The Board of Supervisors and Their Power

The Board of Supervisors is in charge of both the legislative and executive operations of the County. They oversee County departments and hold the ability to make laws that govern the county. Additionally they are responsible for managing the County of Los Angeles monthly budget; the latest 2020 annual budget was $36.1 Billion USD. Unlike the City of Los Angeles, to pass bill proposals, the Board of Supervisors need at least three of five votes. The immense and limited oversight Board of Supervisors maintains has earned them the nickname the “5 Little Kings” and more recently with an all-woman board, the “5 Little Queens.”

In recent years, they’ve become significantly more progressive overall. The key to moving policy and making change is to work closely with the various policy deputies for each Supervisor. If you can interest one of them in championing your policy, then you only need to pick up two more votes! It’s much simpler in that sense than the City of LA. However, because the County is big, the way you get traction with a Supervisor’s office is to bear large organizations and coalitions that have broad geographic reach. 

And as seriously as the Supervisors take policy and their responsibility for running a $36.1 billion government, power politics still come into play. The usual players such as businesses interests and labor unions have a lot of sway. Neighborhood associations matter much less than they do at the City. Oftentimes, stand-alone neighborhood groups just aren’t big enough to put significant pressure on Supervisors who represent two million people each.

There’s more on some of the important departments they oversee on the LA County Departments page. The Departments and their leaders can wield significant influence of their own. More on that in future versions of the LA101 guide!