L.A. County voters just sparked a radical revolution. It was 100 years in the making

Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.

• Measure G backers claim a victory that will expand the L.A. County Board of Supervisors.
• California Gov. Kamala Harris? A new poll found she’d have a strong advantage.
• Robotaxis are open for business in Los Angeles.
• And here’s today’s e-newspaper.
  

How do you solve the ‘five kings’ problem?

You know your governing body is in trouble when your constituents try to divorce you because they don’t think they have the power to remove you from office.

That’s what happened to Los Angeles County in the 1970s as frustrations from far-flung communities boiled over. The county Board of Supervisors had earned the moniker “the five kings” because its members controlled such vast parts of America’s biggest county and, to critics, they seemed accountable to few save developers, campaign donors and perhaps their own egos.

Over a decade, entire regions tried to declare their independence and break off into their own jurisdiction.

There was “Canyon County” that would have covered the Santa Clarita Valley and environs, “Chumash County” encompassing Malibu and Calabasas, “Los Cerritos County” joining Long Beach and Signal Hill, “San Gabriel Valley County” and two different separation blueprints for the South Bay — “Peninsula County” for the Palos Verdes Peninsula and a larger “South Bay County” that included beach cities.

Some proposals never got off the ground. Others made it to the ballot only to be defeated because backers needed support from a majority of voters across the county, not just in the proposed territories.

The secession movement speaks to the question that has haunted the Board of Supervisors for a century: Is it possible for five elected officials to represent the interest of (what is now) more than 10 million people?

A revolution decades in the making

There were other ideas offered up over the decades to deal with the problem: Expanding the size of the board, electing a county mayor to run the vast bureaucracy. But nothing got through the five kings, until this month.

And that is why what voters did can only be described as a political revolution.

They approved a sweeping plan to expand the board to nine from five. And that is just the beginning. As Times reporter Rebecca Ellis notes, Measure G will also:

• Create the position of an elected county executive, who will function like a mayor. The current top administrator is appointed by the supervisors.

• Install a commission to root out corrupt county officials.

• Prohibit former county officials from lobbing the county for at least two years after leaving.

It will take years for this all to be implemented, and it is far from clear whether it will result in a more representative government or a more accountable and better-run bureaucracy.

But make no mistake: This is historic.

A quest to hold on to power in a changing L.A.

In his comprehensive history of the Board of Supervisors, “L.A.’s Titans of Temple Street,” author Tom Sitton chronicles how the “five kings” struggled to hold on to power as the county they controlled got bigger, more diverse and more disparate in its needs. There were moments where the board rose to the occasion.

But often, they chose self-interest over progress, including fighting for years to prevent a redistricting that would help Latino candidates and scuttling environmental protections.

One of the more revealing chapters in Sitton’s book tells how some supervisors delayed allowing new communities to form their own cities so they could complete the sprawling development plans sought by their big-money donors. This infuriated locals who wanted cityhood so they could control development and preserve more open space.

The board has changed a lot since then. Once a bastion of white male conservatism, it is now all female and leans decidedly liberal. Three of the five supervisors strongly supported Measure G, something unimaginable during the era of the so-called five kings.

Is 9 better than 5 if they are still kings?

Nearly 20 years ago, then-Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky famously likened county government to a “Soviet-style system” when he launched a failed effort to create an elected chief executive.

“We need a system where one person is responsible and accountable,” he said at the time. “When you have five people responsible, no one is responsible.”

Will Measure G. make L.A. County government better?

A lot can go wrong in a massive institution that oversees so many vital services, including healthcare, child welfare, environmental management and the jail system. Opponents fear that it will worsen political infighting, make it more confusing about who is in charge and cost taxpayers more money. Is nine better than five if they still act like kings?

But one of Measure G’s chief backers, Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, told Ellis it’s worth a try.

“We will now have the ability to fix what is broken,” she said.

Today’s top stories

Vice President Kamala Harris would have support from more than half of California’s Democrats if she decided to run to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom, a new poll has found.

(Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press)

California Gov. Kamala Harris? A new poll found she’d have a strong advantage

• Nearly half of voters said they would be very or somewhat likely to support Harris if she entered the 2026 gubernatorial race, according to a poll co-sponsored by The Times.
• The poll, conducted in late October, is among the first to examine Harris’ political future. A Harris representative did not respond to a request for comment.

Democrats and Republicans score victories in competitive House races in California

• Democrat state Sen. Dave Min won an open congressional seat in coastal Orange County despite recent gains in GOP voter registration in the area.
• Republican Rep. David Valadao managed to once again fend off Democratic challenger Rudy Salas in the Central Valley, notching the GOP closer to control of the U.S. House.
• Here’s a look at which races currently remain too close to call.

Immigrants in California are preparing for mass deportations promised by Trump

• Legal aid centers say they are receiving hundreds of inquiries from immigrants about what to do before Trump returns to the White House.
• Trump’s newly appointed “border czar,” Tom Homan, said the incoming administration will prioritize deporting people who are living in the country illegally and pose a threat to public safety.

Robotaxis are open for business in Los Angeles

• About 100 driverless taxis can now be accessed 24 hours a day in the city. But the robotaxis won’t be able to drive on freeways.
• What’s it like riding in one? Reporter Rachel Uranga jumped into the passenger seat of a robotaxi earlier this year.
• Meanwhile, pill-shaped robotaxis began rolling out in San Francisco this week.

What else is going on

• President-elect Donald Trump will meet President Biden at the White House today.
• The number of structures destroyed in the Mountain fire jumped to more than 200.
• Two housing nonprofits said they are paying millions in L.A.’s “mansion tax” after landing in a somewhat rare situation.
• Singer-songwriter John Mayer and movie director McG have agreed to buy the Jim Henson Company Lot.
• A woman in El Sereno heard knocking beneath the floor of her home for weeks, and then police made a disturbing discovery.
  

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Commentary and opinions

• Democrats should pay attention to why voters chose both Trump and AOC, columnist Robin Abcarian writes.
• The Trump presidency begins to take shape, and immigration is front and center, columnist Anita Chabria writes.
• The pickings aren’t slim for the 2025 Oscars, provided you take the time to look, columnist Glenn Whipp writes.

This morning’s must reads

(Roberto E. Rosales / For The Times)

Political text messages and fundraising emails pushed some donors into giving tens of thousands of dollars without realizing how they were adding up.

“He thinks every time he gets an email, they’re directly contacting him,” said the daughter of an 82-year-old man who has given nearly $62,000.

Other must reads

• Bay Area voters moved to the right, sending a clear message on crime and homelessness.
• Trump is free to use the Justice Department to target his enemies. Will he?
• A string of gruesome killings has thrust Mexico’s security crisis into the spotlight — and poses challenges for new President Claudia Sheinbaum.
  

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.

For your downtime

Actor Demi Moore discusses her own struggles with body image before starring in “The Substance.”

(Shayan Asgharnia)

Going out

• 🎬 Demi Moore reflects on the success of “The Substance” and how the movie speaks to the “violence we can have against ourselves in the pursuit of some idea of perfection.”
• 🏋️ Is this “slow” strength training method the fountain of youth? Ninety-year-olds say yes.
• 🎭 Rainn Wilson and Aasif Mandvi are waiting for “Godot” at L.A.’s Geffen Playhouse.

Staying in

• ✉️ A cache of letters between Joan Didion and Eve Babitz are featured in new a book about the unlikely friendship between two seminal L.A. writers before they went their separate ways.
• 📺 Comedian Chloe Fineman confirmed Elon Musk made her cry when he hosted “Saturday Night Live” in 2021.
• 🧑‍💻 The Times’ Short Docs series looks at how the stories of three quilters combine to reveal an intimate portrait of rural women in the American West.
• 🦃 Here’s a recipe for easy Thanksgiving gravy.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

A question for you: What books, movies, TV shows, songs or works of art have inspired you?

Beth Anderson writes: “‘Lonesome Dove’ by Larry McMurtry. ‘Inspire’ isn’t exactly right, however, it did influence me quite a lot. I read it when it came out in the 1980s. Being non-religious, I adopted the wise musings of Capt. Gus McCrae in lieu of the Bible.

“A few years ago my husband gifted me with a first edition which infamously contains an error on page 128.”

Feel free to email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might be included in the newsletter this week.

And finally ... your great photo of the day

Today’s great photo is from Anthony Skirlick of Valencia: the giraffe section of the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Desert.

Anthony writes: “Though this park is located directly adjacent to a dense urban housing area, the impression you get at this giraffe viewing area is as if you were in some exotic part of Africa ... at times watching the graceful giraffes who were very active reminded me of scenes from ‘Jurassic Park’ and these were dinosaurs.”

Show us your favorite place in California! Send us photos you have taken of spots in California that are special — natural or human-made — and tell us why they’re important to you.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Defne Karabatur, fellow
Andrew Campa, Sunday reporter
Hunter Clauss, multiplatform editor
Christian Orozco, assistant editor
Stephanie Chavez, deputy metro editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

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