LA County Overview
Power in Los Angeles County is concentrated in the five-person Board of Supervisors, which serves as both the Legislative and Executive branches of County government. The Board of Supervisors not only pass laws and unilaterally set the budget for every County Department, they also have the power to hire and fire the head of all Departments and agencies, except for the three who are elected directly by the voters — the District Attorney, the Sheriff, and the Assessor.
Approximately 65% of the area in LA County is unincorporated, which accounts for 120-125 unincorporated areas, 2653 sq. miles, and over 1 million residents living in those areas. Generally speaking unincorporated areas such as Baldwin Hills, do not have a city governing them but rather the Government of Los Angeles County.
Quick Facts About LA County
The County of Los Angeles is home to 10 million residents and growing. In total, 88 cities make up LA County, and it’s the largest county by population in the United States. The largest city within the County is the City of Los Angeles.
Nearly 1/3 of LA residents were born outside of the United States. More than 50% LA County residents speak another language at home - 38% Spanish and 11% Asian or Pacific Islander language.
LA County is divided up into 5 supervisor districts. Each district is represented by an elected official called a Supervisor.
Map of the County of Los Angeles- District Maps
LA County Elected Officials
Los Angeles County has key elected officials who play a prominent role in shaping the politics of its residents. There are four elected official positions, making up eight people total: Supervisor (one for each of the five districts), District Attorney, County Sheriff, and County Assessor.
Board of Supervisors
The Board of Supervisors is in charge of both the legislative and executive operations of the County. They oversee County departments and manage the annual County budget.
The Board of Supervisors have been given the nickname the “5 Kings” due to the amount of power they hold.
Hilda L. Solis - District 1
Holly Mitchell - District 2
Lindsey Horvath- District 3
Janice Hahn - District 4
Kathryn Barger - District 5
District Attorney
Los Angeles County has the largest local prosecutor’s office in the country. The Los Angeles District Attorney’s office is in charge of prosecuting felony crimes in every area of Los Angeles County. This includes decisions on whether to prosecute policy officers for unlawful violence and other misconduct.
The DA’s office is also in charge of prosecuting misdemeanor crimes except when they occur in the following cities — Burbank, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Inglewood, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Pasadena, Redondo Beach, Santa Monica, and Torrance. These cities have their own City attorneys to prosecute alleged misdemeanors. The DA is elected every four years, up to three consecutive terms.
District Attorney George Gascon
County Sheriff
The LA County Sheriff's Department is the chief law enforcement agency for the County. The Sheriff oversees the largest Sheriff's Department in the world with approximately 18,000 employees. The department is responsible for policing all “unincorporated areas” outside the boundaries of cities and the 42 cities that contract with the County for law enforcement, instead of having their own police departments. The department also is the law enforcement for 216 facilities including hospitals and clinics located throughout the County, 9 community colleges, 37 Superior Courts, and parts of LA Metro.
County Assessor
The County Assessor is entrusted with locating all taxable property in the County and establishing it’s value. The Los Angeles County Assessor’s office is the largest in the country with 2.6 million assessments. The primary responsibilities of the County Assessor are to locate all taxable property in the County and identify ownership, establish a taxable value for all property, complete an assessment roll with the assessed values of all property, and apply all legal exemptions.
Sheriff Robert Luna
Assessor Jeffrey Prang
County Departments
The County of Los Angeles has dozens of departments that specialize in operating and maintaining various services to assist residents throughout the County. Department services range from education, mental health support, family and children services, to emergency support. In this guide, we’ll highlight just a few of them. All of their leaders are hired and fired by the Board of Supervisors.
A list of a few key departments:
Office of the CEO
County Clerk/Recorder-Registrar
County Counsel
Fire Department
Department of Public Works
Department of Consumer and Business Affairs
Government of the County of Los Angeles Building