San Fernando Valley Council of Governments

Marsha McLean joined the Santa Clarita City Council in 2002. During her tenure, McLean served as Mayor in 2007, 2011 and 2015. She brings her passion for small business, regional transportation, the environment and local government to her work as a councilmember.

Over the years, Marsha has served the community in a number of ways. As a Program Analyst for special projects for the City of Santa Clarita, Marsha monitored environmental documents, provided legislative information to City staff and assisted in grant writing. Prior to her work at the City, McLean worked for the Los Angeles Police Department and for a Los Angeles City Councilman. McLean’s experience also includes work for the U.S. Government at the American Embassies in Tel Aviv, Israel and Paris, France. After learning to speak French, McLean served as a liaison to French citizens on cultural exchange programs for the U.S. Information Agency.

As a council member, Marsha is committed to working with the community to protect the environment and quality of life for our residents. Marsha is the founder of the S.C.V. Canyons Preservation Committee which successfully co-sponsored legislation to acquire funds for the preservation of Whitney and Elsmere Canyons. She also rallied citizens, business organizations, environmental groups, state and federal legislators to save Santa Clarita from being home to the world’s largest garbage dump. The dump would have been seen from our valley floor and would have loomed over the ridgelines of Elsmere Canyon to one and one-half times the height of the Washington Monument.

 

I love the San Fernando Valley. It’s where my wife and I are raising our children, where my parents are enjoying their golden years and home to the best people in the nation. It is an honor to serve and a privilege to represent the Valley on the Los Angeles City Council.

Please explore the resources offered on this website and remember that my staff and I, whether based out of my district office in Reseda or at City Hall, are here to serve you above all else. Please feel free to stop by – we are ready to help. Together we will work to achieve our shared goals and create the Los Angeles it should, can, and deserves to be.

It is an honor to serve as your Councilwoman for the Seventh Council District. It takes all of us working together to ensure that our community is well taken care of and that issues are handled promptly. I am committed to prioritizing public safety, advocating for neighborhood infrastructure improvements, bringing innovation and transparency to City Hall, fighting for healthy neighborhoods, and building a strong local economy.

My website is a place to stay connected and learn about resources available to our neighborhoods. I look forward to our work ahead to better our communities.

Kathryn was born and raised in the 5th District and comes from a family with deep roots in public service. She is married to a retired sheriff’s deputy and lives in the San Gabriel Valley.

Dedicated to providing effective, responsive representation to the residents of Los Angeles County, Kathryn began her career in public service as a college intern in the office of former Supervisor Antonovich and rose to become his chief deputy in 2001, where she served until her election to the Board of Supervisors in 2016. She both served as Chair of the Board and was reelected for her second term in 2020.

Building upon her work from her time as chief policy advisor on health, mental health, social services, and children’s issues, Kathryn continues to advocate for services and programs to improve the quality of life for foster children, seniors, veterans, those with disabilities, and those with mental illness. Kathryn is committed to keeping our neighborhoods and communities safe, working with federal leaders, law enforcement officials, and judicial officers to implement vital public safety initiatives.

She is an advocate for the environment and has spearheaded efforts to preserve open space and enhance parks, trails, and recreational programs and facilities, as well as libraries and after-school programs to serve local communities. She has hosted several trail rides and hikes to connect with the community throughout her district. With a strong sense of fiscal responsibility, Kathryn is dedicated to providing vital county services while protecting financial resources as a responsible steward of taxpayer dollars.

 

Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath was elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on November 8, 2022 and assumed office on December 5, 2022, after serving as a City Councilmember and the longest consecutively serving Mayor for the City of West Hollywood. Supervisor Horvath’s career has been defined by tackling the hardest problems, building diverse coalitions, and delivering results for her community.

Supervisor Horvath’s commitment to serving others was shaped by her family and faith, which instilled in her a strong work ethic and made her a tireless advocate in addressing the complex problems facing Angelenos throughout LA County.

Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath made history as the youngest woman to ever be elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. She is the first millennial, and currently the only renter to serve on the Board, bringing a much-needed perspective to LA County leadership. Supervisor Horvath has a long history of civic and social justice advocacy. She has spearheaded policies to make West Hollywood an “Age-Friendly Community” to better serve residents of all ages. She also led the City to become the first in the nation to impose financial sanctions on Arizona for its discriminatory, anti-immigration SB-1070 law. Supervisor Horvath created the first-ever West Hollywood Community Response Team to Domestic Violence.

She has worked on a broad range of transportation and mobility issues, from her service as a Transportation Commissioner to championing Metro rail projects in the District. She initiated the West Hollywood Bicycle Task Force, and through her leadership, West Hollywood was named “The Most Walkable” city in the entire state.

Supervisor Horvath is widely known for her leadership on women’s issues and served as a Global Coordinator for One Billion Rising, a global campaign of the V-Day movement to end violence against women and girls. She was the founding President of the Hollywood Chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) and previously served as President of National Women’s Political Caucus (NWPC) – LA Westside.

She is also a champion for LGBTQ+ rights, having served as a Board member of the Victory Fund and a founding Board member of the NOH8 Campaign. In 2009, she represented the City of West Hollywood in the National Equality March in Washington DC. She has also advocated for LGBTQ+ older adults through her work on the Board of Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE).

Supervisor Horvath served on the West Hollywood City Council for nine years, appointed in 2009, elected in 2015, and re-elected in 2019. In addition to her work as a Councilwoman and Mayor, Supervisor Horvath previously served in a number of roles, including: President of the California Contract Cities Association (CCCA); Board Member for CalCities (formerly the League of California Cities); Board Member for the National League of Cities (NLC); President of Women in Municipal Government (WIMG) for the National League of Cities; Chair of the Contract Cities Liability Trust Fund Claims Board & Oversight Committee; and Executive Committee Member and Legislative & Regulatory Chair for Clean Power Alliance of Southern California.

Supervisor Horvath received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Notre Dame and a Certificate in Nonprofit Management & Fundraising from UCLA Extension. She resides in West Hollywood with her dog, Winston.

Tamala Takahashi (she/they) is a pre-licensed LMFT and LPCC therapist specializing in teen/young adult, family, and community clinical psychology. Previously, she owned a consulting business for nonprofits and has been in the nonprofit sector for over 10 years. She is also a John Maxwell certified coach and a Distinguished Toastmaster. Tamala has lived in Burbank for 25 years with her husband Yoshi, and three college-age children, Cameron, Allison, and Max.

Tamala currently serves in the following roles:

Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) Energy and Environment committee member
The Valley Economic Alliance board member
Los Angeles League of CA Cities member
California League of Cities Community Services Policy Advocacy Committee
National League of Cities Human Development Policy Advocacy Committee
National League of Cities Women in Local Government
Burbank City Council commission liaisons for: Burbank Cultural Arts Commission, Sustainable Burbank Commission, Burbank Parks and Rec Board, Burbank Senior Board

Tamala’s previous involvement with local commissions, organizations, and community groups:

Leadership Burbank Class of 2022
Burbank Infrastructure Oversight Board – Chair 2022
Burbank Chamber of Commerce Board – Member 2021-2022
Burbank YMCA Board – Member – 2021-2022
Magnolia Park Merchant Association – Vice president 2019-2022
Burbank Human Relations Council – board member and social action chair 2019-2022
Burbank Noon Kiwanis Board – Member – 2020-2022
Burbank for Armenia Board – Member and DEI committee member 2019-2022
BUSD DEI Committee – Member – 2020-2022
OurBurbank Volunteer group (PIO department) – Chair 2016-2022
League of Women Voters L.A. – Criminal justice committee member, Homelessness committee member, Policing in Schools subcommittee chair – 2015-2022
Olive for All Community Advocacy Group – Founder and member 2022
Burbank Homelessness Task force – Member 2017-2019
Burbank Domestic Violence Task force – Member – 2021-2022
Reusable Burbank – Co-Founder – 2022

She is also a semi-professional fiber artist and designer, and one of the founders of the Knerdy Knitters and Crocheters guild in 2011.

Nithya Raman is an urban planner, a graduate of Harvard and MIT, a working mother, an immigrant to America, and a member of the Los Angeles City Council representing District 4.

After serving several years as the Co-Chair of the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council Homelessness Committee, as well as co-founding the SELAH Neighborhood Homeless Coalition, Nithya felt there was a gap between city services and the expanding homelessness crisis – a gap she was equipped to fill.

She ran for City Council in 2020 and won a historic victory, becoming the first Asian-American woman and the first South Asian ever to serve on the City Council. In March 2024, she was decisively elected to a second term.

Since taking office, Councilmember Raman has prioritized delivering compassionate and effective services for people experiencing homelessness, building more affordable housing, and moving with greater urgency to meet our city’s climate goals.

She has built a dedicated team that takes a proactive approach to constituent services, ensuring her office both responds to incoming requests and goes out in the field to meet people where they are, informing them about renter protections, neighborhood upgrades, community initiatives, fire safety, and more.

Councilmember Raman serves as Chair of the Housing and Homelessness Committee, Vice Chair of the the Rules, Elections, and Intergovernmental Relations Committee, and member of the Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee, Energy and Environment Committee, and the newly formed Ad Hoc Committee on Unarmed Crisis Prevention, Intervention, and Community Services.

Councilmember Raman also represents Los Angeles on the Governing Board of the South Coast Air Quality Management District and serves on the Board of the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency (LACAHSA). In 2024, she was nominated by Mayor Karen Bass to serve as Vice Chair on the LA County Executive Committee for Regional Homeless Alignment.

Nithya lives in Silver Lake with her husband Vali Chandrasekaran and young twins Karna and Kaveri.

Councilmember Imelda Padilla is an experienced coalition builder with 20 years of experience of community leadership. Ms.Padilla was born in Van Nuys and grew up in the working-class neighborhood of Sun Valley where she was raised along with her 5 siblings. From a very young age, Ms.Padilla has been advocating for the residents of the San Fernando Valley to have adequate resources to thrive and has a proven record of producing outcomes in policy and programs. Over the years, she has brought together leaders from across labor unions, businesses, faith-based communities, along with elected officials to enhance prosperity for all Angelenos. She has served in multiple capacities from mobilizing a Valley coalition to raise the minimum wage to $15, to being a former Sun Valley Neighborhood Council member, to creating the Adelante Youth Summit, to launching the Women and Girls Initiative with the County of Los Angeles and serving as President of the Valley College Foundation.

Ms. Padilla attended LAUSD public schools and received her bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California Berkeley, with a minor in philosophy and Chicano studies. In 2015, Ms. Padilla returned to school at Cal State Northridge and received her Master’s in Public Administration.

On August 1st, 2023, Imelda was officially sworn in to represent District 6 on the Los Angeles City Council, after her win in the June 27th special election.

John Lee was elected to the Los Angeles City Council on August 30, 2019. Running in a crowded field of 15 candidates, John’s deep knowledge of both the Twelfth Council District and the City Hall enabled him to quickly rise to the top as a leading contender in the race. As a CD12 resident of over 40 years, John found his passion for public service when he first began volunteering for local nonprofits at age 13. A lifelong public servant, John has been serving this community his entire adult life. His extensive understanding of the City’s legislative and budget processes and day to day operations gives him tremendous insight into what works and what doesn’t at City Hall. John is committed to making government work better for CD12 residents.