Democratic U.S. Rep. Karen Bass has defeated billionaire developer Rick Caruso to become the first Black woman mayor of Los Angeles.
Bass, a former state Assembly leader, had the advantage of being a lifelong Democrat in a city where Republicans are almost invisible. She was backed by Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democratic establishment.
The election had historical dimensions, as she will become the first woman and second Black person to hold the job, after former Mayor Tom Bradley, who held the post from 1973 to 1993. She takes office next month as City Council faces a racism scandal that led to the resignation of its former president and calls for the resignation of two more members.
The race was shaped in large part by Caruso’s lavish spending — and his unavoidable advertising. City records show his campaign expenses have topped $100 million so far, most of it financed with his own money. Bass, with just a small fraction of that amount at her disposal, had said “it’s not the power of the money, it’s the power of the people.”
Caruso’s bid to highlight unsafe streets had shared some similarity to 1993, when LA voters turned to Republican Richard Riordan to lead the city in the aftermath of the deadly 1992 riots that erupted after four white police officers were acquitted of assault in the beating of Black motorist Rodney King. It also has parallels to New York City in the early 1990s, when the perception that crime was out of control helped usher in Republican Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
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