{"id":25454,"date":"2026-08-02T19:18:33","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T14:18:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=25454"},"modified":"2026-08-02T19:18:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T14:18:33","slug":"its-been-a-summer-of-bad-news-for-mayor-bass-can-she-reset-the-narrative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=25454","title":{"rendered":"It&#8217;s been a summer of bad news for Mayor Bass. Can she reset the narrative?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-element=\"story-body\" data-subscriber-content=\"\">\n<p>Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was riding relatively high two months ago, weathering pitched challenges from Spencer Pratt on the right and Nithya Raman on the left to emerge as the top vote-getter in the city\u2019s June 2 mayoral primary.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTomorrow begins the second half of this journey,\u201d an ebullient Bass told supporters at the Line Hotel in Koreatown on election night.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s been a lot less to cheer about lately.<\/p>\n<p>Bass\u2019 summer has been beset by a string of negative news. Staff members on both her <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2026-06-24\/top-strategist-for-mayor-karen-bass-has-left-her-campaign\"><u>campaign<\/u><\/a> and <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2026-07-14\/mayor-bass-loses-another-spokesperson-amid-heavy-turnover\"><u>administration teams have left<\/u><\/a>. She was away from the city \u2014 just as she was at the start of the devastating 2025 firestorms \u2014 when a blaze ignited at the Lineage cold-storage food warehouse in Boyle Heights, inundating the heavily Latino surrounding neighborhoods with noxious fumes.<\/p>\n<p>And that was all before the release of a new report showing that <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2026-07-23\/homelessness-is-up-in-los-angeles-in-a-setback-to-mayor-karen-bass\"><u>homelessness in the city rose<\/u><\/a> for the first time in three years, undercutting a pillar of Bass\u2019 fall runoff campaign against Raman.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn terms of policy, politics and operations, I don\u2019t know if there has been a single piece of good news that has come out of her camp since the primary,\u201d said Dan Schnur, a professor of political communications at USC, UC Berkeley and Pepperdine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBass\u2019 only possible path to reelection at this point is raising so much money that Raman simply can\u2019t be heard,\u201d Schnur said. <\/p>\n<p>With three months to go in the campaign, Schnur and other analysts say Bass has time to turn things around. Nonetheless, they say, the summer of bad news will force Bass to reset her campaign narrative \u2014 including shoring up her support with Eastside Latinos in the wake of the Lineage fire.<\/p>\n<p>Bass <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2026-06-12\/bass-carried-more-latino-neighborhoods-than-raman-pratt-combined-precinct-data-show.\" target=\"_blank\"><u>carried 35 Latino-majority<\/u><\/a> neighborhoods in the June 2 election, including Boyle Heights, compared to seven for Raman and just one for Pratt. Yet when she attended a community meeting in early July in the wake of the Lineage fire, she was met with boos from the largely Latino crowd.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Lineage fire has deeply eroded the Latino support she was getting from the eastern side of the city, which she needed to build towards November. That\u2019s going to be a real challenge for her now,\u201d said Sara Sadhwani, a professor of politics at Pomona College.<\/p>\n<p>Bass was in Chicago at the dedication of the Barack Obama Presidential Center when the fire broke out and <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2026-06-24\/after-palisades-boyle-heights-fire-may-cost-mayor-bass-politically\"><u>returned to Los Angeles the next evening<\/u><\/a> as the fire continued to burn, casting a black plume of smoke over the neighborhood and<a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2026-07-30\/boyle-heights-schools-reopening-lineage-fire\"> <u>leaving a stench for weeks<\/u><\/a> as food rotted in the burnt building.<\/p>\n<p>The episode was a stark reminder that Bass was abroad on a diplomatic trip in Ghana at the start of the deadly Palisades fire in Los Angeles in January 2025. High winds and elevated fire risk were forecast as she departed for Africa.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt reinforces the narrative of the Palisades, her being out of town,\u201d said Fernando Guerra, a professor of political science and Chicana\/o Latina\/o studies at Loyola Marymount University.<\/p>\n<p>At a news conference Friday, Bass ordered city agencies to delay the processing of rebuilding permits for the Lineage burned-out cold-storage warehouse in Boyle Heights until regulators have found ways to subject the project to strict environmental review.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey shouldn\u2019t even think about rebuilding until they\u2019ve cleaned up the mess they\u2019ve created,\u201d Bass told reporters.<\/p>\n<p>The harsh line Bass is taking against Lineage, however, comes after disclosures that one of her former top advisors, Yusef Robb, had <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2026-07-11\/informal-bass-advisor-now-working-for-lineage-whose-cold-storage-warehouse-caught-fire\"><u>taken on a role doing crisis communications for highly scrutinized company<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Robb spent the first half of the year working for Bass as an unpaid spokesperson, delivering statements for the mayor on some of the most controversial issues she faced, including allegations that she watered down an after-action report on the Palisades fire.<\/p>\n<p>After the mayoral primary, Robb transitioned to a role as an unpaid, unofficial advisor to the mayor, her office said. He took on a role with Lineage on June 19.<\/p>\n<p>The roles overlapped, but Robb and the mayor\u2019s office insisted there was a firewall between Robb and the mayor regarding the Lineage fire. Robb has since said he would no longer advise the mayor.<\/p>\n<p>Bass also took heat for comments she made that the air surrounding the burned-out warehouse wasn\u2019t dangerous to breathe, despite some residents<a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2026-07-27\/public-health-survey-documents-stench-in-boyle-heights\"> <u>reporting feeling sick<\/u><\/a> from the smoke.<\/p>\n<p>Bass spokesperson Ilanna Morales said the mayor was simply stating what public health officials had determined, which was that conditions didn\u2019t warrant a mandatory evacuation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAny assertion that the Mayor does not think smoke is dangerous is distorting her remarks and taking them out of context,\u201d said Morales.<\/p>\n<p>Morales also noted that the mayor\u2019s response to the fire included opening mobile health clinics throughout Boyle Heights, providing respiratory health screenings and oxygen level checks.<\/p>\n<p>Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who has endorsed the mayor, said that Bass has done a good job related to the Lineage fire, but that critics are piling on to a politician in a susceptible position.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe live in a day and age where you see someone vulnerable, and everyone attacks and pounces,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cEveryone is angry, and they want to blame someone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The mayor\u2019s team is also pushing back on assertions that it\u2019s been a summer of unrelenting bad news, touting among other things the recent World Cup soccer matches at Inglewood\u2019s SoFi Stadium as a major success that boosted L.A. businesses, hotels and Metro ridership.<\/p>\n<p>Bass supporters pointed to her second appointment as chair of L.A. Metro along with her announcement that she wants to<a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/la.streetsblog.org\/2026\/07\/23\/mayor-karen-bass-outlines-her-metro-agenda-including-fare-free-transit-bus-lanes\" target=\"_blank\"> <u>make buses and trains free<\/u><\/a>, as well as her administration\u2019s role in helping broker new ownership for the downtown \u201c<a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/business\/story\/2026-07-23\/graffiti-removal-begins-at-blighted-oceanwide-plaza\"><u>G<\/u><u>raffiti <\/u><u>T<\/u><u>owers<\/u><\/a>\u201d that would begin immediate abatement of the tagging on the buildings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe last few weeks have been challenging; no mayor is perfect,\u201d said Nella McOsker, who runs the downtown business group Central City Assn. and has endorsed the mayor. \u201cI think that Bass has a relentless desire to respond, engage and correct in the midst of these crises.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"rise-in-homelessness\" class=\"subhead\">Rise in homelessness<\/h3>\n<p>One of those crises is the city\u2019s chronic problem with the homeless population. Throughout her reelection campaign, Bass has repeatedly touted<a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2025-07-14\/2025-homeless-count-numbers\"> <u>two straight years of decreases<\/u><\/a> in homelessness from 2024 to 2025 as one of her main arguments for why she should be given another four years by Angelenos.<\/p>\n<p>But 2026 ended that positive run. The city\u2019s unsheltered homeless population went up 7.9% this year, according to a report by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.<\/p>\n<p>Bass cited cuts at the state and federal level as partially responsible for the increase, saying that Trump administration actions have led to higher gas, groceries and rent prices, which has driven some Angelenos to the edge of homelessness.<\/p>\n<p>Bass continued to site a \u201chistoric decline\u201d in homelessness since she took office \u2014 an 11% drop overall since 2023.<\/p>\n<p>But the uptick citywide this year contrasted sharply with Raman\u2019s district, where homelessness actually<a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2026-07-24\/street-homelessness-went-up-in-los-angeles-in-nithya-ramans-district-it-was-nearly-cut-in-half\"> <u>decreased by 49%<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The discrepancy gave Raman an outlet to attack the mayor while touting her own record on homelessness in her district.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a moral outrage and it is a failure. The approach to homelessness that Mayor Bass has led and defended brought us here,\u201d Raman said at a press conference the day the numbers were released.<\/p>\n<p>The mayor has argued that her own program, Inside Safe, was at least partially responsible for the drop in Raman\u2019s district and also argued that Raman\u2019s role as chair of the Housing and Homelessness Committee on the Council makes her responsible for citywide homelessness numbers as well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe homeless count is as much an indictment of Nithya Raman as it is of Karen Bass. If you\u2019re going to blame one you have to blame them both,\u201d said Rodriguez, who sits on the Housing and Homelessness Committee in Council.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"a-new-campaign-team\" class=\"subhead\">A new campaign team<\/h3>\n<p>Bass is gearing up for the fall campaign with a new campaign team, led by Julie Ch\u00e1vez Rodr\u00edguez.<\/p>\n<p>Ch\u00e1vez Rodr\u00edguez, a granddaughter of <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2026-03-17\/la-me-cesar-chavez-allegations\"><u>disgraced labor leader Cesar Chavez<\/u><\/a>, was campaign manager for President Biden\u2019s aborted 2024 re-election campaign, and then took the same role for Vice President Kamala Harris after Biden dropped out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe\u2019s getting Graffiti Towers cleaned up, announced a fare-free Metro, hosted a successful World Cup, and more,\u201d said Ch\u00e1vez Rodr\u00edguez. \u201cThose are big wins that Angelenos see and feel, it\u2019s not campaign rhetoric. The Mayor\u2019s getting things done across the City and that\u2019s how you win.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ch\u00e1vez Rodr\u00edguez came on after the mayor\u2019s previous top campaign strategist, Douglas Herman, <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2026-06-24\/top-strategist-for-mayor-karen-bass-has-left-her-campaign\"><u>left the campaign<\/u><\/a> a week after the Boyle Heights fire began, citing \u201cstrategic differences\u201d for his departure.<\/p>\n<p>Along with Herman, media consultant Larry Grisolano and research director Mike Rice also left.<\/p>\n<p>Bass\u2019 director of communications at City Hall, Kolby Lee, also<a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2026-07-14\/mayor-bass-loses-another-spokesperson-amid-heavy-turnover\"> <u>resigned<\/u><\/a> this summer, the latest in a string of Bass\u2019 communications staff to leave her office over the past nine months. <\/p>\n<p>Bass did significantly outraise Raman in the first campaign finance cycle of the general election, which her campaign said showed the mayor\u2019s momentum and support in the city. Bass raised more than $510,000 in June, while Raman took in just over $170,000.<\/p>\n<p>Political consultant Mike Trujillo, who is supporting Bass, said the kinds of turbulence Bass has faced this year is par for the course for a big-city mayor. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cStuff happens; things are always moving,\u201d Trujillo said. \u201cBad things are always happening, and good things are always happening.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was riding relatively high two months ago, weathering pitched challenges from Spencer Pratt on the right and Nithya Raman on the left to emerge as the top vote-getter in the city\u2019s June 2 mayoral primary. \u201cTomorrow begins the second half of this journey,\u201d an ebullient Bass told supporters at the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25455,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/ca-times.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/806a6e2\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/5000x2625+0+355\/resize\/1200x630!\/quality\/75\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F18%2Ff0%2Fa49592d34a359ab58fbdbb7653c7%2F1562148-me-boyle-heights-residents-recovery-16.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25454"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25454\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}