by Garth Meyer
Incumbent Los Angeles County Fourth District Supervisor Janice Hahn declined an invitation to debate her two challengers in the upcoming March 4 primary election. But her challengers, Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor John Cruikshank, and former Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, still packed McTaggart Hall at Fred Hesse Community Park in Rancho Palos Verdes on the evening of Wednesday, Jan. 25.
The debate was hosted by the Rancho Palos Verdes Council of Homeowners Association (CHOA).
“Supervisor Hahn was unable to attend because she had another engagement,” said Liz Odendahl, assistant chief of staff/communications director. “She has offered to meet with the (CHOA) at their upcoming meeting,” Odendahl added.
The Los Angeles Board of Supervisors represent 88 cities and 10 million people, a population larger than 40 states. Their budget is larger than 25 states.
The Fourth District covers 32 cities, from Palos Verdes east to La Habra.
Cruikshank grew up in El Segundo and owns a civil engineering firm. Villanueva, was the L.A. County Sheriff from 2018-2022 and is an Air Force and National Guard veteran.
Moderator Glenn Cornell, a past president of Rolling Hills Riviera Homeowners Association, asked the candidate what they thought was the most important issue.
Cruikshank said public safety. He added that he did not support District Attorney George Gascon “allowing criminals to have more rights than the victims.”
“We need to make crime illegal again,” he said.
Villanueva talked about crime and homelessness.
“We can actually solve homelessness,” he said. He spoke of the success when he was Sheriff of the Sheriff’s Homeless Outreach Team at the Venice Beach boardwalk, San Vicente Boulevard (by the V.A. hospital) in Brentwood, and on Olvera Street in downtown Los Angeles.
“We did not use force, did not use arrests, we did it humanely. Why didn’t the county and city imitate it?” Villanueva asked.
Moderator Cornell also asked the candidates their opinion on Proposition 14. The 2014 measure approved by voters lowered penalties on drug possession and shoplifting.
“It needs to be replaced entirely,” Villanueva said. “Possession of narcotics was a felony before. We could take someone to jail and a judge could order treatment. But we’ve lost the stick and the carrot. Now, the only treatment they get is when they’re dead, because of fentanyl.”
On the day of the debate, he said, his wife narrowly missed a robbery in progress at a CVS Pharmacy.
“It’s not discriminatory to enforce the rule of law,” he said.
Cruikshank also criticized Proposition 47. “Our businesses are under assault,” he said. He noted that the county is losing about one percent of its population per year.
He said that homelessness used to be just downtown and on Skid Row. An example of what is working to help the homeless, he said, is the Orange County Rescue Mission, a privately-funded 18- to 24-month program, with a “98% success rate.”
“People say it’s Ronald Reagan’s fault… how many decades ago was that? We need to put mentally ill people in hospitals with real doctors. We can’t medicate them on the street,” Cruikshank said.
Villanueva praised the Dream Center in L.A., and West Coast Care (Santa Monica), which sends homeless people back to where they are from
“You’re not going to come here and trash our county because you’re a drug addict,” Villanueva said. “I’m sorry, those days are over.”
“Prop. 1 is a sick joke,” the former Sheriff said. Proposition 1, on the November 2024 ballot, would authorize $6 billion in bonds to build health treatment facilities. It has been referred to as a “Treatment not tents” measure.
“Anything ‘housing first’ is a failed strategy. You’re normalizing deviancy,” Villanueva said.
Cruikshank agreed. ‘Proposition 1 is a disaster… People who are trying to play by the rules, they eventually give up playing by the rules.”
“Why is Hahn not here tonight?” Cruikshank asked. “I love local governments because we don’t have ‘Republican’ or Democrat by our name. Partisanship is killing us,” he said.
Cruikshank also faulted the state’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA).
”People who work hard live in good places, and quit calling them NIMBYs,” he said.
Villanueva said he agreed. “For-profit development still dictates what gets built,” the former Sheriff said.
The moderator asked if the number of supervisors should be increased.
“We need a county mayor,” Villanueva responded. “We have five supervisors who are accountable to nobody.”
He said the county budget has gone from $29.9 billion to $48 billion in eight years.
Cruikshank disagreed.
“If you think more people that don’t know what they’re doing is better, you’re wrong,” he said.
He made a prediction for Hahn’s re-election strategy.
“She’ll be stuffing buses with union members, and driving them to ballot boxes. Five qualified supervisors is enough.”
Cruikshan talked about the minimum wage.
“We cannot keep raising the minimum wage,” Cruikshank said. “You’re taking away (entry-level) youth opportunities.”
“We need to have vocational training,” said Villanueva.
They were asked about environmental restrictions.
“Some environmental restrictions work,” Villanueva said. “Remember Stage 2 Smog Alerts?
We haven’t had them in awhile. That worked.”
Cruikshank said CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) was not being used in a fair way.
Gun violence was the subject of another question.
“Yes, we have a problem,” Cruikshank said, “Because criminals on our streets are using guns on each other; we should lock them up.”
Villanueva told of news that broke that afternoon.
“Six bodies in the desert, with bullet wounds and burned. The cartel is here,” he said.”… What about holding criminals accountable when they use firearms? … Blame the inanimate object? It’s the people using the guns.”
For a question about public transportation, Villanueva said a better public safety system was needed, “Where you’re not going to be stabbed, raped…we need to (address) quality of life crimes and clean up the trains. Over 700 people live on the trains… It’s not a homeless encampment.”
“You’re going from nowhere to nowhere,” Cruikshank said, adding that as soon as people are able to get a car, they get their own car.
“Better make sure the trains are safe and clear before you do anything,” he said. “… Right now, it seems all we worry about is the next Olympics.”
Then he mentioned Elon Musk’s hyperloop tube, designed to send containers underground from the Ports of Long Beach/Los Angeles to the Inland Empire.
Villaneuva talked about driving on the 710.
“It was an off-road experience… potholes that could swallow this table,” he said.
“We’ve got five supervisors that all they care about is Instagram …” Cruikshank said. “… Last summer she [Hahn] was painting lifeguard stands multi-colored.”
The candidates were asked who was going to win the Super Bowl?
Villanaueva said he likes underdogs and does not like repeat Super Bowl winners, so he was for Detroit.
Cruikshank said he couldn’t root for Detroit because he is a Rams fan.
The final question was how can the audience avoid splitting votes and re-electing Hahn?
“Vote for John Cruikshank for supervisor and that way we won’t split the vote. That’s what he’ll say too,” Cruikshank said. “Both of us are better than the current supervisor.”
He complimented Villanueva, saying that he is a listener, “The board has stopped listening to most of us.
Diversity of thought. That’s the only diversity we should care about,” Cruikshank said.
“If we get the incumbent in a runoff, I will support the challenger,” said Villanueva.
He proposed that the supervisors’ meetings should travel.
“I believe the board should be a road show, in the evenings,” he said.
In closing statements, Cruikshank said he had the endorsement of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.
Villanueva concluded by saying 2008 “was the point of departure for county government; you had a convicted felon (Mark Ridley-Thomas) and Sheila Kuehl. The 2 to 3 split went to 4 to 1 or 5 to 0.
“Very far left. Very progressive,” he said. “Every commission. We need moderates, we need to be a purple county. They deserve only one seat at the table, not every seat.”
Supervisor Janic Hahn will address the Homeowners Association at their annual meeting on Wednesday, March 20, at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will take place at the Ladera Linda Park Community Center, 32201 Forrestal Dr., Rancho Palos Verdes. Pen
