Henry Stern, Malibu’s senator in the state Legislature, is “seriously looking at” running for current LA County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl’s seat, he told The Acornon Monday, April 19.
The 80-year-old Kuehl has said she will not seek a third term in 2022. She currently oversees an area that stretches from the Pacific Ocean to Sylmar and encompasses 2 million people. The five-member board of supervisors governs Los Angeles County and is responsible for a budget of nearly $30 billion, an incredibly powerful office.
“The pressure and the importance of doing right by people in a position like [Kuehl’s], it’s really compelling. I’m doing a lot of self-assessment and if I feel like I can do a competent job for everyone and deliver, I’ll jump in,” Stern told the Agoura Hills newspaper.
Stern, 39, formerly an environmental lawyer, currently represents around 1 million people in the state legislature from communities such as Moorpark, Simi Valley and Malibu. In the state senate, he has worked on issues of wildfire prevention. His home burned in the Woolsey Fire in 2018, according to The Acorn.
Assemblymember Richard Bloom, who also represents Malibu in the state legislature, has said that he will run for Kuehl’s position when her time is up. So has West Hollywood Mayor Lindsay Horvath, who announced her candidacy last week and who received Kuehl’s endorsement.