As Hilda Solis eyes a return to Washington, five people are vying for her open District 1 seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
Solis, a former congresswoman and U.S. labor secretary under President Barack Obama, is termed out in December after serving on the board for more than a decade. The Democrat launched her campaign for California’s newly redrawn 38th Congressional District in March.
Ahead of the primary election, here’s what to know about District 1and the candidates running:
Where is District 1?
District 1 covers a population of nearly 2 million people from East Los Angeles to Rowland Heights and the San Gabriel Valley.
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A map showing the First Supervisorial District in Los Angeles County.
Elaine Alaniz, disaster recovery specialist
Alaniz is a disaster recovery specialist and serves as president of the Westlake North Neighborhood Council. She’s trained with the city of Los Angeles Mayor’s Crisis Response Team and has experience in church outreach and nonprofit service.
Born and raised in Texas, Alaniz has been an Angeleno since 2003. Her approach focuses on the fentanyl crisis, holding homelessness programs accountable, uplifting small businesses and optimizing county resources, according to her campaign website. She plans to expand mental health crisis response programs, regularly review county program and contracts, encourage projects that combine parking infrastructure with new developments and invest in youth leadership opportunities.
Ballotpedia shows Alaniz has lost two elections in 2024, including the primary race for California State Assembly District 54, in which she ran as a Republican, and a seat on the Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees in the general election.
She’s endorsed by Reform California, a grassroots political movement led by Republican State Assemblymember Carl Demaio.
Noel Almario, women’s health advocate
Almario describes herself as a long-time resident of LA County’s First District and an advocate for maternal health and public education, shaped in part by her experience as a birth doula and a single mother with children in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Her campaign website says she’s in support of unions and accountability, “committed to amplifying marginalized voices and creating policy through inclusive, community-driven processes.” She plans to fight for affordable housing, accessible health care and mental wellness, invest in programs that build trust between communities and law enforcement and increase transparency in government officials.
She’s endorsed by Berkeley City Councilmember Ben Bartlett.
David E. Argudo, businessman, councilmember
Argudo is a U.S. Marine who has served as mayor, vice mayor and a councilmember for the city of La Puente. He’s lived in LA County for more than 50 years.
The biggest issues he wants to tackle “through stead and responsible reforms” are public safety, homelessness, mental health and environmental justice, according to his campaign website. He plans to fill vacancies in the sheriff’s department, tie funding for homelessness programs to results, scale up the number of people receiving preventative care and increase green spaces.
A graduate from California State University, Humboldt, Argudo says he also has experience working at the City of Hope Cancer Research Center, managing a Fortune 500 company and being a CEO of an international publicly traded company.
This isn’t Argudo’s first time running for the District 1 supervisor seat. He lost against incumbent Solis in the 2022 primary.
María Elena Durazo, California state senator
Durazo, a Democrat and longtime labor leader, has served in the California State Senate for seven-and-a-half years. She has been representing the 26th District — which includes Hollywood, LA, East LA and Alhambra — since 2022. Before that, she represented the 24th District.
Her other experience includes: executive vice president of UNITE-HERE International; secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor; and vice chair of the Democratic National Committee. She’s also served on the National AFL-CIO Executive Council, the Los Angeles Commission on Airports, the Los Angeles Parks and Recreation Committee and the California State Coastal Commission.
She’s endorsed by a variety of groups, such as the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and the National Union of Healthcare workers. More supporters can be found on her campaign website.
Anabella Figueroa Mazariegos, LA County employee
NBC Los Angeles could not find a campaign website for Figueroa Mazariegos. She is listed as an LA County employee on the county’s Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s website.