Former Manhattan Beach Mayor Steve Napolitano and former Redondo Beach Mayor Mike Gin have declared they are entering the race to replace Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe, whose term ends in 2016.
Knabe’s district stretches from Marina del Rey to the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Long Beach and Diamond Bar.
Both men have served as deputies to Knabe, a position which Napolitano still holds.
They will face Democratic Congresswoman Janice Hahn, who represents the region of San Pedro to South Gate in the U.S. House of Representatives and is a former Los Angeles city councilmember. Hahn’s father Kenneth was a Los Angeles County supervisor for 40 years and also a Los Angeles city councilmember.
Asked how he plans to overcome the advantage of Hahn’s legacy, Napolitano said that it was “over a quarter of a century ago” and pointed out that Hahn ran a different district.
“For those who remember Kenny Hahn, folks need to know he isn’t running,” wrote Napolitano in an email. “Janice is running. Janice is not Kenny. Unlike her father, Janice has served in two of the most dysfunctional bodies of government — the City of Los Angeles and Congress, and has next to nothing to show for it. She could stay in Congress and fight to make a difference, but she decided to quit because DC is ‘broken,’ as if that was news to anyone. Janice runs for Janice. I’m running to help people, to help the Fourth District and the County as a whole.”
Gin praised Kenneth Hahn but said he had to criticize Janice for “jumping into the race” while still in Congress.
“She was in a unique and honorable position to affect some change with the ports,” said Gin. “The port of LA, which is very important, is going to be saddled with a junior colleague.”
When asked how he would overcome Hahn’s name recognition, Gin said he had “unique qualifications that Janice doesn’t have.”
“What distinguishes me from the other candidates is my experience as mayor during the toughest economic recession since the Depression,” he said.
When asked what he’d like to fix, Napolitano said, “A lot of things that have made headlines recently.”
Among them he included keeping down crime. He attributed a recent increase to prison sentencing reform laws AB109 and Proposition 47.
He also mentioned improving the foster care system and housing for the homeless, especially veterans.
Gin said that the issues he would address as supervisor included fiscal responsibility and environmental sustainability, which he said complement each other, particularly in a coastal area like Redondo Beach.
“Keeping the harbor clean helps promote economic benefits as well,” he said.
Gin was born in Inglewood and earned a degree in computer science at USC. After moving to Redondo Beach in 1988, he entered politics as a councilmember for district three in 1995. In 2003, he became a field deputy for Knabe, representing the supervisor in Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Wilmington and Harbor City until 2011. During that time, from 2005 to 2013, he also served as mayor of Redondo Beach. He unsuccessfully ran against Hahn and others for the seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, which she eventually won in 2011. He lives in Redondo Beach with his husband.
Napolitano has been working as a senior deputy to Knabe for the past 10 years. Before joining the supervisor, he was the youngest elected Manhattan Beach city councilmember. He began in 1992 at the age of 26 and served three terms while working part-time as a teacher and going to Loyola Law School. From 2002 to 2003, he served as president of the Independent Cities Association, a nonprofit governmental organization made up of 48 cities from across Southern California. He and his family live in Manhattan Beach, where he has lived all his life. ER
