Mike Gin dropped out of the running for the open Los Angeles County Board of Supervisor’s Fourth District seat over the weekend, citing the need for a “unified effort” within the Republican party to challenge Democratic favorite, 44th District U.S. Congresswoman Janice Hahn.
The former mayor of Redondo Beach, and one-time aide to outgoing Supervisor Don Knabe, announced his candidacy early last year. However, he was set to face off against fellow Republican and current Knabe deputy Steve Napolitano. Knabe gave his endorsement to Napolitano last Fall.
Gin previously competed against Hahn in an open primary for California’s 36th District U.S. Congressional seat in 2011, finishing fifth in a field of 16 candidates; Hahn won both the primary and the following special election.
His criticism of Hahn has been pointed throughout the race. Press releases on his website deride her for “abandoning” her Congressional district for the Board of Supervisors, and accuse her of “riding the coattails” of her father, former District 2 County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn.
Hahn has been considered the favorite for the race by political onlookers, and her fundraising numbers give those views credence. For the period ending on Dec. 31, she raised $650,831; during that same time, Napolitano and Gin raised $228,908 and $162,993, respectively.
The top two vote-getters in the June 7 Primary Election will move on to the Nov. 8 General Election — unless one of the candidates takes a majority of the vote. Though Hahn has a fellow Democratic challenger in Whittier School District Board Member Ralph Pacheco, a potential split of Republican voters between Gin and Napolitano would sink the G.O.P.’s hopes.
“It became clear to me that [challenging Hahn] was a very important goal,” Gin said. “I came to the conclusion that we need to have a unified effort If there’s going to be a way to challenge Janice.”
Former Manhattan Beach councilman Bob Holmes, a former chair of the Republican Party Central Committee and current chair of the Lincoln Club’s South Bay chapter, echoed that sentiment.
“Though the supervisor’s race is nonpartisan…Republicans were hoping to consolidate the Republican vote by having [Napolitano or Gin] drop out,” Holmes said. “The unions backing Hahn have a bottomless pit of money to spend on her behalf as independent expenditure committees.”
Gin acknowledged that he had heard concerns from others within the Republican party regarding a division of the ticket in the primary between he and Napolitano. “But,” he said, “it crystallized with me in the past few weeks, this need to have a unified effort.”
Now, Gin says that he’ll look to improve minority engagement in the political process. “This is extremely important, particularly among Asian-Americans, to be a political force to be reckoned with in the future,” he said.
Gin has said that he has not yet spoken to Napolitano about assisting in his campaign moving forward, and that he’ll do so after the two “chat about his vision for the county.”
Additional reporting contributed .
