The Hon. David Hadley is the founding chairman of Project LAC. He is confident the time is right to bring balance and common sense to Los Angeles County and California, and he understands that effective political infrastructure is key to making that happen.

As a political leader, candidate and elected official, David has proven he has the chops to make real change. He was elected to represent the South Bay of Los Angeles in the California State Assembly, defeating an incumbent and breaking the Democrats' legislative super-majority at the time. He has also served as the vice chairman of the California Republican Party, as the chairman of the Republican Party for the South Bay, and as the founder of the South Bay 300 that upended the politics of the district.

Professionally, David is an investment banker and serial entrepreneur. He was born and raised in Fullerton, and for 29 years has made his home in Manhattan Beach. His wife Suzanne is a former Mayor of Manhattan Beach. Suzanne and David have four adult children. David graduated from Servite High School, he received his B.A. from Dartmouth College and his M.S. from the London School of Economics.

Antonio de Cárdenas is a seasoned senior executive with significant experience with executive teams and in the board room.  Antonio has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of his family’s business, Cacique, a national leader in the Hispanic and Mexican dairy industry now in its fifth decade of operations.  In addition, Antonio spent 25 years providing legal counsel to numerous top domestic and international companies in a variety of industries.  Having left the legal industry in 2023, Antonio is CEO of a southern California real estate group.  He is fully bilingual in English and Spanish.

A proud Los Angeles native (born and raised in Manhattan Beach) and Biola University alumna, Hailey first entered politics by working on the 2016 State Assembly campaign of Project LAC's Founding Chairman David Hadley. 

Since then, she further cut her teeth in politics during her five-year tenure in Washington, D.C. She’s served at the White House in President Trump’s first administration, the Republican National Committee, President Trump’s 2020 campaign, a public affairs firm, and most recently, Chick-fil-A’s corporate marketing team. Now she is back home, deeply invested in making Los Angeles an attainable county where all families can thrive once again.

Hailey believes that we have a massive opportunity—and an even bigger responsibility—to shift the tides in LA. It will take grit, vision, and all hands on deck. But with your partnership, she believes we can reclaim this county’s future.

The Honorable John M. Barger is a Project LAC Board Member and has been involved in Los Angeles County and national politics for his entire adult life.

Growing up in the San Gabriel Valley, his first political job was serving as one of Mike Antonovich’s Deputy Los Angeles County Supervisors in the ‘way back time machine’ (1980-1981).

More recently, he has been a political advisor to Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, playing an important role in each of her three successful Supervisorial campaigns (2016, 2020, 2024).

He also served as a Presidentially appointed and Senate Confirmed Governor of the United States Postal Service (2019-2023), and before that as Investment Board Chair of the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (2008-2016). 

Professionally, John is the Managing Director of NorthernCross Partners, LLC, a privately held merchant bank he founded in 2007. He also serves on multiple private company boards, including as board chair to Nanolumens, Inc. 

John lives in San Marino with his wife, Shauna, and is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University (BA History/Philosophy), the University of California Law School (Hastings/San Francisco) (JD), and the London School of Economics (MSc. Finance & Accounting).