Lindsey Patrice Horvath (born June 30, 1982) is an American politician, advertising executive, and activist. She is currently serving as a member of the

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (LACBOS) is the five-member Board of Supervisors, governing body of Los Angeles County, California, United States. History On April 1, 1850 the citizens of Los Angeles elected a three-man Court of Se ...

for the 3rd District, which covers the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...

, and served as Chair of Los Angeles County in 2024. She was previously a Councilmember for

West Hollywood, California West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. History Most historical writing ...

and was twice its mayor.

Early life and career

Horvath was born in 1982 in

Painesville, Ohio Painesville is a city in Lake County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Grand River (Ohio), Grand River, it is a northeast suburb of Cleveland. Its population was 20,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Pa ...

, growing up in

Wickliffe, Ohio Wickliffe is a city in western Lake County, Ohio, United States. The population was 12,652 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A suburb of Cleveland, it is part of the Greater Cleveland, Cleveland metropolitan area. History A post offi ...

and

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

before going to the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

in Indiana. She has one younger brother but comes from a large family, with her parents being the youngest of multi-sibling households. She attended

Catholic schools Catholic schools are parochial pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school system. In 201 ...

in Ohio and private high school in Las Vegas. As a teenager, Gloria Allred and

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

were some of her role models, both of whom she would later meet.Diener, Kyveli, "Madam Mayor", (Sep./Oct. 2015) ''West Hollywood Magazine''
/ref> While at Notre Dame, Horvath was a registered Republican, but switched her party affiliation to Democratic in 2003. She graduated from the

in 2004

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and

gender studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field n ...

. At Notre Dame, she participated in a performance of '' The Vagina Monologues'' which caused controversy with the administration, and also was vice president of the

College Republicans College Republicans is an umbrella term that describes college and university students who support the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party of the United States. The College Republican National Committee (CRNC) is the oldest campus- ...

. She moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California after graduating from college intending to go into law school, and attended musical theater school instead. After working in advertising, she founded the Hollywood chapter of the

National Organization for Women The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...

(NOW). In 2007, she was appointed to the Women's Advisory Board for West Hollywood, and was elected chair after eight months.

Political career

West Hollywood

In 2009, Horvath was appointed to the West Hollywood City Council after the death of Councilman Sal Guarriello, which upset some residents as Horvath had only lived in the city for two years. While in her first term in the City Council, she continued an effort she'd started before her appointment to secure funding to test DNA on a severe backlog of over 5,000 untested rape kits. In 2011, she lost her first election to John D’Amico. On March 3, 2015, she was elected back onto the City Council, defeating John Heilman. After her swearing in, councilmember John Duran filed a motion to make Horvath the mayor for the coming year, which was approved by the Council unanimously. As a councilmember and mayor, she helped approve the minimum wage of $17.64 per hour and helped with the downsizing of the number of sheriffs in the city. On April 20, 2020, the City Council chose Horvath as mayor for a second time, with John Heilman as the Mayor Pro Tempore. She was sworn in for a second time on May 18, 2020. Her second term expired on September 20, 2021, to which her Mayor Pro Tempore, Lauren Meister, became mayor for a second time.

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors

In 2021, Horvath announced that she was running to replace Sheila Kuehl on the

after Kuehl said she would retire. She was challenged by State Senators Robert Hertzberg and Henry Stern, with Stern being eliminated in the primary election after placing third. During her campaign, she received criticism for removing parts of her biography pertaining to West Hollywood. In the general election, Horvath upset Hertzberg with 52.97% of the vote. Shortly after assuming office, Horvath authored a proclamation of local emergency for homelessness in Los Angeles County. In the aftermath of the January 2025 Southern California wildfires, Horvath requested that state housing laws be temporarily waived in Los Angeles County. The state housing laws in question incentivized increases in housing supply. Housing advocates criticized Horvath's request, arguing that it would hinder needed housing construction in the aftermath of the fires.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horvath, Lindsey 1983 births 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century mayors of places in California California city council members California Democrats Living people Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors People from Painesville, Ohio People from Wickliffe, Ohio People from Zanesville, Ohio Politicians from Las Vegas University of Notre Dame alumni Women city councillors in California Women mayors of places in California