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Karen Bass, the community activist-turned-Congressmember, will become the first woman and second Black person to lead the City of Los Angeles.
The Associated Press called the race Wednesday afternoon after vote count numbers released by the LA County Registrar showed her leading by more than 46,000 votes, or 53% of the ballots counted so far.
Bass, a Democrat, clinched the mayoral victory after Angelenos turned out in large numbers to vote in a contentious race that saw record-breaking spending by her rival, developer Rick Caruso.
Bass, 69, will take her perch at City Hall during a time of great flux and turnover.
Recently-leaked audio of councilmembers making racist comments exposed racial fault lines in city politics and led to the resignation of former council president Nury Martinez. Elections and planned departures mean six of the city’s 15 districts will soon be represented by new faces.
“She is going to be coming in when of course everybody kind of wants to do a reboot” at City Hall, said Ange-Marie Hancock who teaches gender studies and political science at USC.
On The Agenda: Housing, Homelessness, Public Safety
Bass is also inheriting crises over homelessness, housing costs and public safety that have bedeviled her predecessor, Mayor Eric Garcetti.
During mayoral debates, Bass, who as mayor will propose the city budget, said the LAPD should have its budgeted number of about 9,700 officers.
Her public safety plans have been blasted by community activists such as Melina Abdullah of Black Lives Matter-LA, a long-time friend who has served on Bass’ council of congressional advisors.
“We fully intend to push her on issues,” Abdullah said. “We don’t intend to just leave her there.”
But Abdullah expressed great “relief” that Bass had prevailed over Caruso, saying that her background as a community activist soils well for the city.
“I think that we have an opportunity to really dig deep and move towards again a Los Angeles, that works for Black folks, Brown folks and that refuses to accept racism in its midst,” Abdullah said, in an interview moment after AP called the race.
Another History-Making Achievement For Bass
Bass’ victory as mayor is not the first time she has made history. In 2008, she was elected speaker of the state assembly, becoming the first black woman to lead a statehouse anywhere in the country.
In 2011, she joined Congress. During her time in the US House of Representatives she headed the Congressional Black Caucus and was shortlisted to be President Biden’s second-in-command.
Trained as a physician’s assistant, Bass’ start in public life began as a community organizer in South LA Bass co-founded the Community Coalition to campaign against crime and drugs just a couple years before civil unrest scorched the neighborhood in 1992.
The group worked to build solidarity between Black and Brown Angelenos, a mission that Bass said she continues to promote today. After the leaked audio scandal, she convened a group of community leaders representing different races as well as religions and sexual orientation.
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