Supervisor Lindsey Horvath Honored by the LVHF | |
Supervisor Lindsey Horvath Honored by the LVHFOn a gorgeous winter day, more than 150 residents of Santa Monica Mountains communities gathered at King Gillette Ranch in Calabasas on Saturday, March 4, to honor Third District Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath on her first 100 days in office.
After the recent storms, the mountains were emerald green underneath a cloudy sky as guests convened for a splendid luncheon highlighted by a champagne toast.
Kim Lamorie, President of the Las Virgenes Homeowners Federation (LVHF), along with the LVHF Event Committee hosted the gathering of folks committed to preserving the beauty and sanctity of the Santa Monica Mountains.
The LVHF gave special thanks to Joe Edmiston and the The Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA) and the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District.
Topanga resident Ken Mazur played outstanding jazz guitar to accompany the event throughout the afternoon.
After a convivial cocktail hour and a delicious meal provided by Chef Cordelia Catering (chefcordelia.com), guests settled in for the program.
Lamorie invited several people, longtime leaders dedicated to the preservation of the Santa Monica Mountains, to speak prior to Horvath.
Roger Pugliese, Vice President of the LVHF and chair of the Topanga Association for a Scenic Community (TASC) addressed Horvath directly, expressing the sentiments of the invited guests. “We are thrilled that you have become our supervisor,” he said acknowledging Horvath’s understanding of the importance of preserving the Santa Monica Mountains. “It takes all of us to do this, we all can take part.”
David Szymanski, Superintendent of Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) spoke of L.A. County Measure H passed in 1992 to save nearly 20,000 acres of wildland and rolled out a huge map of the mountains showing what lands have been preserved and how much more land needs to be saved. (SMMNRA was established as the 295th unit of the National Park System as part of the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978.) Photo by Annemarie Donkin
LVHF president Kim Lamorie (left) and the LVHF Event Committee hosted the event honoring Supv. Horvath (right) |
 Photo by Flavia Potenza SMMNRA Superintendent David Szymanski rolled out a map showing nearly 20,000 acres of wildland saved since 1992, and how much more land needs to be preserved. Pictured are TASC president Roger Pugliese (left) and Alisa Pederson (right). “This is the most special state park in the system,” Szymanski said about SMMNRA. “In 1978, we established 156,000 acres under the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and it is now an area of national interest—60 percent of this land is public land and we need to protect it into perpetuity.”
Supervisor Horvath then stepped up to speak following an extended standing ovation.
“I am incredibly grateful, for this awesome opportunity and incredibly grateful for your trust in me,” Horvath said. “I am grateful for the gift of this district that I know you all so carefully steward… there is so much that is special about the Santa Monica Mountains; the biodiversity and all that makes this special. So, we will fight like hell to protect this region with the sanctity that it deserves.”
Horvath oversees the Third District, which includes much of the West Side, most of the San Fernando Valley, the Conejo Valley, Topanga and the Santa Monica Mountains all the way to the Ventura County line, with the northern border including Chatsworth and Porter Ranch.
Horvath previously served as a City Councilmember and is the longest consecutively serving Mayor for the City of West Hollywood. She is the youngest woman to ever be elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the first millennial and only renter to serve on the historic all-female Board.
“It was a wild journey to get here for sure,” Horvath said. “I will say, many of you were on that journey with us, with banners, with the signs you put in your yards and driving us through the neighborhoods to help us understand the issues, so we could speak with understanding.”
Horvath also spoke of holding the telecommunications companies accountable.
“Telecommunications, the sighting of cell towers, we are continuing to fight the federal government and not let them have a blank check to write their own ticket as to where to put their facilities, but in getting more local control as to where those towers are placed to protect our communities from harmful impact.”
Horvath further spoke of her responsibility to the diverse neighborhoods and constituents in her district and especially the need for accountability while in office.
“We were speaking of people who have my title or who are in similar positions who are afraid of accountability, which is a little shocking because we run [for office] saying we can do things, and if we can’t do them, why should we continue to hold this seat,” she said. “I think of accountability as a conversation; [you] tell us what we are doing well so we can keep doing that for you, tell us what you need so we can fill those gaps, tell us what didn’t really work out the way we intended so we can do it better.
“In partnership we will make this a region that continues to be so beautiful, so special and a space to be so incredibly proud of,” Horvath said. “I am honored and humbled to be your servant in this seat, and I look forward to the partnership we will have in the years to come. Thank you very, very much, I thank you all.”
For information: lacounty.gov/government/board-of-supervisors/lindsey-p-Horvath.
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