Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath announced Monday her campaign to become the county’s first elected CEO, a position created through voters’ passage of a government overhaul measure she heavily supported in 2024.
“Los Angeles has never been a place that dreams small,” Horvath said in a statement. “But for too long, our county government has moved too slowly, failed to meet the moment, and allowed bureaucracy to stand in the way of progress. I fight everyday to reform our government because I believe the people of Los Angeles deserve better — a government that works for them, delivers real results, and is accountable to the people it serves.
“That’s why I’m running to become Los Angeles County’s first elected County Executive,” she said.
The county currently has a CEO appointed by the Board of Supervisors. But that is expected to change in 2028 when voters choose the first elected CEO.
The position was made an elected post through voters’ passage in 2024 of Measure G, a package of major changes to county government, including the expansion of the five-member Board of Supervisors to nine members.
Among the other provisions of Measure G was changing the CEO position from an appointed post to an elected office. The post is expected to be considered one of the most powerful elected positions in the state — surpassed only by the governor — with the CEO overseeing an organization that serves 10 million residents with an annual budget this year of $54 billion.
Horvath, 44, was one of the major proponents of Measure G.
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a government that finally meets the scale of our challenges and the ambition of our people,” Horvath said. “From making Los Angeles more affordable and ending homelessness, to protecting our communities and responding urgently to crises, we need bold, unified leadership that puts progress over politics and people over process.
“The future of Los Angeles is ours to write. I’m running because I’m ready to fight for it — and together, we’re going to build it.”
Horvath was elected to the county Board of Supervisors in 2022 and was reelected to another four-year term in June. She previously served on the West Hollywood City Council, including time as mayor.
During a board meeting in late October, Supervisor Kathryn Barger publicly pledged that she would not run for the newly created post of elected county CEO, and she urged others on the board to make the same pledge. Board members Hilda Solis and Holly Mitchell have both joined in that pledge.
Barger also questioned in a statement whether possible conflicts of interest are involved “when officials vote to create and empower a position they might later seek.”
“If we are approving these reforms, we should do so in a way that is not self-serving to any of us,” Barger said.
She noted that the salary parameters established for the elected CEO post could lead to the person who wins the post earning as much as $558,000 per year, more than double the governor’s salary, and the position is not subject to any term limits.
“With a $54 billion budget, more than 110,000 employees, no term limits, and no professional credentials required, the elected County Executive will be one of the most powerful and most highly paid politicians in the entire state of California and perhaps the nation,” Barger said.
Barger on Monday responded to Horvath’s campaign announcement by calling it “premature when serious questions remain about whether the office itself is constitutional.” Barger pointed to a legal challenge sent to the county last month by a former federal judge on behalf of ex-Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine, questioning whether the state Constitution permits the creation of an elected CEO position with veto power over Board of Supervisors decisions and other powers currently assigned to the board.
The board voted in October to pause 90 days before adopting county Government Reform Task Force recommendations for implementation of the elected CEO position.
“Important questions about Measure G’s legal implications remain unresolved,” Barger said. “While I respect the voters’ decision, the county has a responsibility to ensure those reforms comply with state law.”