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As\u00a0Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass\u00a0seeks a second term, she isn\u2019t sidestepping the obvious: her tenure at city hall has been difficult. \u201cI haven\u2019t always got it right,\u201d she says plainly.<\/p>\n
But the first Black woman to hold the post insists she should keep leading the struggling city of nearly 4 million that will host the 2028 Olympics. Homicides have dipped. Street\u00a0homelessness is down. Homes destroyed in last year\u2019s wildfires are being rebuilt, though\u00a0critics say too slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s more work to do,\u201d Bass says.<\/p>\n
Los Angeles mayoral races \u2014 indeed, some of the mayors themselves \u2014 often are forgettable in a city where politics takes a back seat to the Lakers, Dodgers and Hollywood. But this year has been different as Bass attempts to overcome lingering fallout from the Palisades Fire, the most destructive in Los Angeles history. Bass was in Ghana as part of a presidential delegation when the flames ignited.<\/p>\n
Among the thousands of people who lost their homes was reality television personality\u00a0Spencer Pratt, now running to replace the mayor who he blames for the destruction.<\/p>\n
In another sign of how political media has evolved, the biggest sensation in the race has been\u00a0campaign videos created with artificial intelligence\u00a0where Pratt takes on a superhero persona to battle street criminals and Democratic politicians. Created by filmmaker Charles Curran, Pratt has shared the videos on his own platforms.<\/p>\n
Unless a candidate receives a majority of the vote in Tuesday\u2019s primary, the top two will advance to a general election in November.<\/p>\n
The race is officially nonpartisan, but Bass is a Democrat, as is progressive city council member Nithya Raman, who made a last-minute decision to challenge her one-time ally.<\/p>\n
Pratt, who rose to fame alongside his wife, Heidi Montag, on \u201cThe Hills,\u201d is a registered Republican who has received a nod of approval \u2014 if not an outright endorsement \u2014 from President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
Polling shows a tight race<\/p>\n
A University of California, Berkeley, Institute of Governmental Studies poll, co-sponsored by The Los Angeles Times, found Bass tightly clustered with Raman and Pratt, with other candidates trailing. The poll of 1,351 of likely voters conducted between May 19 and May 24 gave no candidate a statistically significant edge.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a perilous position for an incumbent, spotlighting widespread public doubts about her leadership.<\/p>\n
On a recent Saturday, Bass was greeted by cheering supporters under brilliant sunshine in a Mid-City neighborhood where she dropped off her ballot in a collection box. For an unpopular mayor facing a dicey future, she appeared relaxed, smiling broadly, petting dogs and fawning over toddlers in strollers.<\/p>\n
Asked about Pratt drawing national attention, she dismissed him as a political dilettante.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is an entertainer and that\u2019s what he\u2019s doing is entertaining,\u201d Bass said.<\/p>\n
She also questioned how Pratt, who received a tacit blessing from Trump, would be received in a city where less than 15% of voters are registered as Republicans. The president is widely unpopular in California outside his conservative base \u2014\u00a0Trump received just 32% of the vote\u00a0in Los Angeles County two years ago \u2014 and a Republican hasn\u2019t been elected mayor since 1997.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is Los Angeles,\u201d Bass said. \u201cThis is not a MAGA city.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among the crowd applauding Bass was Diane Mitchell Henry, a registered Democrat and event planner, who said she was impressed with the mayor\u2019s many years of government experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knows the heartbeat of Los Angeles,\u201d she said. \u201cI trust her.\u201d<\/p>\n
A November runoff appears likely with 14 names on the ballot.<\/p>\n
Democratic strategist Garry South expects Bass, despite her slumping popularity, to advance on Tuesday, probably alongside Pratt.<\/p>\n
He questioned whether Pratt\u2019s online video barrage was reaching people who actually vote. The most reliable voters in the state tend to be older, white, affluent homeowners.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost voters are over 50, pure and simple. You are not going to grab that demographic by posting clever stuff on YouTube and Instagram,\u201d South said.<\/p>\n
The contest bears some\u00a0similarity to the 2022 race, when billionaire developer Rick Caruso promised to expand spending on police at a time of widespread concerns over crime and homelessness. Bass won by nearly 10 points.<\/p>\n
A struggling city looks to the future<\/p>\n
While immediate concerns in Los Angeles are focused on wildfire reconstruction and homelessness, the city also is grasping for a vision for its future.<\/p>\n
Hollywood jobs have been decamping for years for cheaper filming locations. A downtown renaissance was crushed by extended pandemic closures and many office buildings remain desperate for tenants. The city has long struggled to provide basic services, whether paving buckled streets and sidewalks or keeping streetlights on. The restaurant industry has witnessed a long string of high-profile closures. Trump administration immigration raids have shaken residents. The city\u2019s notorious gridlock continues unabated.<\/p>\n
Bass was elected in 2022\u00a0promising to end the\u00a0unchecked homeless crisis\u00a0and deal with increasing crime as smash-and-grab robberies became national news. She has lined up most of the Democratic establishment behind her, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, Gov. Gavin Newsom and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, along with the city\u2019s powerful labor unions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not going to have this level of failure in our city for four more years,\u201d Pratt told CNBC on Thursday. The city \u201cis not safe. It\u2019s disgusting. We pay with our money to give needles to drug addicts to overdose in front of kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raman has promised to speed up housing construction, bring back entertainment industry jobs and improve street paving and other basic services. Residents are \u201chungry for a different future for this city \u2014 one that is affordable, functional, creative and safe,\u201d she said in a statement Thursday.<\/p>\n
Bass brushed off the competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re almost to the finish line,\u201d she said after dropping off her ballot. \u201cI\u2019m feeling good.\u201d<\/p>\n
#Los #Angeles #Mayor #Karen #Bass #seeks #reelection #term #mired #wildfire #homelessness<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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