The Mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, has openly acknowledged her missteps and is seeking another opportunity from the voters. In an interview, she laid out her strategy to enhance police recruitment and address the issue of homelessness in the city.
During her discussion with The California Post, Bass mentioned that she was unaware of how severely flawed the management of homelessness in LA truly was. She noted that some restrictions that had previously limited her initiatives have now been lifted.
On Friday, she expressed hope that the experiences from her first term would resonate with frustrated voters. This includes those affected by the devastating wildfires in January 2025, which coincided with her trip to Ghana.
When asked about her most significant regret, Bass immediately stated, “The biggest regret is most obviously that I wasn’t here.” She emphasized the efforts made by her staff to assist residents in rebuilding, along with her own trips to secure support, but conceded that these actions have not sufficiently swayed public opinion.
She characterized herself as more of a “workhorse” than a “show horse,” suggesting that this has impacted her political standing.
If she is granted another term, Bass aims to increase the number of LAPD officers to 9,500 before the 2028 Olympics, modernize homelessness housing, and enhance mental health and addiction services to help individuals off the streets permanently.
Addressing the city’s slow police hiring procedures—which can take nearly a year— Bass is hopeful about renewing the LAPD’s ranks. She has already replaced the head of the Personnel Department, which oversees hiring, and initiated an executive directive to streamline the process to 180 days.
“We’re cutting the red tape and streamlining processes to turn that around,” she stated. Her intention is to ensure that police academy classes are filled more quickly and that new recruits progress through training faster than officers leave the department.
Currently, the LAPD is struggling with a staffing level of roughly 8,550 officers, marking its lowest total in nearly 25 years and down from about 10,000 in 2020. The budget for this year includes plans for 510 new hires, but retirements could potentially erase those gains, leading projections to anticipate a drop to 8,555 officers by 2027.
Bass is also a staunch supporter of LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, despite her rival, City Councilwoman Nithya Raman, explicitly stating she would replace him. Bass criticized Raman, saying, “I think that she doesn’t have a clue what is needed in terms of recruiting and hiring a police chief.” She reflected on the lengthy process of finding McDonnell, which took ten months, and warned against making a change too close to the Olympics.
Another critical focus for Bass is tackling homelessness, as the city has seen an increase in its street homeless population, which rose to 45,194 from 41,980 since she took office in 2022. The latest count indicates a 3.4% annual increase, with homelessness rising by 7.9% after two years of decline.
She admitted, “I knew the system was broken, but how profoundly broken it was, I did not know.” She explained that current structures are not designed to end homelessness but merely to manage it.
Bass envisions a revamped system that allows the city more control over the homeless housing it funds. Right now, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority oversees allocations countywide, which leads some city-funded units to go to individuals from outside LA, while many residents remain without housing.
“In many, many cases, they were not people from Los Angeles,” she remarked. Her proposed solution involves a new agreement with the county that would grant LA access to a regional homelessness database and increased power over who qualifies for city-funded housing.
This agreement has received preliminary support from city and county leaders and is designed to help LA prioritize its homeless residents, rather than relying on a broader county system that doesn’t automatically favor them.
Bass believes this change could significantly reduce street homelessness, especially in entrenched encampments that have long been a source of frustration for residents.
She also aims to enhance mental health and addiction services.
“If you just take people randomly off the street and put them in an apartment and just expect them to magically heal… it’s naive,” she expressed.
Recent polling data shows Bass trailing behind her opponent, with a poll conducted by California Post/McLaughlin revealing Raman ahead with 46.7% to Bass’s 38.8%, while 13.5% of voters remain undecided.
Moreover, just 25.5% of respondents approved of Bass’s performance, while 71.7% disapproved. Another more recent poll from UC Berkeley and the Los Angeles Times indicates a tie at 40% between the candidates, with a notable 65% of voters viewing Bass unfavorably.
Bass acknowledged a shortcoming in her communication regarding her administration’s achievements, stating, “I didn’t focus on that. That was a mistake.” With the upcoming election, she is urging voters to grant her more time to implement the changes needed, hoping to contrast her approach with that of her opponent.
“We are at a crossroads where we can soar into the future,” she said, “or we can throw our city up for experimentation on different theories and ideas.”
