Bass says her election defeat was part of a national wave, with voters demanding change
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Set us as preferred Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Thursday that she views her defeat in the Nov.3 election as part of a much larger political phenomenon, with voters across the nation demanding change at every level of government.Bass, 73, said Mayor-elect Nithya Raman’s win was, at least in part, the result of “a wave that took place around the country.”“This happens every five or six years, that voters get in a space where they just want everything new,” she said.
“And I think that what happened here was part of that.” Bass made her remarks while appearing at the opening of a new 140-bed interim housing facility in North Hills, which will provide homeless people with medical referrals, job counseling and help with finding an apartment.It was the first open-press public event scheduled by the mayor’s office since Bass called Raman, a City Council member and onetime ally, to concede the race.Raman, who takes office on Dec.14, won with nearly 55% of the vote, compared with about 45% for Bass, according to the most recent results.
Her victory dealt Bass, a former state Assembly speaker and six-term member of Congress, her first election defeat in a political career that spanned more than two decades.“Obviously I was disappointed in the results,” Bass said after the event.“But the results are the results.”Bass became mayor in 2022 and immediately made the fight against homelessness a cornerstone of her administration.
She declared a local emergency on homelessness on her first day in office and soon afterward launched Inside Safe, which moves homeless people into hotels, motels and other forms of temporary housing.Although Raman supported those efforts for much of Bass’ tenure, she criticized the program on the campaign trail, calling it expensive and ineffective.Although Inside Safe has moved more...