LOS ANGELES — Term limits will result in two of five Los Angeles County supervisors stepping down this year.
Supervisor Gloria Molina has decided to run against incumbent Jose Huizar for his east Los Angeles City Council seat. Zev Yaroslavsky is retiring from elective politics.
Molina served on the City Council from 1987 to 1991 before being elected a county supervisor. If she defeats Huizar, who has served on the council since 2005, she has the potential to serve two terms before being termed out.
Yaroslavsky and Molina have both been long-time fixtures in Los Angeles-area politics - and have served as county supervisors for two decades. Yaroslavsky, whose name was floated for mayor two years ago and then for Harry Waxman's state Senate seat, turned away both opportunities to stay in politics, deciding to retire instead.
Like Molina, Yaroslavsky started on the Los Angeles City council. Now 65, he was the youngest city council member ever elected when he won a seat at age 26. He served on the council from 1975 until 1994 when he ran for a county supervisor seat and won.
Hussar is facing sexual harassment charges brought by his former deputy chief of staff. The case is slated to be heard in November. Huizar admitted to an extramarital affair, but denies that sexual harassment occurred.
Former state legislator Sheila Kuhl and Bobby Shriver, a former Santa Monica Mayor and councilman, are the front runners for Yaroslavsky's seat in a crowded filed with half a dozen candidates. Three candidates are vying for Molina's seat: Juventino "J" Gomez, an El Monte city councilman; April A. Saucedo Hood, a Long Beach Unified School District police officer; and Hilda L. Solis, a former U.S. Secretary of Labor.
