The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce on Thursday announced its endorsement of former Santa Monica councilman and Kennedy clan member Bobby Shriver for county supervisor.

Shriver, 59, is one of two leading candidates for the race to fill the prominent seat being vacated by longtime Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky; the other major candidate is former state senator and television star Sheila Kuehl.

The huge supervisorial district covers 2 million residents on L.A.’s Westside and in the San Fernando Valley, including the communities of Beverly Hills, Century City, Brentwood, Malibu, Calabasas, Woodland Hills and Sherman Oaks.

Kuehl held front-runner status in the race until Shriver’s entry in January. Earlier this month, Shriver announced he did not intend to abide by campaign spending limits. According to campaign finance reports filed this week, Shriver loaned his campaign $300,000, bringing his total to nearly $850,000, ahead of Kuehl’s $630,000.

The chamber’s political action committee, known as LA Jobs PAC, interviewed the leading supervisorial candidates and chose Shriver because of his business background. Shriver is an attorney and heads a company that has produced films and music and undertaken philanthropic ventures.

“Bobby has a background in business and finance and has the ability and desire to address the challenges facing county government,” said L.A. Area Chamber Chief Executive Gary Toebben. “As an entrepreneur and co-founder of several global organizations, Bobby knows the difficulties of making a business thrive and the importance of job creation and growing our local economy in meeting the needs of our communities.”