Politics & Government
Meet Roxanne Beckford Hoge, Candidate For LA Co. Supervisor District 3
Hoge told Patch why she should be elected for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, District 3. The election is on June 7.
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LOS ANGELES, CA — Actor and small business owner Roxanne Beckford Hoge will look to fill Sheila Kuehl's seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors come June 7.
Hoge is up against 5 others looking to represent the massive 3rd District, which covers much of the San Fernando Valley and from Malibu all the way to Hollywood.
Learn more about Hoge and her goals for the 3rd District.
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Age (as of Election Day)
56
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Party Affiliation
Nonpartisan race; registered Republican
Family
I have four almost-grown children, one husband since 1996, two dogs and two cats.
Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?
No
Education
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Davidson College in 1986 (Yes, I was 20)
Occupation
I've been a working actor and union member since 1991, a business owner of a retail store since 1998, and a mother since 1997.
Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office
Nominee for the 46th Assembly District, 2018
Campaign website
Why are you seeking elective office?
I was encouraged to run by a group of mostly Democrat moms who have had enough. This article covers the calculus — https://californiaglobe.com/articles/los-angeles-parents-understandably-aghast-after-nfl-faceapalooza/. I have minor kids at home still, and had no intention of running again (if ever) until after they head to college, but there wasn't anyone in the race that the was focused on the very real harms done to the children and young people of Los Angeles in order to use them as bargaining chips for union negotiations. Simultaneously, the crisis on our streets and decline in our quality of life are bad for everyone, but the developers and others who are part of the Homeless Industrial Complex. The residents of Los Angeles should live in paradise. We deserve a clean, safe and sane LA.
What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?
I have private sector experience and I’m the only mother on the ballot, in a race in a newly drawn district to replace the supervisor who closed down schools and masked our kids for two years. The Democrat parents who asked me to run are very motivated to get a parent onto the Board of Supervisors.
I’m also the only immigrant, having left Jamaica in the 1970s at a time of great social upheaval punctuated by dangerous mobs, which is quite instructive in LA today. None of the establishment candidates will stand up for law enforcement, or back the recall of George Gascon, who has single-handedly emboldened an already-active criminal class.
The three career politicians in the race are unwilling or unable to address medical freedom, as two of them continually vote to extend the Governor's state of emergency and none of them fought for the reopening of schools or against unconstitutional vaccine mandates.
Of the non politicians in the race, I’m the most able to move smoothly through the various demographics and cities in LA, and am comfortable speaking Spanish. I’m endorsed by former ambassador Ric Grenell, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association PAC, former supervisor Mike Antonovich, and Assemblyman Kevin Kiley.
I'm able and willing to speak truthfully and respectfully and to listen to all sides before solving problems.
If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)
Although Sheila Kuehl isn't seeking re-election, Ms. Horvath and Mssrs. Stern and Hertzberg would be a continuation of her term. On every decision where the Board could make life better in Los Angeles, they vote 4 against the one lone voice of reason, Kathryn Barger.
Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.
(1) Crime and Corruption — The LA County BOS oversees the Sheriff's Department, but will not allow the Sheriff to hire additional officers, nor to control his budget. The two bodies have a seriously contentious relationship, and Angelenos are left to fend for themselves while it deteriorates. The BOS is so corrupt that the likelihood of criminal investigations into their no-bid contracts looms large. In addition, they've dedicated far too much time, money and attention to defunding the police and finding "alternatives" to incarceration instead of letting LA residents know that doing crimes will earn them some time. I promise to work with the Sheriff to bring safety back to Los Angeles.
(2) Homelessness — Despite spending over $6 Billion over ten years on homelessness, the County has only succeeded in growing the number of people living, and sadly dying, on our streets. The bulk of that money has been laundered to "service providers" or developers and not to solving the problem. Part of the solution is to use the Sheriff's Department to regulate the public space, which they can and should do. We should be able to walk on clean streets and use public transportation and libraries without fear of assault of one's body or one's olfactory nerves. In addition, the poor, broken souls barely subsisting on our streets need help. Drug addiction masking their mental illness can and should be treated so they can return to life. I promise to do, not talk and spend, in order to fix this problem that affects the quality of life for all.
(3) Medical Freedom — The County has no business mandating an EUA medical treatment as a condition of employment or of public life, especially as Covid has become endemic. In addition to exposing the county to (even more) liability for adverse outcomes, rare though they may be, an individual should make medical decisions for their own self after consultation with their own doctor. To that end, the BOS contracting with The Aspen Institute to "combat misinformation" is a disturbing overreach of government which likely runs afoul of free speech principles. I promise the residents of Los Angeles that I will not allow Barbara Ferrer to shut down schools or the businesses she deems nonessential.
What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?
I've always been a team mom, whether working for companies like Citibank or The Rouse Company, for my own business, or working as a professional tv, film and voice actor for 30 years. I've worked and volunteered as fundraiser, a writer and storyteller. I bring people together to solve problems.
I believe in using the modern project management triangle. You may pick only two out of three—Fast, Cheap or Good. In almost everything the BOS touches, they manage to go slowly, to spend excessively, and to not actually solve the problem. I will change that.
The best advice ever shared with me was:
Don't compare your insides to anyone else's outsides.
and
Pray as if everything depends on God. Act as if everything depends on you.
What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?
I am, like many immigrants to the United States, a regular mom and small business owner. I'd be the only immigrant member of the Board, and the only one with multiple school-age children. The Board of Supervisors, with its awesome responsibility for 10 million Angelenos, needs true diversity. Viewpoint diversity. Only by having rigorous debate and focused exploration of all sides of the issues that come before the BOS can we hope to produce positive outcomes and have a once-again thriving LA.
I have the energy, the integrity and the competence to support all LA residents who want to live in safety and security, which is the only way we all can thrive. Career politicians have failed us.
I am ready, willing and able to serve the people, not the developers, special interests and an unwieldy bureaucracy.
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