Longtime Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich announced this spring his retirement effective at the end of next year. By way of term limits, the November 2016 County election will mark the first time in 35 years that the veteran politician has not had his name on a ballot. The race to succeed him quickly drew a sizable field of candidates vying to represent the sprawling fifth supervisorial district which is generally considered the county’s last Republican stronghold.
Among those who have filed preliminary paperwork for the seat are State Sen. Bob Huff (R-Diamond Bar), the minority floor leader in Sacramento; Kathryn Barger, chief of staff to Antonovich and endorsed by the supervisor; Elan Carr, a deputy district attorney, and Glendale Councilman Ara Najarian. Los Angeles City Councilman Mitch Englander has also entered the race, as well as Assemblyman Scott Wilk (R-Santa Clarita). Also, candidates Alan S. Reynolds, Raj Pal Kahlon and William Malone have filed paperwork with the county to begin respective fundraising campaigns. Each of these persons—and likely more entrants as the race heats up early next year—are vying to represent one of the county’s most varied districts which spans from urban areas to the tip of the Mojave Desert.
Potential replacements
Among the prospective candidates, Barger may have the most experience in understanding and serving the needs of the fifth district, an area composed of populous areas and little towns stretching north to Kern County, west to Ventura County and east to San Bernardino County. Barger has been Antonovich’s chief of staff for 14 years and began as an intern in 1981 then rising to deputy in 1989.
“Kathryn is a strong leader with the experience, qualifications and good judgment to meet the needs of the communities in our district and successfully serve as county supervisor,” said Antonovich who also holds the title of Mayor of Los Angeles County. “She needs no on-the-job training, having worked closely with me for three decades to solve complex county issues that directly affect our neighborhoods.”
There are a number of county issues remaining on Antonovich’s agenda. One of which is the minimum wage debate in which he said this month that a proposed increase should be a balanced approach taking into consideration the “…negative impacts and additional costs that an increase would have on businesses and jobs.”
In March, Antonovich called for tougher standards for the county’s nursing home rating system. In 2009 his efforts led to a state law requiring nursing homes to post their “five-star” rating, noting then that the changes could effectively improve the ability of consumers and families to identify “meaningful differences” in quality among nursing homes. Throughout the county, nursing homes operate today under increased scrutiny with target inspections of poorly rated facilities, and tougher scoring and verification of reported data particularly in relation to staffing. All facilities today must perform at a “three-star” level in order to receive a rating on the staffing category.
Spotlight on nursing homes
Also in March, Antonovich called for a more practical approach to the process of obtaining a county permit. He would prefer to consolidate all the departments necessary to process permits into one body, thereby allowing county staff to communicate more effectively with the public in regard to questions related to which departments can best serve their needs and also to better inform about fees, zoning issues and how much time is involved during the permit process.
“This is an improvement that will allow county staff to communicate effectively with the public, to resolve issues quickly and to create uniform timeframes for permit processing,” Antonovich said. The motion will also direct the county departments of regional planning and public works to report back to the board by May on what progress is being made in implementing a more modern, electronic system for processing permits.
Antonovich this year urged the board to adopt a more streamlined county governance structure which, reportedly, has helped to eliminate unnecessary layers of management.
“The interim governance structure adopted in 2007 was bloated and ineffective,” Antonovich said earlier this year. “Since we removed some of its prohibitive aspects in September of last year, these changes have improved the board’s ability to establish policy and ensure effective service delivery. We now have much better communication and collaboration on vital county issues.”
Antonovich said the new county budget better reflects the board’s public safety, child protection and coordination of mental health services. Each of these issues has been of major concern for Antonovich during the past few years as he and the Board have wrestled with these and other pressing issues amid shrinking budgets. He emphasized the work of interim County Chief Executive Officer Sachi Hamai and her team in presenting a budget that focuses on quality of life issues that traditionally effect the undeserved communities.
More practical county budget
“Sachi Hamai and her team did superb work in developing the county budget,” Antonovich said. “Her leadership has resulted in a management structure that emphasizes efficiency and an honest, common sense approach to decision-making at all levels within the CEO organization, the Board of Supervisors and County departments.” Antonovich explained that the 2015-16 recommended budget is only the third budget since the onset of the Great Recession where revenues have stabilized, “…but we still face several fiscal challenges with state and federal unfunded mandates.” Among the challenges the county must address in the upcoming fiscal year include the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, construction of a new jail, recruiting another 524 sheriff’s deputies, hiring an additional 444 social workers, obtaining more probation officers (for AB 109 realignment) and replacing deteriorating county facilities.
AB 109 was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2011 in response to the U.S. Supreme Court order to reduce the number of inmates in the state’s 33 prisons to 137.5 percent of the original design capacity. Antonovich has said that this order and other issues of public safety remain a top priority of his administration.
“Public safety is and has always been a top priority of Supervisor Antonovich,” said Tony Bell, press secretary for the supervisor. “We are very pleased with our new sheriff, are working daily to devise a new jail facility and strongly believe in having more offenders serve their complete term rather than be let out early because of AB 109. We have to take a closer look at AB 109 to make sure that offenders serve their term and not be let out early because of overcrowding. Public safety demands that.”
Antonovich in December 2014 called on cities, agencies, colleges and businesses to expand employment opportunities for foster youth. Antonovich and fellow supervisor Sheila Kuehl have each worked to engage the county’s 88 cities, public agencies and business community to adopt programs that assist foster youth in continuing their education and to encourage job training. Antonovich was instrumental in the creation of the county’s Career Development Internship program which provides transitional-aged foster youth with structured “on-the-job training” and employment within county departments.
Helping foster youth
“Our next step here is to reach out to each of our cities, public agencies, local colleges and the business community to encourage them to develop similar programs,” Antonovich explained. “These opportunities are vital to our effort to help young people gain the skills needed to transition to successful and productive lives.” Among the agencies the county is engaging in the outreach effort are the Metropolitan Transit Authority, the Southern California Air Quality Management District, the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Metrolink, Southern California Association of Governments, local community colleges and universities, as well as business groups and private companies.
Bell further explained that the county today is serving more as a “de facto” parent, stressing that “more services” are needed to serve children and teenagers in the foster care system. “This issue is of prime concern for Supervisor Antonovich,” Bell said. “We must work to provide more services for young people in the foster care system—especially for those who are about to leave the system. We have to make available more opportunities for education and introduce employment training.”
Antonovich in the past few years has played another important role in helping to secure the new Kinkisharyo light rail plant in Palmdale and the BYD electric bus plant in Lancaster. Noting that both facilities hold the potential to bring hundreds of jobs into the Antelope Valley, Antonovich commented that these new manufacturing facilities are exactly what is needed to boost employment in the fifth district while providing a product that will be used throughout Los Angeles County.
Bringing jobs to Antelope Valley
“Vital facilities like these will bring hundreds of jobs and tax revenues to Los Angeles County and the state over the next few decades through the production of rail cars and energy-efficient busses that will be used locally and by transit agencies throughout the nation,” Antonovich said. The supervisor, along with colleague Don Knabe, helped to secure a unanimous vote directing Kinkisharyo to “meet its contractual commitment” to deliver rail cars on time to the Metropolitan Transit Authority—and other transit authorities nationwide—without the threat of relocation thereby resolving an impasse between the firm and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
“These and other success stories in the Antelope Valley demonstrate the supervisor’s commitment to economic development,” Bell said. “The Antelope Valley is more than aeronautics. BYD and Kinkisharyo are big issues; the supervisor played an important role in helping to bring them into Los Angeles County.”
The High Desert Regional Health Center in Lancaster was dedicated last summer with expanded space to provide a broad range of diagnostic and treatment services, along with coordinated outpatient services that include adult and pediatric primary care, urgent care, specialty care and outpatient surgery. The facility is operated by the County Department of Health Services and replaced the old High Desert Multiservice Ambulatory Care Center.
“Residents of the Antelope Valley now have local access to quality medical care at this state-of-the-art Regional Health Center which is centrally located and accessible by public transportation,” Antonovich said. “The new facility offers primary care clinics, a broad range of specially clinics, urgent care and cutting-edge diagnostic services.” The new hospital was designed specifically to meet environmental energy and design LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold standards.
