Five candidates are competing for the Los Angeles County Assessor position in the June 2 primary election: incumbent Jeffrey Prang, Stephen Adamus, Rob Newland, Steven Palty and Sandy Sun.
La Opinion considers Jeff Prang to be the best candidate and supports his re-election.
The County Assessor is responsible for generating the inventory of taxable properties, after which he compiles the totals, establishes their values and incorporates them into the appraisal lists for collection.
There are 2.4 million properties with a value of 2 trillion dollars and that generated more than 20 billion dollars in property tax revenue in 2025.
The Assessor, as established by the Constitution of the State of California, is an elected position, which is intended to protect it from outside influences and irregularities.
The Assessor also determines the substandard year values of the appraisal calculation, processes property changes, records new construction, and applies annual inflation adjustments to the entire tax amount, up to a limit of 2% annually.
With all this, the great importance of the position for the county’s finances, governance in its fiscal aspects and the flow of property taxes is established. Obviously, among the qualities necessary for the Appraiser is confidence in his probity. Transparency and the absence of favoritism are a central requirement of the position. as well as organizational and technical capacity to manage the valuations of millions of properties, in a department with a budget of 200 million dollars, 6 regional centers and about 1,400 employees.
In 2014, when Jeffrey Prang, then a West Hollywood councilman and office employee, was first elected, he was replacing a predecessor embroiled in a serious scandal. John Noguez is still fighting criminal charges. He is accused of reducing the value of multiple properties in exchange for bribes.
Prang not only made his office emerge from scandal by retaining its good name.
He also updated technology, modernizing registration and filing systems over the years.
In addition, it established consumer services that did not exist before, including helping those who suffered disasters such as the recent Los Angeles fire, to reevaluate their property. The office portal includes guidance for an “immediate tax relief” and to request the cancellation of the penalty if they were unable to make their payments.
He won re-election in 2018 and 2022.
In 2019, three office employees sued Prang and his administration alleging violations of Proposition 13, and the Revenue and Taxation Code and misappropriation of public funds. The case was decided only in March of this year, with compensation for two of them for the way in which the case was processed internally, but without known consequences or investigation of the alleged facts that demonstrated intent. One of the plaintiffs, Stephen Adamus, is among the candidates. Agency spokespersons denied any wrongdoing.
From the list of elected officials, former officials, organizations and unions that support Prang we mention Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and four of the five county supervisors: Kathryn Barger, Janice Hahn, Lindsey Horvath and Hilda Solis. Additionally, Congressmen Adam Schiff, Judy Chu and Laura Friedman, State Senators Bob Archuleta and Sasha Renée Pérez, Assemblymembers Lisa Calderón and Mike Fong and California Comptroller Malia Cohen.
La Opinion asks its readers in Los Angeles County to vote for Jeff Prang for County Assessor in the June 2 elections.
