During a recent interview, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was put on the spot with a challenging question regarding her campaign promise to eliminate street homelessness by 2026. Bass, who initially made this pledge during her 2022 mayoral campaign, emphasized its importance in a conversation with CNN’s Jake Tapper the following year. As she embarks on her re-election campaign, Bass faces scrutiny over not achieving this ambitious goal, a shortcoming her political rivals have seized upon. The topic came to the forefront during an interview with CNN’s Elex Michaelson, who addressed the issue directly.
Michaelson reminded Bass of her earlier commitment, stating, “In 2023, you told Jake Tapper your aim was to end street homelessness by 2026. It’s now 2026…” to which Bass interjected with an uneasy laugh, “And we haven’t ended it.” Acknowledging the ongoing challenge for Los Angeles residents, Michaelson pressed further, asking, “How are you so off?” Bass explained that while she remains dedicated to the goal, unforeseen bureaucratic hurdles have slowed progress. “I didn’t anticipate some of the bureaucratic barriers that I would experience, but I am prepared to take those on now,” she elaborated.
Highlighting her efforts, Bass pointed to the expedited development of 42,000 affordable housing units as a testament to her dedication to addressing street homelessness. She noted a decrease in homelessness for the first time during her tenure, which she believes has improved life in the city. However, Michaelson noted that while there has been a reduction, it stands at just 17 percent, far from the complete eradication Bass initially promised. When questioned about why residents should still have faith in her leadership, Bass replied, “Because let me just tell you for the first time – we’ve had a decrease at all. There was not a decrease before at all because there was no commitment to get rid of street encampments, and we had encampments all over the city.”
‘So I would ask for people’s trust in the sense that we have absolutely made progress. We know what we need to do now to end street homelessness.’ The exchange was a part of a wide-ranging interview at the St Vincent Behavioral Health Campus, a location Bass chose for the sit-down. The campus is intended to assist those struggling with mental health challenges, substance abuse, and chronic housing insecurity. The facility opens this year and provides 800 beds to people in need. Bass has touted the project as a success of her administration and another step toward achieving her goal of ending street homelessness.
However, her critics and opponents have accused her of failing to solve the crisis. During a mayoral debate earlier this month, Bass’s opponents, Spencer Pratt and Councilmember Nithya Raman, criticized the massive funding for her Inside Safe program. Raman argued that Inside Safe was neither ‘fiscally sustainable’ nor a permanent fix, while Pratt took a hardline approach to getting people off the streets by increasing law enforcement. Homelessness is at the crux of the Los Angeles mayoral election. It is one of the defining issues for Angelenos, with over 67,000 people in the city displaced at the end of last year, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Authority . The Daily Mail has reached out to the mayor’s campaign team for comment.
