Six candidates vying for a seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors gathered on the debate stage in Pasadena on April 27 to communicate their positions on a range of environmental issues.
There were five Republicans on stage, including Kathryn Barger, a San Marino resident and Chief of Staff to current Supervisor Michael Antonovich; Elan Carr, a prosecutor; Mitch Englander, a Los Angeles City Council member; Bob Huff, a California State Senator; and Ara Najarian, the Mayor of Glendale. Darrell Park, an educator and budget specialist, was the lone Democrat.
These candidates are campaigning to replace termed out County Supervisor Michael Antonovich, who served on the board for 36 years.
The candidates started with a question about a tax to help fight homelessness. The five Republicans opposed the proposition, noting that Los Angeles County should better utilize its current resources to solve the issue. The lone Democrat supported a short-term tax to help the homeless transition into housing.
Englander and Najarian also suggested “Housing First” models that would place homeless people in transitional housing to help them get back on their feet.
Asking the 88 cities within the County to do more was another component of Najarian’s plan.
Pointing to his record in Glendale, Najarian said “What it takes is each city of Los Angeles County to do their fair share, and not to just dump [homelessness] on the county or L.A. City.”
When asked about the methane leak near Porter Ranch, the candidates put considerable blame on the Southern California Gas Company.
Democrat Darrell Park called for the most drastic action, loudly stating, “Shut it all down.”
Among the calls for the Gas Company to claim greater responsibility, Mitch Englander suggested, “We need to step up the rules, the regulations, and the environmental controls to hold them criminally accountable.”
A question about the 710 freeway extension via a proposed tunnel created another 5-1 split on stage. State Senator Bob Huff was alone in his support of the multibillion dollar project.
Huff, who has supported the project for 20 years, said, “Yes it is going to impact some people, but its one of these things that for the greater good it makes sense.”
Carr was concerned about the cost of the project. He said, “Crime is up, murders are up, our schools are crumbling and quality jobs are fleeing Los Angeles County, is this what we’re going to spend our money on?”
A “Net Zero” waste policy was also a topic of discussion at the debate. Kathryn Barger emphasized the importance of educating the public about proper waste disposal and considering alternative forms of energy as effective methods of tackling this issue.
“We need to incorporate clean energy and ways of working with the landfill to ensure it’s not contaminating our ground water and that is a commitment that I have and am doing currently in the office,” she said.
The event was hosted by the Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters and moderated by ABC7’s Marc Brown. The full debate will be broadcast on ABC7 on May 22 at 11 a.m.
