Karen Bass made history in December 2022 by becoming the first female mayor of Los Angeles. On her first day, she made history again by declaring a state of emergency to respond to the homelessness crisis.
On this week’s “In Focus SoCal,” host Tanya McRae sits down with Bass at City Hall ahead of her first 100 days in office to discuss her transition from Washington to City Hall, being back in her hometown full-time and what’s ahead for Los Angeles.
“The most exciting thing is that I get to make a difference on the same day. When you’re in the Legislature, especially Congress, you can work on legislation for years. And the idea that I can literally go to a tent and help somebody come in front a tent and be housed on the same day, it’s the instant gratification that has been very exciting,” Bass said.
Bass shared that one of her goals was to align every level of government to address the homelessness crisis.
“That has happened already, and I was surprised by that. Different levels of government stepped forward quickly,” Bass said.
Both Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Joe Biden have made the crisis centerpieces of their policy agenda. Bass shared that after Biden announced his plan in December to reduce homelessness by 25%, she called the White House and invited Ambassador Susan Rice to visit LA. Rice is Biden’s domestic policy adviser and visited days later.
Another issue the mayor discussed was reforming the hiring process within the City of Los Angeles. She wants to shorten the time to it takes to recruit and train LA Police Department officers.
“Because we have so many retiring, we have to make sure that our force does not shrink any further,” Bass said. “Now having said that, that does not involve lowering any standards, compromising anything in terms of quality.”
Bass also honored former Rep. Diane Watson, D-Calif., for Women’s History Month. Watson encouraged Bass to run for the state Assembly in 2003. Bass eventually succeeded Watson and won the 33rd Congressional District in 2010.
“I think it’s important that we always recognize those people who helped you get where you are,” Bass said.
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