Getting Involved in LA County with Holly Mitchell (S4E13)
Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell didn’t like the way government was spending money. So she got involved. She ran for office and is now a county supervisor for a large section of Los Angeles. She’s there to get the work done and make a difference. Just listen.
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Transcription
Dave Martin: This is the good government show.
Holly Mitchell: I had the pleasure of representing, I think, one of the most racially and socioeconomically diverse districts anywhere in the country. This local office. It took me a minute to get accustomed to the fact that people recognize me in a level that I didn’t experience ten years in the legislature, so it is a little disconcerting when you’re on a dinner date and people are passing you business cards.
We are attempting to level the playing field for people who have been victims of of systems. I think in this country we tend to blame poor people for being poor. I stay connected to my community, and I stay mindful of the reasons I ran for office in the first place. You cannot simply show up on Election Day, cast your vote, and then wash your hands of us.
Democracy should be an action verb.
Dave Martin: Welcome to a good government show. I’m your host, Dave Martin. On this episode, we’re going to hear more about one of the biggest cities in the United States, Los Angeles, California. I’m going to talk to Holly Mitchell. She’s an L.A. County supervisor. Consider this. She represents some 2 million people. She represents a very diverse area of L.A. County, including towns like Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach.
You know, right on the Pacific and to the west. And Marina del Rey, just up the coast. And then Hawthorne, incidentally, home of the Beach Boys. And then, like Compton, that’s the home of West Coast rap and the tennis playing Williams sisters. It’s a really big area, and there’s a lot going on there, a lot. And one of the things she’s doing is looking to see if they can improve how the county commission works.
Well, she represents a very diverse area. She says, everyone, everyone, no matter where they live. Well, we all want the same thing, right? Safe schools, green space, clean air and water, and good schools where kids can learn and thrive. So while the areas are different, the goals are the same. And Holly Mitchell is working on making sure that everyone’s goals are met.
One thing she did was recently co-sponsor a motion that county ballots will now include economic impacts for proposals put forth on ballots. That’s another step to help voters decide the issues. And it makes the plans much more transparent. That sounds like good government. She turned to government to make a difference. And with 2 million people to represent, she has her work cut out for her.
So listen to Holly Mitchell, LA County Supervisor. Explain how she represents an area with more people than states. States like Vermont, Wyoming, and Delaware. Think about that for a minute, and I’ll have that after this.
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They can turn results into projects and programs. The community has essentially already approved. It’s sort of like a flash poll by phone, but without the call. And in real time and wherever community members are, maybe they’re at their house or their office or, whether out just talking about local issues. maybe the choice is between putting in more local busses or expanding the bike lanes.
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Holly Mitchell: I’m Holly Mitchell I have the pleasure of serving on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. I represent the second district and I’m from the district. I represent Los Angeles.
Dave Martin: There is a lot going on in Los Angeles. It is a huge area. What’s going on in LA?
Holly Mitchell: Everything. And as I talk to colleagues from all over the country, I’m reminded that, you know, the challenges we’re confronting are the challenges. Many of my colleagues across the country are, you know, I represent 2 million people about 179 square mile area. my district includes coastal communities like Manhattan Beach and working class communities like Compton and Carson in Inglewood.
I represent unincorporated communities as diverse as Koreatown and Little Ethiopia. So I had the pleasure of representing, I think, one of the most racially and socioeconomically diverse districts anywhere in the country. Well, I was.
Dave Martin: Going to ask you about that because you could not find two more different communities in Los Angeles, that Manhattan Beach, very, very beautiful, upscale beach community boardwalk, trendy shops, high end restaurants, a friend of mine who lives there and has, like a 500 wine cellar, cellar and then Compton on the other side. How do you how do you handle both of those very diverse neighborhood?
Holly Mitchell: You know, the reality is everybody wants the same thing. Everybody wants to be housed in a community that feels safe and welcoming, where they can raise their children to play outside safely. Everybody wants tree canopy and green space, and a park is within walking distance. Everybody wants, schools where their children can thrive. And so, you know, I think when you really think about it, all of those communities want and in my humble opinion, deserve to have all of those high quality, government funded amenities in their own community to be able to work, worship, educate your children, recreate in your own community is what everybody wants.
And so as diverse as those communities may be, most people who live there want the same things for their families.
Dave Martin: Is it hard sometimes to balance, especially with budgets, the needs of, of, you know, I’m Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach with the needs of Eastern Los Angeles.
Holly Mitchell: Well, or South Los Angeles, my district. You know, my goal is to really focus on on equity. And we’ve done that in L.A. County. Most recently when we got our American Rescue Plan, dollars $1.9 billion worth. And I think the natural inclination of governmental bodies is to just kind of divided equally. And so, you know, the notion was we were just going to divided equally by 5 to 5 districts.
And I thought, no cove. It didn’t divide by five, you know, systemic racism and classism and, and, and, and conditions that leave some neighborhoods finished and other neighborhoods unfinished, then kind of divide equally. And so it was our responsibility to make sure that we invested those recovery dollars at a disproportionate rate into the communities that were disproportionately harmed.
And so we created an infrastructure, an equity toolkit, a framework where we looked deeply in communities and looked at health outcomes and economic status and a variety of factors, and elevated those communities and put them to the front of the line for once, in terms of investing, we encourage fact required.
Dave Martin: Was there a backlash from the communities that weren’t at the front of the line?
Holly Mitchell: You know, and let me tell you why. I think Covid ripped the blinders off of everybody. People understood that there were communities that had limited access, to health care services there. We have health care deserts, we have food deserts. People understood that there were some communities that were disproportionately, harmed by, housing, limited access to housing and affordable housing.
And so I’ve not experienced a backlash. And frankly, we’ve had a unanimous vote on most of our votes. And the reality is, when we looked at this equity tool, it wasn’t just South L.A. or my district. The fifth district, Katherine Vargas district up in the Valley, has serious pockets of poverty. Poverty is sprinkled throughout LA county. And so, now I can say that we got backlash.
People understood that investing across the board in these communities elevates every community.
Dave Martin: How do you govern 2 million people? I mean, you have you have you have 2 million people, you you represent more people than some governors. How do you handle it all?
Holly Mitchell: Besides, literally across the country? it is intense, hard strategic work. I have an amazing team who we asked the questions as a part of interviews. Why government and why join Team Mitchell? Because for me, they we have to be mission aligned in order to be able to provide the best services we can to every constituent. I have community offices in every corner of the district from Lenox unincorporated community to Carson to Marina del Rey, to Koreatown, to Expo Park.
so we’re trying to physically be in spaces where constituents can reach us. I’ve got a how.
Dave Martin: Long does it take you to have a dinner in Koreatown?
Holly Mitchell: Right. Well, I live midtown, not too far, so I’m often having dinner in Koreatown.
Dave Martin: Where do you go? There is everywhere. Like. Oh, here you are. Let’s talk.
Holly Mitchell: Not just Koreatown, you know, trying to, you know, walk into Costco on a Saturday isn’t always easy. Ask my family members. and, you know, I, I served in the state legislature for ten years, but this local office, it took me a minute to get accustomed to the fact that people recognize me in a level that I didn’t experience ten years in the legislature.
So it is a little disconcerting when you’re on a dinner date and people are passing you business cards. Yeah.
Dave Martin: Has that happened more than once?
Holly Mitchell: Yes, it has happened more than once.
Dave Martin: And how did your dad react?
Holly Mitchell: he’s a great guy. he’s my steady Eddie. And, he just says people really love you. And how proud he is of the work I do now. I’m blushing.
Dave Martin: okay. All right. Well. And, it must be hard, though, to be always out in public and always be. Have people grab you, I. Hey, what about this? Hey, what about that?
Holly Mitchell: It is it is it it’s it’s disconcerting. I remember as a candidate for the first time running for the Assembly back in 2008, and I was standing in line in Starbucks and was a couple on the jump.
Dave Martin: Good. You know, you have to wait in line like everyone else.
Holly Mitchell: Of course I do. and put my own gas and everything else. and, the gentleman turned around and said, you you look familiar. So I just smiled and shrugged, and his wife turned around and looked. He said, oh, she’s on, she’s on that piece of paper on our coffee table. And I thought, what is she talking about?
And it hit me, my campaign mailer. I thought, wow, you’re my image is in the public domain. It’s it’s disconcerting.
Dave Martin: But it’s good to know that they opened it, probably read it.
Holly Mitchell: And pay attention. Right. He was more impressed, I think, than she was. But I hope I got two votes out of that house.
Dave Martin: Although I understand that one of the things that you work on is something called guaranteed income. I’ve learned a little bit about this. I know there’s some programs in LA for kids who are, going through the foster care program. Tell me about what it is that you’re trying to accomplish.
Holly Mitchell: Absolutely. Well, this concept of guaranteed income is not new. In fact, it was women like Mary Henry, some of those early welfare advocates that took it to Doctor King when he was formulating the Poor People’s Campaign in 1967. And the concept really is that there is value and respect in our work. You know, we tend to elevate people who have higher earnings at a disproportionate rate than people who take care of our elderly, our sick teach our children, who don’t earn as much.
And so this notion is if we provide people with a guaranteed income, it kind of levels the playing field. It offers a sense of respect to everyone.
Dave Martin: But aren’t you just giving them money? And doesn’t that make it sort of less valuable if you’re just giving it to them?
Holly Mitchell: No. We are attempting to level the playing field for people who have been victims of of systems. I think in this country, we tend to blame poor people for being poor. We blame them for the conditions in which they live. We blame them for the the fact that they live in what I call unfinished neighborhoods, neighborhoods that government hasn’t invested in at equal rates, their unfinished neighborhoods.
And so we’re trying to, to, to create a culture shift in terms of how we think about poverty and not continue to blame people who are living in poverty, but look at systemic poverty. What were the willful acts of government that left communities and people behind? Redlining? you know, banking, policies that don’t support people equally, I would argue this current Supreme Court ruling with regard to college admissions, you know, the in Manhattan Beach, you talked about you have a friend who lives there.
We just had the wonderful opportunity as county government to return a piece of property to a family, who lost it 100 years ago based on an act of government based on a racist act of government.
Dave Martin: They got their house back.
Holly Mitchell: They got their property back. The Bruce Bruce’s beach, piece of property that was, was taken, through eminent domain inappropriately, you know, eminent domain. You’re supposed to take a piece of property.
Dave Martin: If I saw this, yes.
Holly Mitchell: It would be used for public good. They seized the property from this black couple, Charles and Willa Bruce. 100 years ago, who had the entrepreneurial vision and resources to buy beachfront property and build a resort for black people. 100 years ago, people in Manhattan Beach had a concern. The Klan got involved, and they seize the civic leaders, seize that property with the supposed intention of turning it over to a part.
And for decades, nothing was built on it. It came into the possession of the county, and we took aggressive action to correct that past wrong and return that parcel of property. So now let’s think about land ownership and how that bill’s multiple multi-generational wealth. That family was denied that, right. You know, the value of Manhattan Beach property today, if three generations of Bruce’s had benefited from the value of that land, what their life trajectory, how it would have been different, or.
Dave Martin: At least had a great house find a great spot.
Holly Mitchell: And and have great family wealth based on the value of that property. So that’s what I mean in terms of actions sometimes government took you know, we know about the burning of, of of in Oklahoma, of Tulsa when black businesses were burned, when, when actions were taken to rob communities of the opportunity of multi-generational wealth to send their children to college, to to not have generations of black and brown people burdened by debt, those are the things we’re trying to course correct.
And so it’s not a matter of giving people money and they don’t value it. We’ve had amazing, research results where we’ve seen where people are doing things like investing and starting small businesses, creating savings accounts for the first time. So maybe they can buy property. You know, mothers who are are working multiple part time jobs who can quit one of them and, be at home with her kids when they come home from school or pay for tutoring because kids are kind of struggling coming out of Covid.
So we’ve heard wonderful stories of what people have been able to do when they have a little room to breathe. When you live on the edge every month, what it does to your mental health, your physical health, your ability to have, healthy interactions with your kids.
Dave Martin: And every day stressful.
Holly Mitchell: It’s an everyday stressor when you’re on the edge. And all of the studies show that most Americans don’t have enough money in the savings account to manage one unanticipated expense, one broken carburetor, one health negative, you know, health bill. So we’re trying to create, an opportunity for people who live on the edge every day to have a little extra income to support themselves and their families.
And tragically, when we look at the evaluations across the country, the L.A. County model, the L.A. city model, models all over the country, people are spending it on things like rent and food and people, the basics, the core basics that everyone should be able to. When you are working, when you are working, you should be able to cover those basic necessities for your family.
And far too many Americans cannot.
Dave Martin: So on the Good Government show, we love to hear about good government projects. Explain a little bit briefly, if you would, how the guaranteed income program works.
Holly Mitchell: Yes. So there are models and pilots all over the country. The breeze program that L.A. County brought forward, is providing 1000, excuse me, 1200 Angelinos, $1,000 a month. For three years. We’re working with the University of Pennsylvania Mayors for Guaranteed Income, because we’re doing the evaluation research on all of these pilots all over the country.
Dave Martin: So this isn’t enough money to live on. It’s just enough money to make life a little easier.
Holly Mitchell: It is not enough money to live on this notion that, oh, they’ll stop working. Nobody’s stopping work. It is additional income so you can breathe. That’s why we called it the Breeze program.
Dave Martin: we came up with that name, but.
Holly Mitchell: I did actually, because I saw a news clip of a woman being interviewed who was in the city of Compton’s program. Compton had a guaranteed income program, and she said, it just let me breathe. And I thought about it in terms of my own life experience. Those times when you’ve been a little short and during the month, I remember 13, 14 years old, my mother had gone through a recent divorce.
had not been working, trying to find work. And that’s when I learned when a utility bill comes in the mail in an envelope that’s pink or green, that means something.
Dave Martin: That means means it’s time for me to go play. It means I’ll get out of the house.
Holly Mitchell: It means you got to pay the utility bill in short order. And so when I presented yesterday at Naco and I said, everybody just pause for 10 or 15 seconds and think about a time when you couldn’t breathe. When a bill, a circumstance literally tightens your chest. And when I looked at in this audience of hundreds of local elected officials, I can’t tell you how many heads I saw nodding.
We’ve all had that experience. And so we named it breathe, because the goal is to give you just enough room to breathe. We’ve done some of our early, you know, evaluations and done some interviews, and we’ve heard stories coming out of Covid. help me secure my housing. You know, in the city of LA, every day we house 212 formerly unhoused people, and every day 225 new people enter Houselessness.
So if we can stem that tide and if this population could use that extra income to cover their rent to get them through, we’ve got people that gone back to school getting, CNA certification. So they’re improving their own condition. It’s three years. It’s a pilot, they know that. But in three years they may have gotten certification, gotten a AA.
Dave Martin: Where have you had anybody go through this for three years yet?
Holly Mitchell: No. This is, we launched our program last July, so we’re just at year one.
Dave Martin: All right. So you have to come back in two years.
Holly Mitchell: I’ll be happy to come back in two years.
Dave Martin: And with success stories of good government.
Holly Mitchell: Right. With all the stories, those that were successful and those that may not have been. And my ultimate goal just to tell you my, my secret, I hope with these pilots all over the country that government at every level federal, state and county will begin to look differently at how we structure our entitlement programs, that they are often so restrictive that we are holding people in poverty as opposed to lifting them out.
So I hope that that we will learn from this and think differently. You know, I’m sure when those presidents envision Social Security and Medicare, there were people that said, oh, government should be involved. And that in those ways, I hope guaranteed income really becomes this country’s next, visionary, program about how to truly lift people out of permanent, out of poverty, permanently.
Dave Martin: And I understand you have some visions for how government should operate.
Holly Mitchell: Well, I, brought forward a motion in Los Angeles County to say that we should pause and look at our own governance, infrastructure. You know, we operate probably primarily the way the the founding fathers. I’m sure they were all fathers of L.A. County when they chartered the county, you know, 100 plus years ago, they never envisioned 10 million residents.
And so our founding charter says there will be five. So where
Dave Martin: So maybe represent less than 2 billion people sometimes.
Holly Mitchell: So we’re going to take a look and, and we’re doing a nationwide search. We’ve got an academic institution doing a nationwide search and looking at models of governance, so we can look at various options that may suit LA County and our constituents a little bit better, looking at ways in which, you.
Dave Martin: Know, other county commissioners on board is is something everyone said it.
Holly Mitchell: Was a unit. It was a unanimous vote. There was lots of conversation, lots of debate, but it was a unanimous vote.
Dave Martin: What do the residents, the citizens, why are they on board with this?
Holly Mitchell: Well, you know, it’s interesting because there have been ballot initiatives, to expand the board. All of them have failed. Yet when you talk to people, they say, oh, it’s two, 2 million. It’s too many that think that’s the natural kind of assumption and inclination. And yet when it was put before the voters to make a different decision, they were defeated.
Not really sure why. So whatever we come up with, because it will change the charter, it will have to go to the voters. So the voters will ultimately have the say. But I think that we have a responsibility to look nationwide, at governance practices and perhaps come up with some models to give the voters new choices.
Dave Martin: So what do you go back? Could you just give this, show to all the, 2 million of your of your voters and have them listen.
Holly Mitchell: Happy to.
Dave Martin: Catch it. All right. Now, that was the warm up. Okay. All right, now we’re going to get to the hard part.
After you get done with this episode, hear more good government stories with our friends at How to Really Run a City. Former mayors Kasim Reed of Atlanta and Michael Nutter of Seattle, Delphia and their co-host, journalist and author Larry Platt talk with guests and other mayors about how to really get stuff done in cities around the nation. Check them out where you’re listening now or through their nonprofit news site, The Philadelphia Citizen.
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This is the this is our our questionnaire. We’re going to get to your philosophy of governance. Are you ready?
Holly Mitchell: I’m ready.
Dave Martin: All right. You were a state senator. Now you’re a county commissioner. Define good governance.
Holly Mitchell: Good government is a government that makes decisions, for the least among us, good government is government that elevates, you know, the lowest vote. Because if you elevate that vote, everybody prospers. Good government is government that is responsive, that is equity focused to meet the needs of the least among us. and is transparent.
Dave Martin: How do you judge your success and whether you’re providing good government?
Holly Mitchell: I think for me it’s a it’s a gut check. It’s been forever mindful about why I ran for office in the first place. And my personal story very quickly is I was running a the largest child development agency in the country, and we were going to the state legislature to a budget hearing because the legislature was proposing to cut $1 billion out of subsidized child care.
And I got there and there was not one LA County member in this committee. And LA County is home to one third of our state’s children. And I thought, there is no one here representing one third of the kids in this state. And I knew intuitively that I had knowledge work experience, life experience more so than the three men on that subcommittee who were about to make that decision.
And I sat in that budget hearing and decided to run for the state Assembly. Fast forward two years. I won, and the speaker then John Perez, made me chair of that very same subcommittee. And, you know, ten years later, we got that billion dollars back in subsidized child care. So so.
Dave Martin: You went from sitting in the back of the room saying, I could do this better to doing it better.
Holly Mitchell: That that part. Yes. And so for me, it’s a gut check. when I think about Miss Jones on the corner of 49th and Central, who is doing everything she can to foster her grandkids, on her fixed income, and that I have the power to translate her everyday lived experience into policies that will help she and her neighbors and women in her same plight.
I stay connected to my community, and I stay mindful of the reasons I ran for office in the first place.
Dave Martin: How can the voters, the constituents, know if they’re getting the government?
Holly Mitchell: They have to pay attention. You cannot simply show up on Election Day, cast your vote and then wash your hands of us. It’s a two way street. I tell people every day I’m a public servant and you have a job to do, which is to hold me accountable. That means you have to, sign up for our newsletters.
You have to watch, you know, now, particularly after, Covid, I don’t know if there is a single elected body that doesn’t broadcast either online or television. In our proceedings, you have to show up.
Dave Martin: You know, you say you want more people to have your picture like other other livingroom.
Holly Mitchell: I know I want more people to know who their elected officials are, to understand the kinds of decisions we make and the impact it has on their everyday lives. And to know, oh, L.A. County Board of Supervisors meets on Tuesday morning. Let me tune in and see what they’re talking about. Democracy should be an action verb, and that means our citizenry and our residents have to engage and be informed, too.
Dave Martin: I think you probably just answer this, but the next question and our question is what should people do if they’re not happy with the way things are going?
Holly Mitchell: Communicate. Share it. we get thousands of emails a day.
Dave Martin: People stop you at dinner.
Holly Mitchell: Or stop me at dinner. or, you know, drop into my, my DMs as people like to do or on Facebook, you know, and I think, you know, unfortunately, I tell people I don’t have the luxury of being a single topic policymaker. So I have some constituents who focus on one issue. And if I’m not, if they don’t agree with what I’ve done on that one issue, then throw the baby out with the bathwater.
I think people should look broadly and have a couple of topics that are important to them. I’m not a single issue, constituent. I too am a constituent and communicate with my elected officials on a regular basis. but it really is to look broadly, to understand my philosophy around governance, my priorities, which are all on my website, which I talk about very openly all the time.
Dave Martin: So you served, in the state Senate. Now you’re, county supervisor.
Holly Mitchell: First Assembly, first Senate, and now county supervisor.
Dave Martin: What would you like people to know about government? You’ve seen it from three different perspectives. What would you like people to know?
Holly Mitchell: Great question. What I’d like people to know about government is nine times out of ten, government works and local government, during Covid worked in ways that’s far too many people just don’t even understand. When I understood, I serve on the air quality management District. I served on the sanitation board when I was chair last year to go and see, the sanitation operations to understand what happens beyond when I put my cans on the curb on Thursday nights and don’t think twice about the green, the blue or the black hand to understand the water table and understand the role I can play as a citizen in making sure that the water in my community is clean. to understand litter and trash and everything that goes in the sewer goes in the ocean. And the role government plays in protecting the environment, it is mind boggling. So there’s so many elements of government that people just don’t think about.
Dave Martin: How do you learn on the job, things like that. You have no relationship with sanitation, clean water?
Holly Mitchell: Well, you better be a quick study. I hire, people always who are smarter than me. I hire to complement my own weaknesses. So, for example, joining the Board of Supervisors, I’m on the metro board, our public transit board. Transportation is in a policy area that I’d focus on. My ten years in the legislature. So I hire the best and the brightest to make sure that they could school me, direct me, and support me in a meaningful way.
I’m now a transportation geek. I love serving on the metro board because the the dots I hadn’t connected. When I think about my goal of being a poverty disruptor and supporting families, is the role public transportation plays in the lives of low income Angelinos. and making sure that I had bus routes that ran on time that were clean and safe for moms with their toddlers to ride those busses to get to childcare, and her to get to work, and were reliable because if you’re late three times on a job where you punch a time clock, but you’re late because the bus didn’t come, that’s government’s job to make sure that busses are reliable
and on time. So you know, it. so it, it, you know, it takes a lot of introspection and work and informational interviews to talk to people who are subject matter experts to learn. I learned something new every day on my job. Literally.
Dave Martin: Who’s your political hero? Oh, who inspired you to read? I mean, obviously you what are you are a contrarian. That’s what got you into the first place. But what who inspired you?
Holly Mitchell: You know what I remember because I was that geek of a kid. Barbara Jordan, I remember the sound of her voice during the Watergate hearings.
Dave Martin: You’re not that old.
Holly Mitchell: The pleasure of meeting Shirley Chisholm in Atlanta at the Democratic National Convention. I was a young staffer. I worked for then state senator Diane Watson, in my early 20s, and I met Shirley Chisholm.
Dave Martin: I met this a former congresswoman.
Holly Mitchell: Yes. The first African American woman elected to Congress out of New York, first African-American to run for president. Shirley Chisholm ran for president in 1972. I met women like Mary Henry who were welfare advocate, who informed policy. So I think for me, my political heroes and not just elected officials, but they were also people who had lived experience, you know, Fannie Lou Hamer, was, Fannie Lou Hamer, was a sharecropper in Mississippi who fought for voting rights, who famously shut down the Democratic National Convention when her Democratic club would not be seated at the convention.
And, you know, the story is, LBJ, President Johnson created an opportunity to have a fireside chat to commandeer the networks because he didn’t want her speech on the floor of the Democratic National Convention to be televised. And she famously, her famous line is, I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired that she wanted good government for her community to.
And if she was not allowed to vote, how could she guarantee that? And so I think that there are women in history and women who walk among us today who, influence me, who educate me, who inform my world view of good government.
Dave Martin: Now, I’ve been to Los Angeles many, many times, but I’m coming with you. We’re going to Los Angeles. What do we have? What’s your favorite L.A. dish? Where are we going?
Holly Mitchell: Oh, my. Oh, you got to get me in trouble. Well, you. It has to be more than one day.
Dave Martin: Okay. That’s fine.
Holly Mitchell: If you like spicy food, I’ll take you to Little Ethiopia. They have some amazing Ethiopian food if.
Dave Martin: You want your order.
Holly Mitchell: Well, because I don’t like spicy food. Everything. I always tell them in mild or no spice. injera, a little spice. Yeah. Okay, well, you will get separate dishes. I’ll take you to Dylan’s on Crenshaw. for great soul food for, any for anything. I’ll take you to Derek’s in Culver City for great Jamaican food for oxtails.
Holly Mitchell: That will make you never want to leave Culver City. I’ll take you to Jr’s barbecue on Fairfax for some amazing Memphis barbecue. You see, you need to come stay a week.
Dave Martin: At eating.
Holly Mitchell: And then we’ll go to the stairs in Culver City and walk it all off.
Dave Martin: So I did tour in Los Angeles with you for a week. you know what? There are worse out there, worse things to look forward to.
Holly Mitchell: Then I’ll take you to some of our amazing museums. Lasema and the, California Science Center, where you can see our space shuttle. So there’s lots of wonderful things to do in the second district in L.A. County.
Dave Martin: Here we go to Tony. All Tony said Renata.
Holly Mitchell: We could do that, too, because I represent Redondo Beach.
Dave Martin: I love that spot. I try to always go.
Holly Mitchell: Well, then you’ll I’ve never been to all, Tony. So you.
Dave Martin: Took old.
Holly Mitchell: Tony, so you take me.
Dave Martin: Oh, come on, have you have you been to the, Beach Boys Memorial in Hawthorne?
Holly Mitchell: No, no.
Dave Martin: All right, so we have work to do. We have work. We have, I have. I want to show you la la, I know you show me the la. You that I’m.
Holly Mitchell: Ready. Let’s go.
Dave Martin: All right. So growing up, did you did you aspire to be in politics? Did you aspire to be a political leader?
Holly Mitchell: I had a first grade teacher, Mrs. Weinstein, who in 1972 allowed us to build voting booths and ask us to cut out pictures of the presidential candidates and to watch the debates with our parents. And I remember thinking that Richard Nixon looked scary. And I talked to my parents and they were going to support McGovern. So we built the we talked about it.
We cut out pictures. We told her who our parents were going to support, and we had elections on our school at school 42nd Street Elementary School in Leimert Park. And McGovern was president. So when I came home and talked to my parents and I realized our candidate didn’t win, I was intrigued. Fast forward a couple of years later, something called prop 13 passed.
I can hear my parents discussing it at the kitchen table like it was yesterday. About what? About why they would not be supporting prop 13.
Dave Martin: What was prop 13?
Holly Mitchell: Prop 13 was the tax break that that, guarantee died. If you owned your property before said year that your, you know, property taxes wouldn’t increase exponentially like people who bought the property after said year. and it cut deeply into government funding. And so I remember recognizing that my park that used to have lights on at night, the lights weren’t on anymore, and you’d ask, why prop 13?
You’d ask your teacher at school, can I have some construction paper? Color principles? Oh, we don’t have as many school supplies anymore. Prop 13. So everybody kept pointing to this political action, and I realized it had a direct impact on me and my neighborhood. The the, our local library cut their hours. The lights went off in the park at night.
We didn’t have as many school supplies, so I was intrigued. Those are my earliest kind of memories that connected me to understand that there was an elected body someplace that makes decisions that impact my life. And frankly, when I looked at the pictures of those elected bodies, not too many of them look like me. I wasn’t sure how many of them were from Leimert Park, or lived in my community, or prioritized my community.
so it was a strangely young curiosity.
Dave Martin: That she was keeping your eye on this for, like, this.
Holly Mitchell: For a long time. That led me to student government as a student, led me to work on the early campaigns.
Dave Martin: Of the class.
Holly Mitchell: I was not, and I lost my first. The only election I’ve ever lost was eighth grade treasurer Karen Paladino won, and my campaign slogan was who will keep your money safe? Hollywood?
Dave Martin: Did you read that yourself?
Holly Mitchell: I did.
Dave Martin: And where is Karen Paladino now? She like status?
Holly Mitchell: Oh, I saw her at, our reunion last year. And she’s an attorney someplace. She’s not in a good government advocate like me.
Dave Martin: All right, well, I hope she voted for you. So we’ve talked about a lot of different projects, stuff you’ve been involved in. Give me your your favorite example of good government that you’ve been able to provide.
Holly Mitchell: Oh excellent question. I, I’m very proud of our guaranteed income, project. I represent, the largest urban oil field in the country. When you fly into LAX, you see the Inglewood oil fields that are in the closest proximity to a residential community of any oil field in the country. They are, you know, a quarter mile and less to many homes throughout the Baldwin Hills, Leimert Park community.
And so we have worked very hard to get clarity around, the chemicals used in oil drilling. and to look at, at health clusters immediately surrounding that oil field and others throughout LA. And so we are in the process of, of capping, close wells and really putting the health of residents over the profits of oil companies.
I’m proud of that work. When I was in the legislature. that’s good work.
Dave Martin: That’s good, that’s good government.
Holly Mitchell: That’s a good government. when I was in the legislature, we really worked hard to rightsize our juvenile justice system. I think our criminal justice system in this country, the pendulum swings either far right are far left, and it it’s swung so far that, you know, we were trying 13 and 14 year olds as adults. We were allowing children to waive their Miranda rights, and be, interviewed by law enforcement without their parents present.
those are two laws I changed in the state legislature. That’s good governance and good government from my perspective. so I have a lot of examples like that that I’m proud of.
Dave Martin: Well, it sounds like a record of accomplishment, over a long, long period of time. Holly Mitchell, LA County supervisor, it was a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for stopping by. it was great to meet you.
Holly Mitchell: Thank you very much for our engaging conversation. I and I look forward to your trip to LA so we can go on our our gastric experience.
Dave Martin: Yes, we have we have a lot of places to visit. Your places at right places. Thanks for coming. Right.
Holly Mitchell: Thank you for having me.
Dave Martin: Where do you get your news from? Where do you get your state and local government news from? Because that’s getting harder and harder. And it’s essential to stay updated with your community. And it’s becoming increasingly important to know what’s going on in other cities and states, because they’re likely facing challenges that you’re grappling with, too, are you’re going to face eventually.
That’s why we’d like to welcome our new partner, route 50, to the show. Route 50 is a leading online publication covering state and local governments across the country. They’ve written about states protecting themselves against the rise in cyber attacks, counties using AI to better support citizens services, local responses to crumbling infrastructure and extreme weather, and much, much more.
There’s a lot there. It’s a one stop shop for issues affecting state and local governments and their residents. That’s you. That’s all of us. Do yourself a favor and go to route 50.com to see the topics and solutions they cover, and learn what other people in government are doing. They also deliver a daily newsletter called route 50 today.
I see it in my inbox every morning. I check it out and you should too. Thanks again. Route 50. We’re excited to have you on board and being a partner here at the Good Government Show.
What is it the county government does? That’s the question county commissioners get asked the most. And the simple answer is everything on the good Government show. We’re so lucky to have talked with so many county commissioners and other county officials that have shown us how effective county government is. County government dates back to get this 1634, making it one of the oldest forms of government in the United States.
Think about it. Roads. Highways. Hospitals. Schools. Recycling. Law enforcement. Water. Sewers, and most of the county. Those services are maintained by the county that’s county government. The National Association of Counties represents all 3069 counties across the USA. Naco helps county government work better together through things like sharing best practices. When county government works well, well, that’s just good government.
One of the things I constantly hear from elected officials, when I ask them what people should do if they don’t like what their elected leaders are doing, is this they should get involved. And that’s just what Holly Mitchell did working for a child development agency. She didn’t like the way the money was being apportioned, and she sat there and thought, well, this is wrong.
So she ran for office. She got elected to California State Assembly and became head of the subcommittee that was looking to cut those child development dollars. that was the funding she had to work with. She changed that. Now she’s a county supervisor and still working for change. I like to answer to what’s the work like? And she said, and I quote, it’s intense, hard, but strategic work.
I don’t think she’s going to quit. So that’s a look at one of the largest counties in the U.S. and one of the largest districts represented by one person in county government. As I said, a lot going on in LA. Well, that’s our show. Please like us and share this with your friends and review us right here, real listening.
And check out our website. Good Government show.com for extras. Join us again for another episode right here where you’re listening now I’m Dave Martin and this is a good government show.
The Good Government show is a Valley Park production. Jim Ludlow, Dave Martin, that’s me and David Snyder are the executive producers. Our show is edited and produced by Jason Stershic. Please subscribe then share us and like us and reviews. That’s the best way to make sure we’re able to keep telling these stories of our government working for all of us.
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**This transcription was created using digital tools and has not been edited by a live person. We apologize for any discrepancies or errors.