State Sen. Holly Mitchell earned a landslide victory over Los Angeles City Councilman Herb Wesson in their race to replace termed-out L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas on the board’s Second District.
Mitchell’s victory means the county board once referred to as “five little kings” will be run by five women for the first time in its history.
“I am deeply honored to have earned the opportunity to represent the residents of the Second Supervisorial District.” Mitchell said in a Nov. 4 statement. “This seat has always been hard fought and rightfully so, because of the immense responsibility the Board of Supervisors have in creating policies that will impact over 10 million residents.
Mitchell cruised to victory with 60.86 percent of the vote, compared to Wesson’s 39.14 percent, according to the latest numbers from the Los Angeles County Registrar’s Office.
The five-member county Board of Supervisors controls a $37 billion budget and more than 110,000 county employees working to combat homelessness, manage the county jail and hospital systems, and oversee child welfare, public safety and myriad other programs
“My opponent, Herb Wesson, has dedicated his life to serving our community. I applaud his impressive body of work and share in his commitment to fighting for the residents of the Second Supervisorial District,” Mitchell said.
“Now is the time to turn our vision for a more equitable LA County into action. The residents of the Second Supervisorial District have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and have been struggling with long-standing injustices prior to COVID-19. I look forward to bringing my commitment to equity and justice to this historic, all-women led Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and continuing to fight for all residents to have the resources they need to thrive.”
Mitchell was endorsed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, County Supervisor Hilda Solis, the United Farm Workers union and its founder Dolores Huerta and unions representing healthcare workers and public defenders among others.
Ridley-Thomas — who himself last week won a seat to replace Wesson in representing Los Angeles City Council District 10 — had not endorsed either candidate for the 2nd District, which covers an area ranging from downtown south through Inglewood and much of South L.A. to Carson, and as far west as Mar Vista.
