesting. Anyone but Horvath. Shut her out.