CA-44: Rep. Hahn may run for L.A. County Supervisor

[socaldem]

Janice Hahn is one of the smartest politicians in Southern California and if she were to do this, I think it would be a very keen move by the Congresswoman.

She entered congress by coming from behind to win the special election for Jane Harman's house district, beating out the sitting Secretary of State Debra Bowen in the primary by rallying labour, minorities, and her localized support in San Pedro.

Then, in 2012, the coastal 36th district was, essentially vaporized, with most of the district being thrown into Henry Waxman's West LA/Santa Monica district. Only her San Pedro base was moved to the 44th, a district that mainly held territory from the district of the corrupt and anti-gay incumbent congressman Laura Richardson. Hahn won the member v. member battle handily with support from her San Pedro base, latinos, and a decent showing with black voters. Hahn's father was a Los Angeles County Supervisor from South L.A. who is revered for his support for civil rights.

The 44th is really kind of an odd district and there is no doubt that it will be completely reconfigured after the 2020 census. Over the past several censuses, this district and the surrounding ones taking in South L.A. and the "Gateway" have been some of the slowest growing in the state. The odd shape of the district and, were Hahn to stay put, that it is held by a white incumbent would make it ideal for the chopping block in order to feed population to the VRA-protected districts surrounding it.

Hahn, meanwhile, is an ideal candidate for the 4th supervisorial district. As others have noted LA Supervisorial districts are huge and the position is powerful. While there are term limits, supervisors can serve 3 4-year terms, so Hahn would have a safe supervisorial seat through 2028. Note that supervisors are responsible for their own redistricting, so she doesn't have to worry about the district being modified. An added benefit of the seat is that the 4-year terms, which aligns with Presidential elections, would allow Hahn to have a free shot at statewide elected office. She could also use the platform to run for L.A. Mayor.

The 4th district is quite diverse, stretching from the growing Asian-American enclaves of the South San Gabriel Valley (Hacienda Heights, Walnut, Diamond Bar); through the middle class Latino suburbs of Southeast LA County (Whittier, Norwalk, Downey, Bellflower); to the diverse liberal city of Long Beach; moderate working class cities like San Pedro (not a separate city but politically independent) and Torrance  (home to a significant Japanese-American community); the rich, lilly white and politically moderate beach cities (Manhattan, Hermosa, Redondo); and the conservative Palos Verdes peninsula.

Hahn has shown herself very capable of appealing to diverse communities of Latino, Asian-American, and African-American voters. As a white politician who is definitely more labor-oriented, she has also shown strong appeal to the working class white voters (rare for Democrats and rarer for Democrats in LA County) who continue to make up a significant voting population in the district. Meanwhile, she has experience winning more communities in the district than probably any other politician, having represented the old 36th (the beach cities, Torrance, Palos Verdes, San Pedro), the 15th LA City Council District (San Pedro, Wilmington), and the 44th (San Pedro, Wilmington, North Long Beach).

Hahn probably likes the symbolism of carrying on her father's legacy in County government.

I'm excited about Hahn running for supervisor, which would put a female majority on the board and knock down the GOP to holding only one seat in the San Gabriel/Antelope Valleys, which I would hope Dems would also challenge. Rumor has it that others like Congresswoman Linda Sanchez are also considering but I think that Hahn has a better shot at it and is probably more interested.