Bass Blames National Demand for Change After Los Angeles Defeat
Karen Bass described her defeat by mayor-elect Nithya Raman as part of a broader wave of voters seeking change, speaking publicly on November 12 for the first time since conceding the Los Angeles race. Raman won nearly 55% of the vote to Bass’ roughly 45% and is set to take office on December 14. The loss was the first of Bass’ political career, which included six terms in Congress and service as California Assembly speaker.
Bass made her comments at the opening of a 140-bed interim housing facility in North Hills. The project, a converted motel, will offer medical referrals, employment counseling and help finding apartments. Bass said her administration had advanced efforts to address homelessness, including establishing the city’s first strategy for homeless encampments.
Homelessness was a central issue in Bass’ tenure. Her Inside Safe program has moved more than 6,000 people indoors, but Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority figures show nearly 43% of participants had returned to the street by September 1. Raman, who had supported the initiative for much of Bass’ term, criticized it during the campaign as costly and ineffective.
Bass said she was disappointed by the result but offered no plans for another campaign, saying she could not imagine seeking office again. She also praised Democratic victories nationally, saying Democratic control of both chambers of Congress would provide a check on the president. Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo praised Bass’ focus on homelessness at the facility’s opening, while acknowledging that the crisis would remain difficult to solve.
Bass’ Loss Reflects Voter Turmoil, Not the End of Her Homelessness Effort
Los Angeles voters’ choice of Nithya Raman does not erase the work Karen Bass says her administration has done to address homelessness. Bass, speaking on November 12, called her November 3 defeat part of a wider wave of voters seeking change. Raman won nearly 55% of the vote and will take office on December 14.
Bass spoke at the opening of a 140-bed interim housing facility in North Hills. It will provide medical referrals, job counseling and help finding an apartment. During her term, Bass made homelessness a priority, launched Inside Safe and established what she described as the city’s first citywide plan for homeless encampments.
The record is not without setbacks: more than 6,000 people have been moved indoors through Inside Safe, while nearly 43% of participants had returned to the street by September 1. Raman supported the effort for much of Bass’ tenure but assailed it on the campaign trail as expensive and ineffective. Bass said she felt good about her administration’s progress, and local Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo credited her with moving the issue forward.
Bass also welcomed Democratic gains nationally, arguing that control of both houses of Congress would provide a check on the president. She said she could not imagine running for office again. Her defeat is a political setback, but the need for housing and sustained work on homelessness remains central to Los Angeles.
Bass Blames a Voter Wave After Losing Despite Her Homelessness Push
Karen Bass offered voters’ appetite for change as the explanation for her November 3 defeat, rather than a direct accounting of why Los Angeles chose Nithya Raman. Raman won nearly 55% of the vote to Bass’ roughly 45%, ending the incumbent’s political career without an election loss until now. She takes office on December 14.
Bass made the remarks on November 12 at the opening of a 140-bed interim housing project in North Hills. Her administration made homelessness a cornerstone, and the Inside Safe initiative has helped bring over 6,000 people inside. Yet figures from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority show nearly 43% of participants had returned to the street by September 1. Raman, once supportive of the program, criticized it during the campaign as expensive and ineffective.
Bass defended her administration’s progress and pointed to a citywide encampment strategy. The new facility will offer medical referrals, job counseling and help with apartment searches, but the election result shows that the incumbent’s record did not secure another term. Bass said she was disappointed and could not imagine seeking office again.
She also praised Democratic control of both chambers of Congress as a check on the president. Her comments focused on a national political wave; the local contest, however, turned on a city where homelessness remained a defining challenge and voters chose a different mayor.
Reported by Los Angeles Times, New York Post.
