I believe that improvements to Metrolink service, especially the Antelope Valley line, will help address Los Angeles County’s housing crisis, lack of affordability, and air quality. The Antelope Valley is where there is abundant, inexpensive land that can be used to create housing and jobs at the right scale. Currently, it takes more than two hours to go from L.A.'s Union Station to Lancaster, about an hour longer than driving. And at best trains are spaced an hour apart, but often two hours apart. With the appropriate safety measures we can double the speed of the trains, cutting in half the time it takes to get from point A to point B while also cutting in half the wait times between trains.

In addition, my plan involves adding trains running on green hydrogen, making Metrolink so convenient that many people would opt for it rather than driving. The Metrolink improvements would increase the number of areas that are feasible commutes, enabling people to choose to live in more affordable areas such as Palmdale and Lancaster. The American Lung Assn. tells us that our ozone levels are reducing life expectancy... By reducing the number of cars on the road, we can reduce our dangerous ozone levels. Metrolink improvements will help people reduce their transportation expenses (including gas) and help ease our notoriously horrendous traffic.

First, the County needs to set a clear goal of zero homelessness, along with a timeline and a realistic plan that accepts economic realities. My goal is zero homelessness by 2028, when L.A. hosts the Olympics and the eyes of the world are on us. We simply cannot solve the problem with more traditional housing that is costing more than $500,000 per unit. We need to distinguish between those homeless for economic reasons and those who are homeless due to substance abuse and mental health issues.

For the economically homeless, beautiful and affordable tiny houses, provided as part of live-work arrangements (water-smart, small farms) in the Antelope Valley, where land is cheap and abundant, are the best way in my opinion to make a massive rapid impact. As the head of nonprofit project ThriveLA, I've been working on this concept for the past eight years. No one will be forced to accept this opportunity, but it will be available to any and all who need it. The county's limited funds then can be directed toward helping those who cannot help themselves.

My plan involves utilizing the State of California's employee housing framework, which provides much greater flexibility as to housing types, much greater speed in terms of permitting, and much greater density in terms of number of housing units per parcel of land. The county can and should enable the creation of thousands of water-smart small farms in the Antelope Valley where anyone can live and work. By greatly increasing the supply of housing, not only would we finally have enough housing for everyone, but the extreme upward pressures on rents would be reversed, and Angelenos could spend closer to 30% of their income on housing, rather than 50%.

L.A. County has the land to do this, as more than 400,000 acres of privately owned agricultural land is sitting dormant in the Antelope Valley. The county can remove the regulatory barriers that stand in the way of transforming L.A. County into a modern agricultural marvel. And by tying housing to employment, opportunity is created for people to have a job that allows them to pay for that housing. Finally we would have housing that is affordable without a subsidy. Moreover, by allowing vacant land to be developed into small farms, we would greatly increase the assessed value of the land, providing a huge boost to the county's budget to pay for expanded mental health and substance abuse services that would be made available on a "universal" basis. In this way, by making L.A. more affordable, we also make L.A. more safe.

My top public safety issue is reducing our risk of destructive wildfires. The ever-present wildfire risk has caused insurance rates to skyrocket, contributing to L.A.'s lack of affordability. As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. My plan involves creating at least 1,000 new jobs, along with associated employee housing, for Angelenos to gather our dry brush before it burns and convert it into biochar.

Biochar is a stable solid form of carbon that is a miraculous agricultural commodity. Biochar greatly improves the nutrient-holding and water-holding capacity of the soil, and can be sold at a profit, making this activity self-sustaining. And because it has the potential to prevent the carbon in the dry brush from becoming a greenhouse gas (CO2 or methane), this activity could help address the climate crisis and earn carbon credits to further offset the costs of this fire prevention strategy. By preventing wildfires this way, our air could be safer to breathe, our people, pets, property and environment could be in less danger, and any wildfires that do occur could be easier to contain.

My safety priority also involves reducing crime. My "Lights, Camera, Action!" plan would make our business districts very well-lit at night, and security cameras operated by private companies could deter criminal activity. When an area is well-lit and monitored, people feel safer. The net result would be a boost of activity that bolsters L.A.'s economy and tax revenues. Privacy protections would be baked in, as the camera footage would be kept only for long enough to be subpoenaed by the government in the event the footage is needed as evidence.

Another priority is to help our furry friends who need adopting. The county's animal shelters are euthanizing close to 30% of our adoptable shelter animals. My multi-prong approach would involve training the shelter pets to make them that much more adoptable, increasing the use of nonprofits to help with matchmaking, and incentivizing the private fostering of shelter pets as needed to give them more time to find a loving home. I also would make it much easier to do business in and with the county, such as having pre-approved plans for constructing new housing in the Antelope Valley and with permitting times reduced from years to weeks. And all services that can be conducted digitally finally would be.

One of my favorite activities is working with my hands building things on my nearly 5-acre property where I live in lovely rural Acton. I'm up early nearly every day, doing things like turning pesky rocks into beautiful rock-wall raised-bed gardens. I know firsthand that with hard work we can turn scarcity into abundance, creating resilience and moving toward self-sufficiency. Plus it's fun and great exercise!

I worked to get the Metro Gold Line started as an appointed member of the Pasadena Light Rail Alignment Task Force, where I was instrumental in the planning and execution of the initial stops connecting Pasadena to Downtown L.A. In the Assembly, I continued to help extend the Gold Line further, securing $290 million in funding for six new stations and introducing a plan to have the Gold Line connect the Burbank and Ontario airports. The Gold Line is a solution that addresses climate change and increases economic benefits in the San Gabriel Valley.

As a member of the Metro board, I’ll continue to advocate for a robust public transportation system that provides reliable alternatives to driving. I’ll focus on creating more equity within our public transit services, ensuring public transit remains affordable for all L.A. County residents and that more services reach underserved communities, including the Santa Clarita and Antelope Valleys. I’ll also focus on public safety on our rail lines and buses so riders feel safe using public transit.

The right approach is a more coordinated effort with cooperation from each city and school district and the state and federal governments. I’ll lock arms with Mayor Karen Bass and work with her to rapidly house those living on our streets and prevent more families from falling into homelessness. We must expand mental health services, supportive housing, and job training for unhoused individuals. I will work to implement policies that help prevent people from falling into homelessness in the first place. We need to ensure that every sector of our workforce has stable incomes and the financial security needed to thrive in our county. I will work to support small businesses so we can generate more Measure H sales tax revenue for homelessness services.

I was appalled at reports that the L.A. County Board of Supervisors and county CEO had only invested 21% of the $900 million that voters mandated to invest in affordable housing, good-paying jobs and mental health. As chair of the Assembly Appropriations Committee, I also believe that the county could interpret funding streams more broadly that would allow investments for community-based organizations and front-line funders. We also need to reimagine county programs that relate to youth justice and reform of the county’s troubled juvenile and probation programs.

On housing, every community needs to do its part, but communities at the edge of our county should not be the solution to compensate for a not-in-my-backyard mentality. I will push all communities to be part of the solution, including building their allocated share of new housing, increasing workforce housing options, and adding more supportive housing capacity. We must focus on prevention and catching people before they fall into homelessness, which starts with tackling poverty. Working with our schools, churches, and nonprofit partners, we can help families facing housing instability stay in their homes through subsidized rent, job training, and placement.

In the Assembly, I supported several pieces of legislation to increase housing stock. These included AB 2053, to establish the California Housing Authority to efficiently meet housing needs across the state by producing and acquiring development for mixed income communities; SB679 to address homelessness and the low-income housing crisis by creating the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency to centralize efforts to increase funding, preservation, development, and updated zoning across the region; AB1279 to encourage affordable housing production in “high-resource” areas that show patterns of exclusion; and AB1505 to require new housing to have more affordable units. As County Supervisor, I will continue to advocate that our region uses every tool in our toolbox to address the homelessness and housing crisis.

As a County Supervisor, I intend to bring the necessary oversight of our criminal justice system and ensure we are implementing common sense reforms that create a culture of accountability. Our Sheriff’s department needs reform. We should be rightfully concerned about the Civilian Oversight Commission’s report regarding deputy gangs. I urge the Sheriff to implement the recommendations and bring change to the culture of the Sheriff’s department. We need accountability and regular reports on their progress for these necessary changes and to institute consequences for deputies who don’t abide by new policies. We also need to ensure that the next generation of Deputy Sheriffs receives the proper training and guidance to prohibit their participation in these gangs.

We must restore trust between law enforcement and our communities regarding criminal justice. We must also invest in what contributes to overall safety — good-paying jobs, a thriving local economy, housing stability, access to quality health care, child care services, and parks and recreational opportunities. I have a proven track record of passing impactful legislation to advance much needed reform in police departments and correctional facilities, including the George Floyd Law ensuring that officers have a duty to intervene, and notification by peace officers on the reason for traffic stops. As a County Supervisor, I will work to improve public safety, including increased oversight of our criminal justice system. I’ll ensure we implement common sense reforms that create a culture of accountability and justice.

I’m a lifelong Democrat who has dedicated his service to pursuing progressive solutions that work for Los Angeles County, helping millions access economic and educational opportunities. I entered public service as a member of the Pasadena City Council and in 1997 became Pasadena’s mayor. We created Pasadena’s first living wage ordinance, managed the deregulation of the city’s public utility to keep jobs local, and were instrumental in expanding the Gold Line. I was also instrumental in establishing the Community Health Alliance Partnership to provide healthcare to uninsured and underinsured residents.

Since being elected to the State Assembly in 2012, I have fought for equity and diversity in the workplace, classroom, and criminal justice system. I authored and led passage of legislation that:

• Allows high school students to take community college courses. The College and Career Access Pathways dual enrollment program helps close the achievement gap and reduces the time and money needed to earn a degree.

• Secures a $20 minimum wage while also improving standards for wages and workplace conditions for fast food workers.

• Protects young children by mandating child care centers test their drinking water sources for lead.

• Secures $89 million to retain vital services for individuals with disabilities, including autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and intellectual disabilities.

• Addresses discrimination in the real estate appraisal process.

• Streamlines foster youth enrollment into college educational assistance programs.

• Requires idle and abandoned oil and gas wells to be tested for atmospheric emissions of pollutants.

• Provides millions in state funding for public libraries, hiking trails, the Pasadena Playhouse, and the Rose Bowl.

I am a basketball fanatic. I played college basketball and was a forward for San Diego State University. After graduating college, I turned down the opportunity to play professional basketball internationally to pursue public service. But my love of the game has never left me. My team knows to schedule around Los Angeles Lakers games, and there is nothing I love more than cracking open a cold beer while cheering on the purple and gold with my dog Kobe by my side .

I have signed on to make all of L.A. Metro completely fare-free, and have made a commitment to expand Metro service into the Antelope Valley. I am also in favor of replacing L.A. County Sheriff's Department deputies on trains with private security, including unarmed response units. Access Services (for disabled passengers) is still operating on outdated scheduling technology. We must use the Metro Micro infrastructure to make disabled transit faster and more convenient.

First, we must remove policing from homeless solutions. No amount of enforcement will ever create new housing or increase services. Second, we must increase the pay and lower the requirements for social workers across the county. People need help and we are severely lacking the staff to take care of those who are struggling. Lastly, we need to build half a million units of housing just to stay ahead of the population needs of the county over the next few years. I will incentivize the construction of three- and four- bedroom units through tax abatements. In addition, we must utilize Measure H dollars to build more outpatient mental health facilities and drug addiction treatment centers.

The entire state of California has failed to build much-needed housing of any kind for over a decade. To satisfy the need of low-income families in the region, I’m proposing a five-year property tax abatement countywide on all new construction that qualifies for a state density bonus, or streamlined ministerial review if up to 50% of the affordable units in the project will be three- or four-bedroom. I also support ending the practice of exclusionary zoning, which historically has led to a generational wealth gap for Black and Brown Angelenos. At the end of the day, the only long-term solution to the housing crisis is to create more owners and fewer renters.

I am a proud abolitionist and I will work every day to end the carceral state and the school-to-prison pipeline. The county must invest in local after-school programs to alleviate the financial burden of smaller school districts. I will advocate for county dollars to be spent on arts, sports, and extracurricular activities in the school districts with the lowest-income families. In addition, the county should invest in alternative education programs for graduating seniors who don’t wish to go to college. This includes creating partnerships with local businesses and unions to fund apprenticeships and work-study programs along with scholarships for underserved communities.

I pledge to support the movement for Black Lives, and I have worked closely with members of Black Lives Matter. I have publicly endorsed their national and local campaigns, and I have adopted their policy platforms during my campaigns for office. For instance, as supervisor, I will move to shut down Men’s Central Jail, close the remote sheriff's stations in the county, and eliminate cash bail countywide. We must utilize the full power of diversion and zero cash bail to eliminate the over-incarceration of BIPOC and low-income detainees. By expanding mental health and drug treatment options, we can reduce mass incarceration in Los Angeles County.

The race for this seat is one of the most powerful yet obscure races on the ballot this cycle. Most people have no idea what a county supervisor even does, and I am hoping that my campaign informs the electorate about the importance of this position. As supervisor, I will permit the construction of solar and wind infrastructure across the Antelope Valley and the high desert as well as the construction of new hydrogen technology. In addition, I will vote to spend county dollars to convert all of our storm drain systems into stormwater capture. We can no longer allow our rainwater to simply flow out into the ocean instead of recycling it back into our system to be treated for human consumption.

I will also push for a countywide mandate on all reproductive care facilities to require signage at every entrance clearly stating whether or not abortion services are performed on site and the name of the attending physician, if any. I will also move to create a universal basic income program for residents in need of financial stability. I will also use the county Office of Education to invest in after-school programs including arts, music, and sports. Plus, I will push to implement the first countywide free daycare program for all children under 18. These fundamental initiatives, along with the expansion of apprenticeships and internships with our local unions, are the best ways to promote income stability.

Prior to holding elected office, I was a professional improvisational comedian onstage and a SAG-AFTRA union actor in TV and film. I have studied and performed at Groundlings, Second City, iOWest, UCB, and ComedySportz. The skills I learned still help me in my personal and professional life. Last year, I became the first diagnosed autistic mayor in the United States. I owe a large part of that success to the communication abilities I gained through comedy and audience interaction .

I believe the safety of our riders and employees is paramount. Exceeding our ridership goals and maintaining a strong workforce begins with ensuring our system is safe and used for its intended purpose. A safe and reliable system guarantees that our workforce and low-income residents have equitable transit access. I will continue to advocate for implementing the safety measures on our system. I also am focused on making meaningful progress in expanding access to frequent and reliable transit service. Those who rely exclusively on our system need assurances that we will get them to their destinations on time and safely.

To expand ridership, future riders need to know that we’ll get them where they’re going, and that Metro is a better option than battling through traffic.I also support enhancing our Metrolink system. It can and should be a critical alternative to transport people from the more affordable housing centers in the county to where they work and play. I believe enhancing our bike and pedestrian infrastructure is incredibly important. We must also recognize that highways are essential to connecting our entire county, specifically the North County, and I will support investing in them. In closing, one size doesn’t fit all in this county. In representing the Fifth District, I will continue to champion transportation systems for the North County, and investments in every corner of our community, from the San Gabriel Valley to the Santa Clarita and Antelope Valleys.

In declaring the county’s state of emergency on homelessness, I took on eliminating the red tape limiting our progress. I also created the Blue Ribbon Commission on Homelessness to eliminate bottlenecks in our homelessness system impeding getting people permanently off our streets. Since then, we identified slow hiring times, a lack of direct funding to cities and other bureaucratic issues, and have permanently corrected them. My policies have enabled the county to invest in a range of housing options. To effectively serve the most acute homeless population, we must pair housing with support services. I will continue building up our county services to holistically care for our homeless and keep them safely housed.

We need federal reform to remedy our mental health bed capacity limitations. This is how we can adequately meet growing demand for them. I believe we need to increase involuntary treatment for those deteriorating from severe behavioral illness and evolve our county’s capacity to serve them. This is how we can deliver humane care to those suffering on our streets. After offering housing and services to people experiencing homelessness, we must include enforcement. This can and must be done compassionately. In the Fifth District, I proudly funded Homeless Outreach Services Teams who have effectively partnered with homeless service providers to initiate encampment clean-ups in high-risk areas to keep local businesses and residents safe.

The long-term solution to housing affordability is based on supply and demand. We need more housing units at all levels and the state’s housing needs assessment mandates this. I have mobilized as many housing projects as possible in my district and worked with the state to remove barriers. Community buy-in is essential, and I have also worked directly with our cities and communities to approve housing projects. I also support California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) reform. Advocates often weaponize CEQA to halt residential development. CEQA was created with the best intentions, but has been misused to obstruct responsible development. I am advocating for the state to address regulatory barriers like CEQA. Until then, we are going to continue seeing housing development stunted.

I also believe the county needs to continue investing in affordable housing. The county sets aside roughly $100 million to support affordable housing development and preservation, and to provide support for tenant protections. We have also leveraged our zoning authority to incentivize affordable housing development. We have effectively demonstrated how you can maintain the development of market-rate housing, while also using incentives for the inclusion of affordable housing.

Hiring and adequately staffing our first responders is a challenge that permeates many public service fronts, from public safety to health care to homelessness. Staffing shortages also lead to deputies working unsustainable overtime hours, further straining an already overtaxed workforce. In the last year, I led the effort to increase our Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department training academies to begin addressing the shortage of deputies patrolling our streets. This led to eight new Sheriff’s academy classes, and I will continue supporting funding for more classes in the coming years.

I also believe that mental health services are a critical component to safe communities. I am proud of the fact that my first action as a newly elected Supervisor was to expand our Sheriff’s Mental Evaluation Teams. These teams pair a clinician with a clinically trained deputy, and are our first line of response for individuals suffering from a mental health crisis. We need more co-response teams like this. Due to staffing shortages in our Sheriff’s Department, we are unable to expand further. I also launched our mental health therapeutic transport vans which provide clinical non-law enforcement response to those in crisis. We know that increasing our mental healthcare capacity leads to better outcomes for individuals in crisis, and fewer unnecessary engagements with law enforcement. I championed modernizing recruitment and retention of our mental health workforce, leading to a 200% increase in hiring.

My plans for the 5th District are rooted in my expert knowledge of its many communities. I am a lifelong resident of the district and have committed my career to improving quality of life and access to holistic healthcare across the district. My bold and collaborative leadership has earned me bipartisan endorsements, as well as the support of our most prominent labor, business, and community organizations like Planned Parenthood. While I am proud of many accomplishments, I seek to continue evolving the projects and work still ahead.

I will continue bringing more accountability and transparency to our homelessness systems and deliver measurable results on our streets. I will also continue fighting to allocate homeless resources directly to cities and communities. I have led the county’s expansion of our mental health bed capacity and we have proudly brought 800 additional beds online in the last 18 months. Creating more beds and continuing to expand our care-first behavioral health crisis response system are my top priorities. I believe that we must also scale up our investments in public safety and address our law enforcement staffing shortage. I have championed bringing more funding to increase our Sheriff’s academy classes. I am committed to keeping communities safe. I have the outside perspective to continue challenging the status quo, along with the experience to deliver solutions and drive the change that this county needs.

I love to walk, and I (try to) walk each and every morning to start my day. Not only does this help prepare me physically and mentally for my job, it is also an opportunity to talk with friends and community members. I have learned a lot about the challenges and opportunities facing our communities from these daily interactions. Walking every day has deepened my appreciation for the need for our communities to be safe and accessible to all. This is also time that helps keep me grounded. I love being out in the 5th District and meeting our neighbors face-to-face .

In L.A. County, a significant shift in our approach to transportation projects is urgently needed. My own experiences, like relying on a compassionate bus driver to safely get me home in Littlerock as a child, highlight the gaps in our current system. We can’t continue to accept projects that favor aesthetics or business interests over the actual needs of our transit users. However, it’s not just about better planning. It’s about accountability.

We need leaders who aren’t afraid to take responsibility, leaders who see accountability not as a political liability but as an essential duty. Currently, there’s a tendency to point fingers rather than owning up to mistakes. This isn’t just unproductive, it's irresponsible. In a county as diverse and complex as Los Angeles, acting like adults means acknowledging when things go wrong and taking swift, effective action to rectify them, without resorting to public relations spin. As your supervisor, I pledge not just to plan and implement better transportation solutions, but also to stand accountable for these decisions. When a project doesn't serve our community as intended, I will be there to address it head-on, not to assign blame but to fix the problem. It's time for mature, responsible leadership that puts the needs and safety of our residents first, and I am committed to being that leader.

My story, shaped by the ordeal of being trafficked to Europe and enduring homelessness, underlines the complexities of this societal issue. It's these dark, intricate aspects I've witnessed that our law enforcement grapples with daily, often unseen by the public. If elected, I will introduce the Beacon Program, akin to those highway emergency phones, but for human crises. This 24/7 AI-driven platform both in digital form and physical locations offers a direct line for those unheard and unseen, especially crucial for individuals uncomfortable with human interaction. Beacon isn't just about giving help; it's about changing the entire narrative on homelessness and even crime.

More than a communication tool, Beacon is a beacon of accountability. It will gather anonymous data to illuminate the true causes of homelessness, challenging our leaders to confront these issues proactively. This initiative is about acknowledging and addressing the failings of our system, ensuring that our officials are held accountable for residents who slip into these desperate situations. It's a bold step toward real change, where support and understanding are as accessible as those phones on the highway, ready to assist our community's most vulnerable.

As a native of Los Angeles County with insights from cities like London, San Francisco, and San Diego, I've observed the profound impact of profit-driven housing policies. However, my aim isn't to punish housing contractors or developers. Instead, I seek to collaborate with them, negotiating terms that serve our diverse and expansive county.

In board meetings and negotiations, I always advocate for fair and balanced deals that consider the needs of all residents. There's been too little oversight, allowing some developers to proceed unchecked. This must change. We need housing solutions tailored specifically for Los Angeles County, recognizing our unique challenges and opportunities. My goal is to ensure that new housing developments are not just profitable, but also socially responsible and inclusive. It's about striking the right balance, ensuring that everyone in our community has access to affordable, quality housing. This isn’t just another political promise; it’s a commitment to transformative action for the betterment of our county.

The core public safety issue in L.A. County is not just crime or homelessness; it's the county itself and the detachment of its leadership from the everyday experiences of residents. Our officials often rely on textbook solutions that fail to grasp the lived realities of our diverse communities. There's no spreadsheet or academic degree that can truly capture what residents in Santa Clarita, Lancaster, or Altadena experience daily. L.A. County is unique — our population, our challenges, and our businesses are not the same as those in Fort Lauderdale, Houston, or Chicago. We need a leadership approach that reflects our distinct identity.

We should learn from other cities but forge our own path, one that's tailor-made for L.A. County's complex tapestry. This means moving beyond policies that merely look good on paper or serve electoral ambitions. We need innovative tools like machine learning to predict the efficacy of our programs. As a candidate who understands these technologies, I see their potential to revolutionize how we address public safety — not through a one-size-fits-all approach, but with strategies as dynamic and diverse as our county itself. We need leaders who are committed to genuinely understanding and innovatively addressing our unique challenges, not just preserving their careers.

In reimagining District 5's future, our primary goal is to fundamentally transform how L.A. County interacts with its residents. The homeless crisis, a critical issue, is part of a broader challenge. Our county must be accountable, providing clear, accessible paths for all, especially the most vulnerable. My plan involves streamlining processes, extending beyond digital solutions to include physical locations, ensuring that no one is left behind. We have numerous resources at our disposal. The focus must shift from superficial qualities in leaders to valuing innovative ideas. It's time to encourage those with a transformative vision to step forward and lead.

Moreover, by the end of my first four-year term, I aim to demystify local governance for our younger generations. I will promote my role to inspire understanding and involvement in L.A. County's governing body. I will challenge District 5 residents to run against me, to emphasize the importance of local government. This isn't about career politics; it's about making a real difference. If you believe you can do better, I encourage you to step up. Our political landscape should be driven by passion and purpose, not just a career goal. We need leaders committed to meaningful change.

My neurodiversity has shaped a unique approach to life, where I thrive on rapidly mastering a diverse range of complex subjects. From quantum mechanics and computer programming, which fascinate me with their intricate complexities, to acquiring practical skills like the basics of American Sign Language overnight, my learning curve is unconventional and swift. These subjects, which might seem daunting to many, are exhilarating challenges for me... I believe that embracing and developing one's natural way of thinking, irrespective of societal expectations, is essential. It's about more than just accepting our differences — it's about utilizing them to address the challenges we collectively face, celebrating our individual contributions to a richer, more diverse world.