Campaign announced over $2M has been raised while the candidate sets forth a plan to address L.A.’s ever growing homeless crisis
On September 27, 2021, Congresswoman Karen Bass officially announced her bid to become the next and first woman Mayor for the City of Los Angeles. Since that time, the congresswoman has been crisscrossing in the country, fulfilling her duties as the representative for the 37th Congressional District, while concurrently crossing back to Los Angeles to address the issues facing the residents of the entire city – issues like the homeless crisis, working for real justice reform legislation, and the ever-increasing cost of housing.
To win a mayoral campaign in a city as large as Los Angeles, the reality is that it cost money – lots of money, and unless you are personally wealthy like former President Donald Trump, political fundraising becomes a part of the job description and is one of the key measuring sticks of a candidate’s legitimacy in winning.
That is why political insiders, political trackers, and other potential candidates all took notice when Bass’s campaign manager, Jamarah Hayner, announced that since launching her bid for mayor, Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) has raised nearly $2 million dollars. This figure demonstrated to all that Bass is by far the clear leader to replace Mayor Eric Garcetti in the upcoming mayoral election.
Hayner said that $1,928,751.00 had so far been raised by 3,755 donors in less than 100 days since the California Democrat announced her Los Angeles mayoral bid. Her campaign noted the average donation was $528.
“Karen Bass is the leader that this city is calling for and the support she is receiving from every part of this city is proof,” Hayner said in a statement. “Her deep relationships spanning this entire city are generating excitement at a local level that hasn’t been seen in more than a decade.”
But fundraising is not the only thing on Representative Bass’s mind; she is a leader who has been diligently out there, working and sharing with Angelenos her vision for a better L.A. Bass has made addressing the issues of the “unhoused” the main focus of her campaign.
Last week, Bass unveiled her plan calling for 15,000 people to be housed in her first year in office. She said that this goal could be achieved by expanding current programs operated within the city and by using funds from the state and federal government. Bass also called for eliminating much of the red-tape and bureaucracy that delays, prolongs, and even destroys possible housing development and construction solutions within the city.
Bass believes there needs to be a more comprehensive response to addressing the issues facing the homeless and that solutions need to be immediate to get people off the streets. But Rep. Bass understands that the issues regarding the homeless and unhoused is more than simply finding a place to live. There are serious mental issues and addiction issues that also must be addressed to really deal with this issue.
“This is the big one that should receive the immediate response that is expected when there is a natural disaster,” Bass said.
“This is just a man-made disaster and we need a FEMA style response. I’m running for mayor to lead the emergency response that L.A’s homeless catastrophe requires. L.A. needs decisive leadership. We need action and urgency. We need follow-through to get the job done,” declared the mayoral candidate.
Assembly member Reggie Byron Jones-Sawyer applauded Bass for her leadership and supports her global approach to addressing this issue. “Everyone deserves a home. But even before the COVID crisis that has displaced and impoverished so many, our city was already in the midst of a dire homelessness crisis.
“There are many reasons why someone might fall into homelessness and addressing a problem of this magnitude requires innovative solutions at all levels,” Jones-Sawyer said.
Bass is one of several candidates vying to become Los Angeles’s next mayor. Current Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti was tapped last year by the Biden Harris Administration to be the U.S. Ambassador to India, and last week a Senate committee advanced his nomination for full consideration of the Senate.
