Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass shrugged off questions about her pledge to end street homelessness in the city — blaming “bureaucratic barriers” for her failure to follow through on promises she made when first elected.
During an interview with CNN, Elex Michaelson asked why voters should trust Bass after she said in 2023 that her goal was to eliminate street homelessness by the end of her first term.
“I didn’t anticipate some of the bureaucratic barriers that I would experience, but I am prepared to take those on now,” Bass responded. “When I said that, it was at the beginning of my term. I am very committed to achieving that goal.”
Michaelson, who had been referring to interview she gave to CNN’s Jake Tapper, continued to press Bass on her pledge.
“You promised that it would go away 100%, and it’s only gone down about 17.6%. “Why should people trust you that you’re gonna be able to get to the 100%?” Michaelson said.
“Because, let me just tell you, for the first time we’ve had a decrease at all,” Bass said.
Critics ripped the mayor for her response to the grilling.
“Was foolish to say you would end it — that should have been obvious. Now, you say you can handle it and end it? You had your chance — time to move on!” one wrote on X.
“She didn’t anticipate the bureaucracy simply means she failed,” another added.
“Her entire campaign seems to be ‘I’ve learned from my mistakes, give me another chance,’” a third chimes in.
While Bass is currently leading in the polls — with the most recent results showing 30% support among likely voters — she faces strong competition and heavy criticism from former reality star Spencer Pratt, who vowed to seek accountability for what he called the inadequate response of “corrupt” city officials.
Pratt entered the race after his own home burned down in the Palisades Fire, another issue Bass has faced scathing criticism over.
