Holly Mitchell was elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors toward the close of tumultuous 2020, the year of COVID lockdowns, the George Floyd murder, street protests, a surge in violent crime and a general uptick in anxiety. As she took office, Americans’ confidence in government and law enforcement was plunging, and things only became worse with the sacking of the U.S. Capitol. It was a particularly difficult time to become part of the leadership of the nation’s most populous county.
Mitchell rose to the challenge. In a low-profile job that is often poorly understood and difficult to perform in a county of any size, and virtually impossible in one of more than than 10 million people, she quickly got up to speed. She and her four colleagues steered a path out of the COVID emergency and into recovery with thoughtful spending of federal emergency aid to keep the most at-risk county residents housed and fed, and small landlords and businesses afloat, despite the disruption to the economy.