Rep. Karen Bass made history as the first female mayor of Los Angeles, according to CNN projects, beating her opponent Rick Caruso by more than $104 million in spending to win the race.
The six-term congresswoman, who represents South and West Los Angeles, managed to build a strong coalition of black voters in South Los Angeles and white progressives on the city’s West Side to defeat the mall mogul.
In her campaign, Bass emphasized her depth of political experience and her reputation as a collaborative listener and legislator. She also highlighted her early work as a physician’s assistant in the emergency room and her experience bringing together black and Latino community organizers in South Los Angeles in the early 1990s to address the root causes of crime and the crack epidemic – work he did through the non-profit founded, Community Coalition.
Joe Biden had vetted Bass, then the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, as his 2020 running mate as she helped lead negotiations on legislation to create greater police accountability after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
She had earned the respect of her Democratic colleagues and constituents with her decades of experience shaping public policy in areas such as child welfare, foster care and prison reform.
Bass argued that her experience would give her a unique perspective and understanding of homelessness issues in Los Angeles. She said her experience in the emergency room had given her a deep understanding of the problem that her main opponents, including Caruso, did not have.
“I have a background in the medical field. I’ve worked with these patients,” she told CNN in an interview earlier this year. “I spent several years in the emergency room in (LA) County. My patients were homeless. My patients were mentally ill. They were abusing substances. I know these systems.”
He said he would declare a state of emergency for homelessness that would set a new tone for dealing with the issue across the city: “It should be treated like a natural disaster,” he told CNN. “I really hope that we start to build a new spirit in this city where people understand that this problem is everybody’s problem.”
He cast Caruso as a political opportunist who had registered as a Democrat simply to improve his chances of winning office. Noting his past donations to conservative Republicans, she and her allies sought to raise questions about his support for abortion rights — criticism Caruso said was unfair, unfounded and an attack on his Catholic faith.
Caruso had toyed with the idea of running for mayor for years after serving in other political roles, including city constable and former head of the USC Board of Trustees. One of his biggest obstacles was his history as a former Republican-turned-independent and Democrat running for the top job in an overwhelmingly Democratic city.
But he seized on the frustration many of the city’s constituents feel about homelessness, crime and corruption at City Hall — spending tens of millions of dollars of his own money on ads that portrayed him as an appointee with the executive credentials to address those issues. problems and improve the efficiency and responsiveness of the city.
While Bass accused Caruso of trying to buy the mayor’s office as they raced to replace term-limited Mayor Eric Garcetti, Caruso suggested that she and other “career politicians” were ineffective and would need an outsider to clean up her streets city and accelerating efforts to house the homeless.
During the campaign, Bass also highlighted her role as a dealmaker when she led the California State Assembly after the 2008 financial crisis – making budget decisions that earned her a John F. Kennedy Courage Award profile in 2010 .She also made history in that role – becoming the first black woman to serve as speaker of the state legislature in 2008.
This story has been updated with additional details.
