Barger pushes pause on elected County Executive, won’t run
Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger (R-Palmdale, Lancaster, Santa Clarita, Pasadena, La Cañada Flintridge) urged the Board of Supervisors yesterday to slow the rollout of the county’s new elected County Executive and pledged she will not run for the job, as the Board voted to delay the plan for 90 days.
The Board continued the Governance Reform Task Force’s recommendations on the County Executive, a new Director of Budget and Management and an independent County Legislative Analyst for 90 days on a 4-0-1 vote, with one abstention.
Barger had pushed to pause the recommendations until January 2027. Hours before the meeting, the supervisors received a letter demanding, among other things, that the county immediately stop spending money to set up the County Executive’s office.
“With a $54 billion budget, more than 110,000 employees, no term limits, and no professional credentials required, the elected County Executive will be one of the most powerful and most highly paid politicians in the entire state of California and perhaps the nation,” said Barger.
Under Measure G, the County Executive’s pay must be at least $1 more than any other county elected officer. Based on current county figures, Barger estimated the job could pay roughly $558,000 a year in total compensation, with pension eligibility. California’s governor earns $245,000.
Because the current Board wrote the measure that created the office, Barger said voting to empower a job a supervisor might later seek raises conflict-of-interest concerns. She called on her colleagues to make the same pledge not to run, and asked County Counsel and the new Ethics Commission to weigh in.
“If we are approving these reforms, we should do so in a way that is not self-serving to any of us,” said Barger.
She also questioned why the task force wants the County Legislative Analyst’s office running by October 2027, more than a year ahead of Measure G’s timeline, without a cost estimate.
“The Board adopting the recommendations today is essentially signing a blank check. That is neither a responsible nor transparent way to govern,” said Barger.
Barger said public participation in the reform process has been thin, noting that Measure G passed narrowly with 51.6% of the vote. She also warned that the new structure could weaken services in unincorporated communities.
“We cannot compromise services and responsiveness to our unincorporated regions,” said Barger.
Voters approved Measure G in November 2024. It creates an elected County Executive starting in 2028 and expands the Board from five members to nine in 2032.
Bass, Caruso team up on faster building permits citywide
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass joined Rick Caruso, her 2022 mayoral opponent and founder of Steadfast LA, at Palisades Village yesterday to announce progress on her Executive Directive 19, which aims to make building in Los Angeles faster and cheaper.
The joint appearance came two weeks before Bass faces LA City Councilmember Nithya Raman (D-Silver Lake, Los Feliz, Hollywood Hills, Sherman Oaks, Encino, Studio City) in the Nov. 3 election.
Bass launched the directive in April. Since then, the Department of Building and Safety has expanded self-certification for eligible commercial tenant improvement projects citywide, helping small businesses move faster. The City is making pre-approved standard plans for single-family homes, first introduced for Palisades rebuilding, available citywide. The Department of Water and Power is launching Power Ready LA to lower upfront utility costs for eligible housing and commercial projects.
“For decades, our City struggled with a development permitting process that was fragmented, unpredictable, and uncoordinated across departments. When I took office, I took immediate action to change that, and through our collaboration with business leaders like Rick Caruso and Palisades residents, we have changed that citywide. We’re making utility connections more predictable, improving customer service, modernizing outdated processes, and giving developers the tools and support that they need to move projects forward. Together, we are making it easier to build in L.A.,” said Bass.
“We haven’t agreed on policy, but I know what I’ve seen in the last year and a half: real partnership from Mayor Bass in rebuilding the Palisades. And now City Hall is taking that progress citywide. My love for the city transcends politics. That’s why I’m standing here today and will always stand with leaders who do the right thing for the people who need it the most,” said Caruso, who has not made an endorsement in the mayor’s race at post time.
Friedman bill targets ‘buy, borrow, die’ tax loophole
U.S. Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Burbank, Glendale, West Hollywood, Hollywood, Los Feliz, Echo Park) introduced the Pay Your TAB Act yesterday, which aims to close a loophole that lets the wealthiest Americans turn stock and other assets into spendable cash without paying tax on their gains.
Under current law, gains on assets are taxed only when the assets are sold. Under the strategy known as “buy, borrow, die,” the ultra-wealthy borrow against their growing assets instead of selling them and live on the loans, which aren’t counted as income. When they die, the assets pass to heirs with a “stepped-up” value that erases the untaxed gain.
“The Pay Your TAB Act closes a loophole the ultra-wealthy use to avoid paying taxes on fortunes 99% of Americans can’t imagine. They don’t sell the stock, they borrow against it, and a loan isn’t counted as income. My bill taxes those loans at 23.8%, the exact rate they’d owe by selling, while protecting mortgages, business loans, car loans, and student loans that hardworking families actually carry. It’s simple, it’s fair, it’s constitutionally sound, and it can be enforced the day it’s signed,” said Friedman.
The bill would impose a 23.8% tax, the top capital gains rate plus the Net Investment Income Tax, on asset-backed loans issued after Dec. 31, 2026, applying only to the portion of a borrower’s loans above $1 million.
To prevent double taxation, borrowers would get an offsetting capital loss when they later sell the asset. Mortgages on a primary home up to $3 million, student loans, most business loans and margin loans used for trading would be exempt.
Hahn extends $20,000 reward in La Mirada road rage killing
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn (D-Long Beach, San Pedro, Torrance, Redondo Beach, Whittier, Diamond Bar) won unanimous Board approval yesterday to extend a $20,000 reward for information in the 2023 road rage shooting death of Nestor Tlahuel Mendez, a 30-year-old food delivery driver.
Tlahuel Mendez was driving west on Rosecrans Avenue near the La Mirada-Santa Fe Springs border at about 9:13 p.m. on March 29, 2023, when someone in another vehicle shot him in the left shoulder. He later died. His 15-year-old cousin, who was in the car, was not hurt. The suspect vehicle, an older black sedan, was caught on camera leaving the area by way of Alondra Boulevard and the 5 Freeway toward Firestone Boulevard.
“The person who killed Nestor is still out there and needs to be held accountable. This act of road rage has shattered a family and I am asking anyone who may have seen something or who may know who could have done this to please share that information with our Sheriff’s Department,” said Hahn.
Anyone with information can contact LASD Detective Christopher Dimmitt at (323) 890-5545 or cadimmit@lasd.org, or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at (800) 222-8477.
