Hahn Out To Early Lead In Race For Supervisor's Seat

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Rep. Janice Hahn jumped to an early lead Tuesday in her bid to win a seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and return a member of the Hahn family to the county Hall of Administration.

Early returns showed Hahn, D-San Pedro, with 49.6 percent of the vote, followed by Manhattan Beach Councilman Steve Napolitano with 39.7 percent.

In the primary, if one candidate receives a majority of votes, the race will be over. If not, the top two vote-getters will move to a runoff in November.

Hahn was hoping name recognition, high-profile endorsements and funding would settle the race Tuesday for supervisor of Los Angeles County's 4th District.

Whittier School District board member Ralph Pacheco, the only other candidate in this race to replace incumbent Supervisor Don Knabe, picked up 10.7 percent of early votes.

Hahn raised nearly $1.4 million for her campaign, according to the latest filings, compared with Napolitano's nearly $1.1 million, $790,000 of which was self-funded.

Mayor Eric Garcetti had endorsed the congresswoman to replace Knabe, who has held the seat since 1996.

"I've seen first-hand Janice Hahn's devotion and compassion when it comes to standing up for poor and working-class families and getting things done for the people she represents," Garcetti said.

Napolitano is a senior deputy to Knabe with 10 years of county experience, responsible for overseeing eight South Bay communities and focusing on issues that include economic development and the environment. The 4th District covers a U-shaped swath of the county that extends along the coast from Marina del Rey to Long Beach and then up through Lakewood, Norwalk, Whittier, Hacienda Heights and adjoining cities and unincorporated areas.

Hahn, a former Los Angeles councilwoman, was elected to Congress in a 2011 special election.

Term limits were not imposed on the board until 2002, when three four-year terms were set as the maximum length of service. Prior to 2014, candidates ran largely uncontested. Hahn's father, Kenneth Hahn, served as a supervisor for 40 years. The county's Hall of Administration is named after him.

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