Is Lindsey Horvath Running For Mayor Of Los Angeles? - Beritaja

Lindsey Horvath knew each the words to “Pink Pony Club.”

It was an overcast Sunday successful June, the WeHo Pride parade was successful afloat plaything and the deed song about an iconic West Hollywood cheery barroom was blasting astatine afloat volume.

Sure, the region supervisor’s sequined, rainbow muumuu was giving her an angry rash. But that did small to dampen her spirits arsenic she danced atop her pinkish pony-themed Pride float, swaying and mouthing the lyrics.

Five hours later, Horvath had traded her sequins and rainbow sneakers for a elemental achromatic dress and heels.

Now, she sat connected a woody pew for evening Mass astatine her 121-year-old Catholic parish successful Hollywood.

But she still knew each the words, albeit this clip to a accepted hymn about the holiness of the Lord. And past she knelt down successful quiet prayer.

Horvath, 43, defies easy characterization.

She is the first millennial personnel of the region Board of Supervisors, a governing assemblage that wields tremendous powerfulness contempt remaining chartless to about Angelenos.

When elected successful November 2022, she went from representing about 35,000 group arsenic a West Hollywood City Council personnel to having much than 2 cardinal constituents crossed a sweeping, 431-square-mile territory that sprawls from the Ventura County statement down to Santa Monica, eastbound to Hollywood and up done overmuch of the San Fernando Valley.

While attending the University of Notre Dame, Horvath held a activity position pinch the school’s College Republicans chapter, helped create Notre Dame’s first gay-straight confederation and drew nationalist guidance for staging “The Vagina Monologues” astatine the Catholic assemblage — each while moving 3 jobs to salary disconnected her student loans. (She’s still paying them off.)

During her 2022 run for supervisor, she had the backing of immoderate of the about progressive politicians successful the city, including then-Councilmember-elect Eunisses Hernandez, arsenic good arsenic then-Councilmember Joe Buscaino, 1 of the much blimpish members of the body.

As a personnel of the West Hollywood City Council, she helped approve what was past the highest minimum costs successful the country, yet her region reelection bid was conscionable endorsed by 1 of the region’s about salient pro-business groups.

In the 3 years since she was elected to the region Board of Supervisors, she has efficaciously rewritten the building of region authorities and drastically changed its approach to homelessness response.

Horvath’s Midwestern mien, unflagging politeness and lukewarm grin belie her fierce ambition.

She has agelong been seen arsenic personification who does not — to crib a building occasionally utilized about her down closed doors — “wait her turn.” And that impatience has worked retired OK for her truthful far.

All of which raises the question, will Horvath situation Karen Bass successful the June 2026 Los Angeles mayoral race?

Horvath speaks arsenic supporters rally successful September for her mobility to walk an emergency rent alleviation program.

(Al Seib / For The Times)

Her sanction has been bandied arsenic a imaginable Los Angeles mayoral campaigner since early successful the year, erstwhile her nationalist floor plan exploded successful the aftermath of the devastating Palisades occurrence and tensions betwixt her and Bass first became public.

She has done small to tamp the speculation since, though immoderate posit she is simply expanding her floor plan up of a tally for region executive successful 2028.

Still, the governmental rumor mill went into overdrive successful early summer, arsenic connection trickled retired that the erstwhile politician of West Hollywood had moved into a two-bedroom flat astatine the separator of Hollywood — firmly successful the metropolis of Los Angeles.

When asked about her mayoral intentions precocious past month, Horvath demurred, but made clear the doorway was open.

“I person nary plans to tally for mayor,” she said, sitting nether the sun successful Gloria Molina Grand Park, conscionable extracurricular her agency successful the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, wrong nonstop position of City Hall.

“I proceed to beryllium asked by group I profoundly respect, truthful I proceed to perceive to them and see their requests, and I’m taking that seriously,” she continued. “But I’m focused connected the activity of the county.”

Horvath, left, embraces Mayor Karen Bass successful August astatine an arena successful Pacific Palisades.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

Horvath declined to stock specifics about who was pushing her to run, though she said they were “significant stakeholders” that didn’t hail from immoderate azygous community.

On Monday, erstwhile schools main Austin Beutner kicked disconnected his campaign for mayor, becoming the first superior campaigner to situation Bass. Political watchers person speculated that Beutner’s entrée could perchance unfastened the floodgates by offering a support building for others to situation the politician of the nation’s second-largest city.

In the contiguous aftermath of the January firestorm, Bass’ governmental early appeared to beryllium successful existent jeopardy, but she has since regained immoderate of her footing and shored up support pinch powerful interests, specified arsenic section labour groups.

***

Horvath was 26 and had lived successful West Hollywood for each of 18 months erstwhile Sal Guarriello, a 90-year-old West Hollywood assembly member, suddenly died.

It was outpouring 2009. The advertizing executive and Ohio transplant was progressive successful Democratic and feminist circles, co-founding the Hollywood section of the National Organization for Women and starring the West Hollywood Women’s Advisory Board. (Raised by conservatives, Horvath started assemblage arsenic a Republican but soon evolved into a staunch Democrat.)

Former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti — who was past president of the Los Angeles City Council — had go a friend and mentor to Horvath done her activism. He and others urged her to propulsion her chapeau into the ringing for the unfastened seat.

More than 30 group applied, but Horvath was yet chosen by the remaining members of the assembly to subordinate them — an result that was stunning, moreover to her.

After 2 years successful her appointed role, she lost an predetermination bid successful 2011 but continued to make a sanction for herself successful the tight-knit, clubby world of progressive West Hollywood politics.

Undeterred, she ran again for West Hollywood City Council successful 2015 and won.

Horvath is sworn successful arsenic the caller region supervisor for District 3 successful December 2022.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Horvath remained connected the assembly for the adjacent 7 years and doubly served arsenic politician earlier turning her ambitions toward the region Hall of Administration.

She was seen arsenic an underdog successful her supervisor’s race, moving against erstwhile authorities Sen. Bob Hertzberg, a governmental seasoned who had a 3-to-1 fundraising advantage and first took elected agency arsenic she was entering precocious school.

Hertzberg had acold much sanction recognition, but Horvath yet defeated him pinch a conjugation that included section Democratic clubs and immoderate of labor.

***

On the Board of Supervisors, Horvath has been unafraid to return chances and ruffle feathers.

Less than 2 years into her first term, Horvath was starring the charge to fundamentally reinvent the building of region government, which hadn’t been meaningfully changed successful much than a century.

Horvath’s bold scheme to summation the size of the committee from 5 to 9 supervisors and create a caller elected region executive position was approved by voters past November.

Voters will take the county’s first elected executive successful 2028. Opponents (and moreover immoderate allies) person agelong griped that Horvath has her sights group connected the very position she helped create, which will undoubtedly beryllium 1 of the about powerful elected offices successful the state.

“There are group who are ne'er going to beryllium convinced that I created this measurement without seeing a spot for myself successful it,” she says. “I’m not willing successful convincing group of that. I’m willing successful doing the work.”

As she campaigned for Measure G, critics also said Horvath and her friends were moving excessively fast, pinch excessively overmuch near to fig retired aft the vote, including the value tag.

“Not everybody ever loves you erstwhile you do things that upset the position quo. But I deliberation history judges group not by ‘Did everybody emotion them successful a fixed moment?’ ... It’s were they smart and were they brave,” Garcetti said of Horvath.

“And she’s both,” he added.

Still, immoderate of those criticisms came to carnivore successful July, erstwhile it was revealed that region officials committed a near-unthinkable administrative screwup. When voters approved the sprawling overhaul to region authorities successful November, the move unintentionally repealed Measure J, the county’s landmark criminal justness reform passed by voters successful 2020.

Horvath said she didn’t deliberation she and different proponents moved excessively fast, arguing that if they hadn’t seized the moment, they would person missed the opportunity “to bring about the alteration that has been stuck for acold excessively long.”

Horvath argues that the truth that Measure J could person been unwritten successful the first spot is why Measure G was truthful needed.

***

Horvath was, briefly, everyplace during the fires.

While Mayor Bass receded into the background, Horvath was a changeless beingness astatine media briefings and connected the news.

Her look was truthful omnipresent that a man she’d precocious gone connected a day pinch — personification who didn’t afloat understand what she did for a surviving — spotted her connected tv pinch immoderate confusion.

That was the past she heard from him, she said. (Dating arsenic a nationalist charismatic is “very weird,” and not conscionable because the 1 clip she tried to usage Tinder while abroad, she was seemingly banned for impersonating herself.)

She besides tussled pinch Bass down closed doors successful precocious January, arsenic revealed successful text messages obtained by The Times that highlighted an progressively fractious relationship.

The 2 women were astatine likelihood moreover earlier flames laid discarded to a wide swath of coastal paradise.

Last November, Horvath went nationalist pinch a connection to shrink the duties of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, which is overseen by metropolis and region governmental appointees.

Horvath called for hundreds of millions of dollars to beryllium shifted retired of the agency and into a caller region section focused connected homelessness — a connection to which Bass strenuously objected.

Horvath ultimately pushed her strategy forward successful April, but not without warnings from Bass about creating a “massive disruption” successful the region’s conflict against homelessness.

Horvath attends a news convention celebrating the Army Corps of Engineers clearing debris from the last location successful the Palisades successful precocious August.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Horvath’s relationships successful the Palisades person besides not been without immoderate tension.

The supervisor recently pledged $10 cardinal of her region discretionary costs to thief rebuild the Palisades-Malibu YMCA, but immoderate successful the organization person felt betrayed by her, according to Pacific Palisades Residents Assn. President Jessica Rogers.

“We don’t judge that she’s decently engaging her community,” Rogers said, citing the independent commission that Horvath convened successful the aftermath of the fires. “She put a batch of clip and power into creating this report. The intentions mightiness person been good, but she didn’t see due organization participation.”

Rogers was peculiarly bothered by Horvath’s connection for a countywide rebuilding authority, since Rogers felt for illustration Horvath hadn’t earned their trust. The rebuilding authority, which was supported by the politician of Malibu, did not travel to fruition.

“There’s a cognition that [Horvath] is excessively aggressive,” said different organization leader, who asked to speak anonymously because they dream to get things done without alienating anybody. “But there’s much of a operation to really group consciousness about her than you could see.”

The loudest voices, peculiarly successful organization WhatsApp groups, NextDoor and different forums, thin to beryllium the about vitriolic, the organization leader said, positing that immoderate of the gripes about Horvath had much to do pinch her progressive authorities than her leadership.

“People are suffering, and I will ever show up for my constituents — particularly erstwhile the conversations are difficult. The Blue Ribbon Commission provided independent, master guidance connected a sustainable rebuild. Its recommendations were meant to inform, not replace, organization engagement,” Horvath said.

***

The chances of Horvath entering the mayoral title still stay acold slimmer than the alternative, peculiarly because she is up for reelection successful 2026 — meaning she would person to sacrifice her safe committee spot for an uphill conflict challenging an incumbent who still has heavy wells of support successful the city.

Former Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin, who agelong represented the Westside and now directs the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs astatine Cal State LA, said he wondered why personification would want the occupation of politician while successful the comparatively plush position of region supervisor.

Supervisors person much powerfulness and suffer acold little scrutiny, he argued. Still, location were benefits to remaining successful the mix.

“Being mentioned arsenic a imaginable campaigner is 1 of the top places a governmental fig could be. Because erstwhile you’re successful the mentioning stage, it’s each about your strengths, your assets, your affirmative attributes,” Bonin said pinch a laugh. “Once you declare, it’s the reverse.”

Times unit writers David Zahniser and Rebecca Ellis contributed to this report.