New county supervisor to bring ambitious agenda

Ridley-Thomas also signaled that he might reopen some long-settled controversies in the county, where his four colleagues have worked without turnover for 12 years in what they call the "county family." Although he is generally more liberal than the person he replaces, Yvonne B. Burke, he said he hoped to form alliances on law enforcement issues with the board's two Republicans, Mike Antonovich and Don Knabe.

For instance, the supervisor-elect said it was likely that he would consider enhanced retirement benefits for public safety officers that would allow them to retire at age 50 with 3% of their salary for each year served. The plan was deemed too expensive by the current board.

Personal relationships were sure to come into play, however, and it was unclear how Ridley-Thomas would engage Antonovich and Gloria Molina, the supervisors who campaigned against him.

Antonovich released a statement saying that he looked forward to working with his new colleague and Molina said in an interview that she can "work with anyone."

The relationship with Molina seemed especially frosty, however. She acknowledged that there "might be some personal animosity there," and he said playfully, "We'll see," regarding how the two would get along. Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who did not endorse a candidate in the race, said he was looking forward to working with Ridley-Thomas, whom he called inclusive.

Dermot Givens, a political consultant who has worked for Ridley-Thomas but was not involved in his latest campaign, said the new supervisor had no obvious allies on the board.

"People will be watching to see who is he going to make an alliance with, and is he going to let that alliance control him, or is he going to go in there as a leader and try to push his agenda," Givens said.

Others said Ridley-Thomas' ties to unions will make partnership with the board's conservatives impossible.

"He won't call it a mandate, but his supporters will -- to be a real champion for unions and working families," said Jaime Regalado, who heads the Edmund G. "Pat" Brown Institute of Public Affairs at Cal State L.A.

"Labor very much sees Mark as their champion, and specifically county employees," Regalado said. "They assume that they have somebody on the board now who will be in their corner."

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garrett.therolf@latimes.com

molly.hennessy-fiske@latimes.com

Times staff writer Evelyn Larrubia contributed to this report.