Hilda Solis has been representing East Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley for 37 years, serving on the Rio Hondo College Board, in the legislature, in Congress, as labor secretary for President Barack Obama, and today as an L.A. County Supervisor.
After winning one of the five supervisorial seats in 2014, Solis ran unopposed in the First District in 2018. This year Solis has drawn four challengers, and she is the one to beat in the June 7 primary.
Trying to foil Solis’ re-election are David E. Argudo, 51, a La Puente City Council member; Brian Smith of Asuza, 43, an LA. County Sheriff’s deputy; Kevin Dalton of Pomona, 45, a father, yoga instructor and entrepreneur; and Tammy Solis, 47, a businesswoman from West Covina.
Mail-in ballots have been landing in mailboxes since May 9 and voting ends with the June 7 primary. Should a candidate get 50% of the vote plus one vote more, they’ll win outright and take their seat in December. If nobody wins in June, the top two vote-getters will square off in the Nov. 8 general election.
Four candidates responded to emailed questions or gave interviews on topics including law enforcement, homelessness, housing, public health, transportation and the environment. Tammy Solis left no contact information with the county Registrar-Recorder’s Office and could not be reached.
The district includes much of the San Gabriel Valley plus Los Angeles communities of Chinatown, Silverlake, Cypress Park, Echo Park, Highland Park, Eagle Rock, Boyle Heights, Lincoln Heights, East Los Angeles and others. In the SGV, the district includes Monterey Park, Alhambra, Rosemead, San Gabriel, Montebello, El Monte, South El Monte, Baldwin Park, La Puente, Industry, Hacienda Heights, Rowland Heights, West Covina, Covina, Azusa, Irwindale, Walnut, Diamond Bar and Pomona.
Solis recently served as chair of the Board of Supervisors and is chair of the L.A. Metro board. She’s been active in public health, housing, the homeless crisis, environmental issues and transportation. “At a time when steady leadership is needed most, I am and will continue to be a strong voice for equality and justice for all,” she wrote in an emailed response.
She’s running on her record, which includes helping pass Measure H in 2017, a one-quarter cent sales tax that raises about $355 million annually to combat homelessness, rolling out free COVID-19 vaccination clinics, free bus/rail rides for K-12 and community college students and helping to build affordable housing for unhoused and low-income people.
La Puente City Council member Argudo believes in a bottom-up approach, saying he would consult with the local cities and communities before passing sweeping policies. Sheriff’s Deputy Smith says he will build a strong team that’s efficient and transparent. Entrepreneur Dalton says if there are things he doesn’t know, he can find the right people that do.
Homelessness, Affordable housing
Solis cites her effort to start Project Homekey, providing $10 million to support cities that moved homeless individuals into rehabilitated motels and hotels. She also touts the 232-bed Vignes Street development built in about five months, and efforts to create 4,000 additional affordable units of permanent housing.
Smith wants to investigate how money for the homeless is spent and instead wants to work with faith-based nonprofits. “We need real solutions to address the causes of homelessness as well as programs that provide support and healing to this population,” wrote Smith, whose father died in a homeless encampment.
Dalton wants one-stop services, not just housing: “I propose a place where people can go for complete rehabilitation, with every service you can think of, including mental health and addition treatments, and job training,” he wrote in an emailed response.
Argudo gives the example of La Puente’s Programs Re-employment Outreach Services (PROS) that has moved people into permanent housing and jobs. He says Measure H money from the county has flowed slowly, if at all, to cities.
Smith does not support eminent domain to make way for housing and said affordable housing is a state issue. Dalton wants to lessen regulations on developers to lower the cost and speed up construction of affordable housing. To help renters and those who have been homeless stay in their units, Solis helped created 1,000 new slots in the county’s Flexible Housing Subsidy Pool, a supportive housing rent subsidy program
Law enforcement
Smith wrote: “I support the proper funding and training of law enforcement (including the Sheriff’s Department) personnel throughout the county.” He opposes going to an appointed sheriff.
Argudo criticized the Board of Supervisors for not providing adequate funding for the Sheriff’s Department, saying it led to increased crime in his city and other cities that rely on the county to protect their residents. “We should at least get (the budget) back to the levels that they were,” he said.
Solis wrote that she’s allocated $26.4 million in funding to sheriff’s stations in the district for community patrolling.
As to the debate over closing Men’s Central Jail, Solis has voted along with the Board to do just that, after a federal consent decree said the county must act to stop inhumane treatment in the facility. But she added it must be done “in an orderly and thoughtful way,” with a plan for inmates and those awaiting trial to receive mental health services before they return to the community. Dalton does not support the closure. Argudo said he would not “jump the gun” and close it without a “well, thought-out plan.” Smith agreed with Argudo.
Transportation
Because all five supervisors serve on the L.A. Metro board, they have a prominent role in how transportation dollars are spent in the county.
Solis is supportive of extending the L Line (formerly known as the Gold Line), from Pomona into Claremont and Montclair as once planned. But that last leg needs $748 million and proponents are asking the state for the funds. Solis said the extension “is a crucial part to creating a world-class transit system here in Los Angeles County.”
Argudo opposes any move by L.A. Metro to lessen the presence of sheriff’s deputies or local police officers on trains and buses by moving toward using ambassadors. “Ambassadors with white gloves to make people feel comfortable — I don’t think this is the solution,” he said.
Smith said Metro won’t succeed in increasing its ridership, and shouldn’t expand rail lines until they make transit travel safe.
How does a bus or train rider get to the station from home, or make it from their stop to their workplace? Ridership won’t grow on Metro until the so-called “first mile, last mile” problem is solved, wrote Dalton.
Environment
The county is following the state model to reduce diesel trucks and diesel emissions at the Port of Los Angeles. Moving toward electrification is supported by Dalton, but there is a related need: “California should focus on the crumbling electrical grid before exponentially growing demand for more electricity,” he wrote.
Adding more public park space is part of Argudo’s platform. He wants the county to work with cities to create agreements that keep school fields open for the entire community. The county Board on Tuesday, May 17, infused more cash into building a new regional park in the Puente Hills. Argudo said the Board “is slow in getting that park going.”
Solis said the Board must help people drive less and instead take public transit. She supports Metro’s rail extension projects. Also, she wants to make streets safer for walking and biking.
Public Health
Solis called the county Department of Public Health’s (DPH) ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic balanced. She also said the First District has the highest vaccination rates in the county, at 84%. The efforts have “allowed us to save lives, slow the spread while keeping our businesses and schools open,” she wrote.
Smith disagreed, saying that if elected he would work to remove Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of DPH, and “remove any and all restrictions imposed.” Dalton said closing businesses and moving school classes online was detrimental to business owners and students. Argudo said the Board needed to consult first with local constituents in cities and communities and said he would like La Puente to form its own public health department.
