Column: Representation matters. But a Mayor Karen Bass means more for Black women in L.A. than her current opponent.
The November runoff election in L.A.’s mayoral race is officially underway—but with a very different dynamic than was on display in November’s primary. As the Democratic primary progressed, the race was focused on the state of Mayor Eric Garcetti—a race that largely focused on his perceived ineptitude and perceived corruption.
But the November runoff—a contest with no clear front-runner—is also a contest where a candidate can go on the offensive, with a message of change, and not have to contend with the criticism that Garcetti’s campaign has largely been focused on the state of the City—and not in the way that the primary was.
It also presents voters with an opportunity to make up their minds about who they want to elect as Mayor of Los Angeles, with a vote on a candidate who is not currently front-runner, and with a message that could very well take in the future of Los Angeles and not just the state of L.A.
Last month, the L.A. Times named Karen Bass as the victor in the runoff election. Bass is the mayor’s campaign manager.
Here is the Los Angeles Times editorial on the runoff race:
On the surface, the Nov. 5 mayoral runoff has been a battle between the outsider mayor, Eric Garcetti, and his preferred candidate: Karen Bass, a longtime city councilwoman who was appointed by the mayor to his transition team. But in a race that’s been anything but a race, the two have been fighting over the fate of the very city in which they both preside.
Over the past year, Bass has become an unusual candidate in Los Angeles politics—one who can run up the score in the Democratic primary for mayor but who seems less inclined to run a full-court press to win the general election.
She’
