Hahn beats Villanueva for third term

DOWNEY — Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn appeared to be heading for a third and final term Wednesday, narrowly maintaining enough of a margin to avoid a November runoff with former Sheriff Alex Villanueva.

Unofficial results from Tuesday's election showed Hahn with 54.7% of the vote, just over the 50% she needs to avoid the runoff. Villanueva was a distant second with 30.6%, followed by Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor John Cruikshank, who had 14.7%.

It was unclear how many ballots from District 4 still need to be tallied, and if there are enough to potentially bring Hahn below the 50% mark.

The District 4 seat represents more than 50 communities, including Downey, Long Beach, Pico Rivera, Torrance, Whittier, along with the unincorporated areas of East La Mirada, Santa Catalina Island, Westfield, and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Harbor City, San Pedro and Wilmington.

Hahn was elected in 2016 and re-elected to another term in 2020. Previously, she served three terms on the Los Angeles City Council representing the 15th District before being elected to Congress in California's 36th and, later, 44th districts.

Hahn, 71, said her top priority is confronting the homelessness crisis. According to her campaign's website, "Hahn is leading the implementation of California's new Care Court in L.A. County, which is helping get unhoused people with severe mental health issues off our streets and into supervised care facilities to receive the treatment they need."

As a supervisor, Hahn has "created housing solutions across her district quickly and affordably using former motels and vacant government property," her campaign website states.

The campaign also touts her efforts to improve public safety and emergency response.

"She has invested in local police, firefighters and paramedics to reduce emergency response times and is working to increase the number of Metro police in stations and on trains to make LA Metro safer," Hahn's campaign said.

Hahn is also fighting to "reduce gun violence and keep guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals, including those accused of domestic violence."

During his term as sheriff, Villanueva often clashed with the Board of Supervisors. He was also accused of mishandling certain issues within his department, including the investigations into deputy gangs and refusing to enforce COVID 19 vaccine mandates -- criticisms he vocally rebuffed.

Villanueva, 61, served as sheriff from 2018 to 2022, when voters gave the job to former Long Beach Sheriff Robert Luna. Before being elected sheriff, Villanueva was a deputy sheriff for more than 30 years. He ran on a platform of restoring safety and security, and reducing the impact of homelessness on families and businesses.

"The Board of Supervisors has a responsibility to provide for the health, safety and welfare of the county," Villanueva said in September, when he announced his candidacy. "In that regard, they have failed absolutely miserably."

He also said he wanted to rebuild the sheriff's department "after it was gutted by the defunding movement." He also advocated repeal of Prop 47, which voters passed in November 2014. It classified retail theft under $950 as a misdemeanor, not a felony.

Cruikshank, 57, said he wanted to tackle what he called the core four issues: public safety, infrastructure, homelessness and economic empowerment.

"We need to reopen our jails and start putting the bad guys back in them," Cruikshank said. He added that if the county D.A. is "soft on crime," then it is the "law-abiding citizens who suffer the consequences."

The supervisorial seats are nonpartisan. It's been 44 years since an incumbent county supervisor has lost a reelection bid.

The L.A. County supervisors rank among the most influential local government officials nationwide. The five board members govern a county with approximately 10 million residents. Supervisors are elected to serve four-year terms and can remain in office for up to 12 consecutive years.