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This International Women’s Day boasts sweeping caucus changes and historical firsts for the City of Los Angeles with its first-ever woman mayor Karen Bass at the helm supported by a woman city attorney and six women who now serve on the city council. Those six women are: Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez (District 1), Councilwoman Nithya Raman (District 4), Councilwoman Katy Young Yaroslavsky (District 5) , Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez (District 7), Councilwoman Heather Hutt (District 10) and Councilwoman Traci Park (District 11).
This just adds to the growing number of women who set milestones beyond the City of Los Angeles. Another highlight is that five seats on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors continue to be held by women; 12 women will serve as U.S. governors this year, breaking the previous record of 9; and 149 women will serve in the United States House of Representatives and Senate, breaking the previous record of 147.
The mayor took time to address the Los Angeles City Council for a presentation during its meeting which was organized by Councilmember Park. While the day caused for much celebration, Mayor Bass stayed true to her agenda by realigning to the serious issue of homelessness during her remarks even echoing the harsh reality that many unhoused women face each night under the constant threat of sexual assault. There is comfort in having a woman as mayor who truly understands women’s issues with a unique perspective and one who can cure these concerns with compassionate care.
It was only but a few years ago that I can still remember male politicians provoking fear at the thought of more women attaining political power often citing stereotypes, but today the gathering of the city’s councilwomen and women city managers seemed normal, natural and just a good fit for the most effective way to get things done. This mayor embraces the essence of sisterhood using the moment to state,
“We are a unit, we work together, we are bonded together and we are going to bring the issues of women and children front and center into our city.”
Thus far, Mayor Bass remains committed to fixing this crisis within the city of Los Angeles and she never misses an opportunity to remind the city’s most influential legislators that sheltering the unhoused is her number one priority.
