Rep. Karen Bass has defeated businessman Rick Caruso in the Los Angeles mayor’s race, according to an Associated Press projection Wednesday, making her the first woman and second Black Angeleno elected to lead the city in its 241-year history.
The 69-year-old congresswoman achieved victory despite Caruso spending more than $100 million of his own fortune on his mayoral bid, shattering local spending records and pumping previously unprecedented sums into field outreach and TV advertising.
“The results are in, and it is the honor of my life to be elected as your mayor,” Bass said in a Wednesday afternoon email to supporters. “It’s time to house people immediately, increase safety and opportunity in every neighborhood, and create a new standard of ethics and accountability at City Hall.”
Rep. Karen Bass, center, joins a crowd of voters at Tolliver’s Barber Shop in South Los Angeles on Oct. 14. Bass will be the second Black Angeleno elected to lead Los Angeles.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Rep. Karen Bass, right, with Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff and Vice President Kamala Harris, center, at a campaign rally at the UCLA Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference Center on Nov. 7 in Westwood.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Rep. Karen Bass and former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wave to onlookers from a double-decker bus during a campaign event on June 5 in Los Angeles.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Rep. Karen Bass, center, spends time with supporters at a news conference with the Black Leaders Against Tobacco Injustice campaign at Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles on May 20.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Karen Bass, left, meets with actor Danny Trejo during a mayoral campaign stop at Trejo’s Coffee and Donuts in Hollywood on Nov. 3.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
Karen Bass, with her grandson Henry, 8, votes at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza in Los Angeles on election day.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) rallies with Karen Bass at her campaign rally in Playa Vista on Oct. 27.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Karen Bass distributes produce at a farmers market as part of the Pico Union Project on Nov. 4 in Los Angeles.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Karen Bass speaks during an election night rally in Los Angeles
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
Rep. Karen Bass during election night at the Palladium in Hollywood.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
Rep. Karen Bass during election night at the Palladium in Hollywood.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
“It’s time to house people immediately, increase safety and opportunity in every neighborhood, and create a new standard of ethics and accountability at City Hall,” Rep. Karen Bass wrote to her supporters Wednesday.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
