KAREN RUTH BASS

Why Thrive LA endorses KAREN

Karen Bass is the 43rd Mayor of Los Angeles, the first woman and second African American to hold the office. Before entering politics, she worked as a physician assistant and founded Community Coalition in South LA. She served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011 to 2022 and made history as Speaker of the California State Assembly, the first Black woman to lead a state legislative body in U.S. history. This is a practical endorsement, not an ideological one. Bass has real deficiencies on housing production and fiscal discipline. She opposed SB 79, which would have unlocked dense housing near transit. She reversed fast-tracking for affordable housing in single-family neighborhoods, putting an estimated 1,443 potential units in limbo. She supported Measure A, a sales tax increase that burdens every household in the city. These are serious failures. But the alternative is dramatically worse. Her opponent, Nithya Raman, is a DSA-endorsed activist who has voted against banning encampments near schools, opposed enforcement-based approaches to homelessness, and has aligned herself with the most anti-housing-provider factions on the City Council. A Raman mayoralty would mean an ideological agenda imposed citywide: more restrictions on housing providers, more hostility toward the businesses that create jobs, and a retreat from the public safety gains Los Angeles has made. Raman's council record includes votes that undermine LAPD operations and embolden the encampment crisis. Replacing Bass with Raman would not fix what Bass has gotten wrong. It would make every problem worse. On public safety, Bass has delivered measurable results. Homicides and violent crime have declined during her tenure. LAPD applicant numbers have reached record highs. She declared a state of emergency on homelessness as her first act in office and reports that over 21,000 homeless individuals were moved indoors in her first year. She has supported enforcement tools including no-camping zones, a direct contrast with Raman's opposition to those same tools. Bass carries the endorsement of the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL), LA County Sheriff Robert Luna, and every LA County Supervisor. She also signed an executive order in April 2026 aimed at streamlining residential construction through reforms like self-certification, a step in the right direction even if it does not go far enough. Karen Bass is the better choice for a city that cannot afford to hand its top office to ideological experimentation.