Janice Hahn
Official portrait, 2017
Chair of Los Angeles County
In office December 6, 2022 – December 5, 2023
Preceded by	Holly Mitchell
Succeeded by	Lindsey Horvath
In office December 4, 2018 – December 3, 2019
Preceded by	Sheila Kuehl
Succeeded by	Kathryn Barger
Member of theLos Angeles County Board of Supervisors from the 4th district
Incumbent
Assumed office December 5, 2016
Preceded by	Don Knabe
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia
In office July 12, 2011 – December 4, 2016
Preceded by	Jane Harman
Succeeded by	Nanette Barragán
Constituency	36th district (2011–2013) 44th district (2013–2016)
Member of theLos Angeles City Council from the15th district
In office July 1, 2001 – July 12, 2011
Preceded by	Rudy Svorinich
Succeeded by	Joe Buscaino
Personal details
Born	Janice Kay Hahn (1952-03-30)March 30, 1952 (age 73) Los Angeles,California, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Gary Baucum ​ (divorced)​
Children	3
Relatives	Kenneth Hahn (father) James Hahn (brother) Gordon Hahn (uncle)
Education	Abilene Christian University (BS)
Website	Official Website

Janice Kay Hahn (born March 30, 1952) is an American politician serving as a member of theLos Angeles County Board of Supervisors from the 4th district since 2016. A member of theDemocratic Party, she was aU.S. Representative fromCalifornia from 2011 to 2016, elected in the36th congressional district until 2013 and later in the44th congressional district. She was previously a member of theLos Angeles City Council, representing the15th district from 2001 to 2011. From 1997 to 1999, she served as an elected representative on the Los Angeles Charter Reform Commission.^[1]

On July 12, 2011, Hahn won aspecial election for Congress to fill the seat vacated by DemocratJane Harman. She defeatedRepublican Craig Huey, aTea Party-backeddirect marketer from theTorrance area, with 55 percent of the vote to Huey's 45 percent.^[2] In February 2015, Hahn announced she was retiring from Congress to run for theLos Angeles County Board of Supervisors in 2016.^[3] In the general election, Hahn defeated Steve Napolitano to succeedDon Knabe to become the next Los Angeles County supervisor from the 4th district.^[4] She was sworn in on December 5, 2016.

Hahn was born in Los Angeles and raised in a politically involved family. She is the daughter of Ramona Belle (née Fox)^[5][6] andKenneth Frederick Hahn, a career member of theLos Angeles County Board of Supervisors who also served on theLos Angeles City Council.^[7]

Her uncle,Gordon Hahn, was a member of theCalifornia State Assembly and a Los Angeles City Councilman from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. Her brother,James Hahn, served as Los Angeles City Controller from 1981 to 1985, City Attorney from 1985 to 2001 and Mayor of Los Angeles from 2001 until 2005.^[1][7] Hahn's maternal grandparents served as missionaries in Japan in the 1920s and 1930s.^[5]

Hahn attendedAbilene Christian University in Texas, earning aBachelor of Science in education in 1974.^[8]

She taught at the Good News Academy, a private school in Westchester from 1974 to 1978. Her other work in the private sector has included Public Affairs Region Manager atSouthern California Edison from 1995 to 2000;^[8] Vice President forPrudential Securities in Public Finance, Director of Community Outreach for Western Waste Industries, and Director of Marketing for the Alexander Haagen Company.

Hahn was elected to represent the Fifteenth District on the Los Angeles Charter Reform Commission, serving from 1997 to 1999.^[9] As a Commissioner, she fought for many of the reforms included in the new charter, including Area Planning Commissions, local representation on the citizen commissions governing Los Angeles International Airport and the Port of Los Angeles, and a system of neighborhood councils.^[7]

In 1998, U.S. CongresswomanJane Harman declined to run for re-election, choosing instead to run forGovernor of California. Hahn then won the Democratic nomination to succeed Harman, but lost the general election to Republican State AssemblymanSteven T. Kuykendall 49%-47%.^[10]

Hahn served on the Los Angeles City Council, representing the 15th District, from 2001 to 2011. The 15th District encompasses the San Pedro Harbor and includes the ethnically diverse communities ofHarbor City,Harbor Gateway,San Pedro,Watts andWilmington.^[11] She was reelected to her third and final term in November 2009.^[1]

She has been called "one of the most pro-labor members" of the City Council, and a "consistent opponent of layoffs and furloughs for city workers."^[12] Hahn walked the picket lines with unionized dockworkers in 2002.^[13] After theBush administration suggested it would intervene in the labor dispute by using government troops to operate the ports, Hahn urged non-intervention.^[13] "'There's no room for the federal government. There's only one reason for them to get involved, and that's to break the union', she said."^[13] She was the leading force on the City Council behind both the passage of a living wage ordinance for the hotel workers along Century Boulevard near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and the provision of improved health benefits to LAX employees.^{[citation needed]}

Hahn cites her efforts to clean up the Port of Los Angeles as one of her main accomplishments while on the City Council. The 2006 Clean Air Action Plan, which she and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa pushed forward, set a goal of reducing pollution by 45 percent within five years and shifted the movement of goods at the ports to off-peak traffic hours.^[14] Hahn supported the addition of the Clean Trucks Program that requires the 16,000 diesel trucks serving the ports meet 2007 EPA emission standards within five years.^[14][15] She has noted that the ports have been Southern California's largest emitter of greenhouse gasses and diesel emissions and that the Clean Trucks Program also provides for improved working conditions, wages and benefits for port truckers.^[15] Prior to the Clean Air Action Plan, she had already shifted about 35% of goods to be moved during off-peak hours. Hahn also helped advance redevelopment projects at the Port of Los Angeles in both San Pedro and Wilmington.^{[citation needed]}

On the City Council, Hahn was a major proponent of gang prevention, intervention, and suppression programs. She led the campaign to pass Measure A, which would have dedicated a sustainable revenue stream for those programs, but fell just shy of the two thirds percentage needed to pass. On a smaller level, she expanded the Gang Alternatives Program to all elementary schools in her district.^{[citation needed]}

Hahn ran forLieutenant Governor of California in 2010 but was defeated in the Democratic primary by San Francisco MayorGavin Newsom, finishing second in a field of three candidates.^[16] She received 33.3% of the vote against Newsom's 55.5%.

On February 7, 2011, Hahn announced her intention to run for the U.S. House of Representatives in the special election to fill California's 36th congressional district seat vacated by U.S. RepresentativeJane Harman's departure to head the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Hahn was one of sixteen candidates from all parties who competed in thespecial election primary on May 17, 2011.^[17] She finished first with 24 percent of the vote; Republican Craig Huey finished second with 22 percent. Because no candidate received more than 50 percent, Hahn and Huey, the top two finishers, faced off in a special runoff election on July 12.^[17] Many had expectedCalifornia Secretary of StateDebra Bowen to secure one of the top two spots, but Bowen finished in third place.^{[citation needed]}

The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor,AFL–CIO, endorsed Hahn in March 2011, a move theDaily Breeze called "significant" because of the fundraising and get-out-the-vote power of the large organization.^[18] As of March 23, 2011, Hahn had received endorsements from SenatorDianne Feinstein, Los Angeles MayorAntonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles County SheriffLee Baca, California Assembly SpeakerJohn A. Pérez, California State SenatorTed Lieu, Torrance Firefighters Association Local 1138, and other notable figures such as formerLA LakerEarvin "Magic" Johnson and environmentalist and actorEd Begley, Jr.^[19]

On April 25, 2011, Hahn secured the endorsement of theLos Angeles Times.^[17] Following her victory in the primary, Hahn was endorsed by California Democrats GovernorJerry Brown, Lieutenant GovernorGavin Newsom (who defeated Hahn in the 2010 primary race for lieutenant governor), House Minority LeaderNancy Pelosi and House Minority WhipSteny Hoyer of Maryland.EMILYs List, an organization that supports female candidates who support abortion rights, also endorsed Hahn.^[20] On June 5, 2011, Hahn was officially endorsed by primary opponent Marcy Winograd,California State ControllerJohn Chiang, AssemblymanWarren Furutani and AssemblywomanBetsy Butler, as well as the gun-control groupBrady Campaign.

A poll conducted by theDaily Kos andService Employees International Union shortly before the July 2011 election had Hahn in the lead over Huey by 8 points, (52 percent to 44 percent) with 4 percent undecided.^[21] Her final margin of victory was 9 points, 54.56 percent to 45.44.^[2]

After redistricting dismantled her old district, Hahn decided to run in the newly redrawn44th district, which included her home in San Pedro. That district had previously been the 37th, represented by fellow Democratic CongresswomanLaura Richardson. TheCalifornia Democratic Party endorsed Hahn.^[22]

In the all-party primary (created as a result ofProposition 14), she finished first over Richardson by a wide margin, taking 60 percent of the vote to Richardson's 40 percent. This was all the more remarkable since Hahn was running in territory that was more than 60 percent new to her. In the general election, Hahn defeated Richardson with 60.2 percent of the vote to Richardson's 39.7 percent.^{[citation needed]}

• House Committee on Homeland Security
• House Committee on Small Business

Caucuses

• PORTS Caucus
• Congressional Progressive Caucus
• Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
• Out of Afghanistan Caucus^[23]

This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(July 2018)

Hahn voted on Nov. 19, 2015, for HR 4038, legislation that would effectively halt the resettlement of refugees from Syria and Iraq to the United States.^[24] Hahn supports the conversion of dangerous Modified Hydrofluoric Acid (MHF) at refineries to a safer alternative.^[25]

This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(November 2020)

In 2018, Hahn supported the appointment of Nicole Tinkham as interim public defender, despite a letter signed by 390 public defenders who were concerned that Tinkham lacked criminal law experience and the potential for a conflict of interest, given Tinkham’s prior representation of theLos Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.^[26]

Some of the awards received by Hahn include the Rosa Parks Award from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Bold Vision Award from the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce, the Public Service Award from the African-American Chamber of Commerce, the Recognition Award from the Harbor Area Gang Alternative Program, and enshrinement on the Promenade of Prominence in Watts.^[1]

Hahn is a lifelong resident of Los Angeles and lives in San Pedro.^[1] A member of theHahn family of California, she is the mother of three children, the grandmother of five, and a member of theChurches of Christ.^[27]

• Women in the United States House of Representatives

Wikimedia Commons has media related toJanice Hahn.

• Janice Hahn for County Supervisor
• Biography at theBiographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at theFederal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at theLibrary of Congress
• Profile atVote Smart

• 1952 births
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• 21st-century United States representatives
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• American members of the Churches of Christ
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• Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California
• Female United States representatives
• Hahn family
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