Nick Ippolito will continue his 25-year public administration tenure in Los Angeles County government with a swift move from a high position in Supervisor Don Knabe’s administration to the top post in Supervisor-elect Janice Hahn’s administration.
Hahn, elected on November 8, is leaving her job as a Congresswoman from California’s 44th District to oversee L.A. County’s fourth district. She will replace Knabe, who has been the district’s supervisor since 1996.
This week Hahn announced that Ippolito, who is now Knabe’s assistant chief of staff, will be her chief of staff.
“He knows the ins and outs of county government and has been deeply involved in many of the issues that will be my priorities when I take office,” Hahn said in a press release.
Nick Ippolito, chief of staff for incoming Forth District Supervisor Janice Hahn.
“I’m deeply honored that Supervisor-elect Janice Hahn selected me to be her chief of staff,” Ippolito said in an interview with The Imprint. “She’s very dedicated to helping people and helping those most in need.”
Hahn hopes to carry on her father’s legacy and strengthen programs aimed the county’s most vulnerable families and children, she conveyed in a recent profile story by The Imprint. Addressing homelessness was a centerpiece of her campaign against Steve Napolitano.
“She’s very focused on issues with homelessness, particularly how they impact youth and young people,” Ippolito said. “We have a significant population of kids who are without a home and without resources. I think she’s going to make it a real hallmark of her time as county supervisor to help particularly the transition-age youth.”
“The outcomes we’re seeing with those populations – we really haven’t moved the needle much despite all of our best efforts, and so I think she’s going to bring a renewed, reinvigorated leadership to really helping children and youth,” Ippolito said.
Ippolito began his career in county government as a case worker in the county’s Department of Public Social Services and later became a deputy in Knabe’s administration and then assistant chief of staff. He has worked on issues related to welfare, education, juvenile justice, seniors, homelessness, workforce development, child support and early childhood development.
He credits much of his knowledge and passion for county government to what he learned through his role in the Department of Public Social Services, where he started at age 21.
“That’s where I really started to get my understanding of the kinds of challenges that people encounter, and how hurting some folks are, and the immense resources that the county can leverage to make people’s lives better,” he said.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors controls a budget of $28 billion a year and oversees the nation’s largest child-welfare and juvenile-justice systems in the country. The fourth district includes 2.2 million people living in 27 cities, spanning coastal cities like Marina Del Rey, Hermosa Beach and Long Beach as well as inland communities like Cerritos, Downey and Hacienda Heights.
