If Bass is anything like Beetlejuice, LA is f----d

Karen Bass Makes History as First Black Woman Elected Mayor of Los Angeles 

Anita Bennett

Congresswoman Karen Bass has made history after winning the race to become the next mayor of Los Angeles.

The announcement came late Wednesday afternoon following the latest vote count, which showed Bass with an insurmountable lead of nearly 50,000 votes over real estate developer Rick Caruso.

Numbers posted online by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office showed Bass with 403,427 votes compared to Caruso’s 356,849. That was a difference of 53.06 percent to 46.94 percent.

Caruso led in early vote counts right after election night, but as more mail-in ballots were tallied, Bass pulled ahead.

The Congresswoman had the backing of the White House, former President Barack Obama, both of California’s U.S. senators, and many high-ranking Democrats across the state.

She vowed throughout the campaign that if elected, she would focus on addressing L.A.’s high rent prices and the city’s spiraling homelessness crisis — which saw 1,988 people die on the streets of the L.A. area between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021 — according to county officials.

After learning she had won the election, Bass posted a statement on social media vowing to bring change to the city, where the quality of life has deteriorated for many residents in recent years.

“To the people of our city, my message is this: We are going to solve homelessness. We are going to prevent and respond urgently to crime. Our city is no longer going to be unaffordable for working families. And know this — that work has already begun,” she tweeted.

In a follow-up tweet, Bass said she had received a “gracious” call from Caruso and added, “I am honored and humbled that the people have chosen me to be the next mayor of Los Angeles.”

Caruso, a former Republican who switched his party affiliation to Democrat earlier this year, won support from the union that represents LAPD officers and made rising crime a key part of his campaign.

He had the backing of celebrities, including Snoop Dogg, Gwyneth Paltrow, Katy Perry, and Kim Kardashian. But as news stories surfaced saying Caruso previously donated to the campaigns of Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell and former President George W. Bush, many residents in heavily Democratic L.A. said “no thanks” to the mayoral candidate.

The billionaire developer behind The Grove and other luxury shopping malls, spent more than $100 million — much of it from his own fortune — in the race to become mayor. The Los Angeles Times reportedCaruso outspent Bass more than 11 to 1.

When Bass takes office, she will be the first woman to lead the nation’s second most populous city and only the second Black mayor after the late Tom Bradley, who served from 1973 to 1993.

Bass will replace embattled Mayor Eric Garcetti who is termed out of office.