Editorial: What L.A. needs from Mayor Karen Bass
Karen Bass’s campaign platform included the following points:
1) Protect the vulnerable: “I will ensure government agencies are focused on meeting public needs and protecting the most vulnerable,” said Bass, emphasizing her belief that “Government cannot be the only answer.”
2) Investing in people: “We will invest in L.A.’s workers, and create jobs for working families,” said Bass, while emphasizing that she would like to see the Mayor work with a City of Los Angeles workforce “that is ready and able to work.”
3) End the City’s homelessness crisis: “We will put a solution in place to end homelessness in Los Angeles,” said Bass, who stressed that “our homeless crisis will not be solved by the City.”
4) Working with the community: “I will work with all the stakeholders in our community with a full understanding and respect for the people who are impacted by our decisions,” said Bass.
As a candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles and as a concerned citizen, I have been asked a lot about what L.A. needs from Karen Bass. I have also asked the people I have shared my concerns with during the campaign. We need a citywide platform and policy to address the lack of affordable housing, homelessness, and poverty in our city. I appreciate so much the kind words and support in the beginning of the campaign. As a candidate I wanted to meet with the community and understand where they were coming from. I also wanted to meet with the leaders of the community that were affected negatively by the issues of homelessness and economic inequality. As mayor I want to work with each community and not exclude each community so that I can build a sustainable city that allows everyone to thrive.
I have been asked for the past six months what my core values would be. My core values are peace, freedom and diversity. I want to work with all of my community to address the challenges that we face, to listen, understand and work to get through the tough times. The most important thing that I want my city to become is stable and secure. I want to empower the homeless, the disenfranchised and the marginalized to get what they need to make a better quality of life in Los Angeles and make it more inclusive