It’s Outsiders vs. Insiders in the District 3 Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Race – Opinion

Roxanne Beckford Hoge, one of the candidates for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors District 3 race, rightly dubbed it, “Outsiders vs. Insiders.” The current District 3 member, Sheila Kuehl (D-Cruel), has decided she doesn’t want to run for a final, four-year term.

The Insiders: State Sen. Bob Hertzberg, West Hollywood City Council member Lindsey Horvath, and State Sen. Henry Stern, the usual succubi who–once termed out in one area of local or state government–decide another vacant seat is their ticket to staying alive. They are just like the boils that we have in our constitution republic.

There are also the Outsiders: Community activists, business owners, and Roxanne Beckford-Hoge.

Despite the fact that these grassroots candidates have some excellent plans for how to save Los Angeles County from the mismanagement suffered under the five divas currently holding Board of Supervisors seats, and have connected in unique ways with District 3 constituents, they have been tacitly ignored by “official” candidate forums, and aggressively maligned by the major legacy media publications like Los Angeles TimesAnd the Los Angeles Daily News. (emphasis mine)

On Rozanne Hoge: “Hoge called herself a reluctant candidate who is “carrying the banner of common sense.” Her mother has never been vaccinated, and she is not opposed to closing schools in order to stop the spread of coronavirus.. She’s endorsed by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association PAC.”

Not a word on Hoge’s policy points or vision. The L.A. Daily NewsAnti-vaxxers, conservative taxers, and others should not run for public office.

You can find the Los Angeles Times endorsement of West Hollywood City Councilwoman Lindsey Horvath, after detailing why Bob Hertzberg and Henry Stern’s policies and leadership failed to compare to Horvath’s, they dismissed all three grassroots candidates in one sentence, as if they were dandruff on a shoulder:

Nor do the other three candidates: Craig Brill, Jeffi Girgenti and Roxanne Beckford Hoge, all of whom would respond to the county’s current challenges with backward-looking policies.

The candidates had much to say on that “backward-looking policies” line when I interviewed them. At least you’ll get to hear these policies on this platform, so you can decide for yourself.

Jeffi Girgenti

Jeffi Girgenti keeps a large, white notebook stuffed with talking points and policy ideas. These skills were sharpened during her 2020 Assembly campaign. She is also not short of energy and vision.

Girgenti states that she has placed over 500 yard signs across the District. She claims it is effective. People who saw her ballot statements are calling Girgenti, she says. The yard signs have been drawing more people to the site. Girgenti, a small-business owner, product marketer, and creator, has learned how to negotiate. Now she hopes to leverage that skill in order for District 3 residents and get better outcomes.

“‘No,’ is not something I do well with, so I always like to find a solution. Because, No, shouldn’t be a solid answer. It should not be difficult to find a better solution. No. And so, I want to be the person that creates a solution for you.”

You can find more from Girgenti:

Roxanne Beckford Hoge

Roxanne Beckford Hole and I are close friends. This might account for the more casual interview. (My bad internet connection didn’t help that either).

Hoge has vision and energy, just like Girgenti. She is the “Supermom for Supervisor,” jetting around Los Angeles County, attending events, meeting constituents, and never turning a media opportunity down to speak about her race for District 3, and her ideas on how to make Los Angeles County work again.

Hoge’s acting background and her previous experience running for Assembly has sharpened her ability to deliver an idea or a policy point with precision–making her effective and solid ideas even more weighty and effective.

“Oh no, they [the Board of Supervisors]Two years ago, they deemed their essentiality sufficient to earn two year’s salary. However, it was not enough for them to have people address them. They did have a ‘Zoom ability.’ They’re back in person now in a new, multimillion dollar renovation of their offices.

“People are still not allowed to attend in person. If you’ve ever gone to a meeting before, they don’t listen to public comment at all. It’s all performative. It’s all performance. [District 1]. As I say, the outsiders all have committed to being completely transparent in office.”

Listen to Hoge’s full speech here

Craig Brill

Craig Brill’s biggest policy initiative is combatting the homelessness. The loss of a friend and dear to him by a homeless individual is what motivated him to run in the District 3 race. Brill experienced firsthand Los Angeles County’s lack of compassion for the homeless.

“I realized that the government failed two people that day. They did not save Gabriel who was supposed to be still alive. Police had three encounters with Enid Connors, the individual who stabbed Gabe that day, for trespassing onto people’s properties and basically told our neighbors that there’s nothing we can do. He’s mentally ill and he’s homeless.

“I looked at how the government failed Enid Connors that day as well.

“Here was a guy who had been in and out of jail with mental illness, known to have mental illness. No support was available. His treatment was ineffective. His care was discontinuous and he could not be treated by the ACLU or our laws.

“And so, these people are left because there’s nothing the medical community can do for them. They’re left to the streets.”

Brill was proud to be a grassroots leader in his campaign.

“I’ve been doing Farmers Markets all across the county. With 1,500-2,000 flyers, I attend Farmers Markets. Studio City was my first stop, but I had to run out of time before it ended. Every week, I receive about 400 hits to my site from new visitors. It’s just been tremendous, the requests for signs I get every day. I’m driving around handing out signs by myself; it is a grassroots campaign and most of my supporters are business owners, people who work during the day. You know, I don’t have a Union local to send workers out and campaign for me, so it is a grassroots efforts.

“It’s two people telling two friends and you know, I call it sort of the Wella Balsam campaign because we remember that commercial really well: You tell two friends, then they tell two friends, and that’s how it’s getting out.”

Hear more about Craig Brill’s campaign and initiatives here:

Interviews with Kevin Dalton, Riverside County Board of Supervisors District 1 and Bill Essayli for Riverside County 63rd District candidates were some of the other key races I covered.

California’s Primary Election will be Tuesday, June 7th. It is just five days away. You have the chance to vote and think differently.

Editor’s note: for full disclosure, candidate Roxanne Beckford Hoge is the wife of RedState contributor Bob Hoge.