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Mayor Karen Bass delivered her first “State of the City” Speech where she spoke on her work over the past 127 days and shared her vision for a New Los Angeles that is stronger, healthier, happier and safe.
Mayor Bass honestly declared she cannot report the city is where it needs to be. “After years of frustration, we can see a clearer path to a New Los Angeles,” she noted by focusing more on the state of local neighborhoods and households. She also posed a more personal point of reflection by asking, “Do you look over your shoulder when walking after dark? Do you feel pride in your local park? Do you have peace of mind because you can pay the rent? When the answer is yes, then we can say the State of our City is strong. That’s the New L.A. that we’re building together.”
She went on to highlight key accomplishments in her first 127 days in office which began by urgently addressing homelessness through issuing a local State of Emergency then taking immediate action to tending to the city’s most devastating encampments. She continues to keep the attention on curing the housing crisis that still plagues Los Angeles:
My Executive Directive Number 1 accelerates and lowers the cost of building affordable and temporary housing in Los Angeles. That Directive is now in effect – and it covers 360 projects and 8,000 units of desperately needed housing. Soon after taking office, we identified 1,000 units of housing with funding gaps that might not have been built! Now, our Fast Track Solutions Program is filling those gaps – to make sure those units get built – and get built faster and cheaper. Locking arms, we are breaking new ground on how we partner with the state and federal government. Governor Newsom has announced that he is delivering 500 units of temporary housing to Los Angeles. And he is also partnering with us to develop Care Courts and a statewide ballot initiative to create thousands of mental health treatment beds. The Biden Administration has so far sent the City and County more than 200 million dollars to house people. And we have also been closely working with the Administration to make sure that L.A. is one of the target cities for their Strategic Plan to prevent and end Homelessness. I told the Administration, if you want to meet your homelessness goals for the nation, you can do so – right here – in Los Angeles. She was able to bring more than 1,000 Angelenos inside through the new Inside Safe program created by Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kellum, the new CEO of LAHSA.
She also touched on directly helping SEIU 99 and LAUSD come to an agreement to reopen schools after a three-day strike along with other key issues that concern everyday living in Los Angeles such as launching a proactive approach to repair potholes and ensuring that damages from the effects of climate change will address both the long-term drought but also flooding and mudslides after dozens of atmospheric rivers poured onto the region.
She was adamant about her approach to creating a “New LA” by emphasizing, “To build a stronger, healthier, happier and safer New L.A., we must make life easier for every Angeleno – starting with our most vulnerable.” These goals are becoming more of a reality as she is set to reveal the city’s budget.
In the coming days, more is to be expected on how her proposed budget will prevent homelessness as more households and families are still suffering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and renter protections are no longer in place. Just shy of addressing local small businesses by instead discussing restaurants that were able to find creative solutions while the economy shut down to deal with the health emergency, outside dining permits were granted through a program known as Al Fresco. Still, much can be left up to the imagination on how her administration will directly connect local small businesses that work as service providers to be granted opportunities to work with the city through vendor and supplier diversity initiatives, yet she hints at understanding how to connect these gaps wherever work may be available:
Under my Administration, Los Angeles is open for business. To the business community – I want you to know we are committed to creating, recruiting, and growing L.A.’s businesses. A new, more affordable L.A. – one that provides peace of mind – is dependent on the jobs that businesses create. As Mayor, I know that LA doesn’t just feel the impact of our entertainment industry when we watch a comedy. Here in LA, the greatest impact isn’t emotional, it’s economic. And that’s why I am steadfast in my support for Hollywood and for an expanded and improved tax credit. I know the studios and the unions are actively negotiating – and I encourage both sides to come to an agreement that recognizes that our city relies on the industry as a bedrock of our middle class. And we need more middle class jobs here in L.A. I am also laser focused on settling the labor dispute at our Port so that ships don’t divert to other cities and take good, union jobs with them. And I know Councilmember McOsker is with me on this, too. The Port of Los Angeles has been the number one port in the Western Hemisphere for 23 straight years. And with the Port generating 1 in 15 jobs in Los Angeles, I am going to make sure we keep it that way.
During her honeymoon phase upon being newly elected, Mayor Bass made her rounds through the hype of Tinseltown’s social circles during the awards show season. She reassuringly recognized Hollywood’s impact on the city:
As Mayor, I know that LA doesn’t just feel the impact of our entertainment industry when we watch a comedy. Here in LA, the greatest impact isn’t emotional, it’s economic. And that’s why I am steadfast in my support for Hollywood and for an expanded and improved tax credit. I know the studios and the unions are actively negotiating – and I encourage both sides to come to an agreement that recognizes that our city relies on the industry as a bedrock of our middle class. And we need more middle class jobs here in L.A.
According to Cynopsis, members of the WGA voted to authorize a strike if the guild can’t reach a deal for a new film and TV contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers by May 1. The vote was 97.85% in favor of a walk-out. “Our membership has spoken,” said the WGA Negotiating Committee after the landslide. “You have expressed your collective strength, solidarity, and the demand for meaningful change in overwhelming numbers. Armed with this demonstration of unity and resolve, we will continue to work at the negotiating table to achieve a fair contract for all writers.”
Despite all the challenges that are still looming throughout the city, Mayor Bass understands the appeal that Hollywood continues to attracts new talent and laborers but it has yet to be pointed out how the industry also neglects its responsibility to care for these new residents.
“The biggest stars, the leading businesspeople, and the world’s best and brightest all want to come to L.A,” she concluded. “People from all over the world seeking a better life come to L.A. And make no mistake, people from all over the country come to L.A. in search of the American dream, too. I want all of them to experience a New L.A. But more importantly, I want Angelenos to experience a New L.A. One that is affordable. This is the New Los Angeles we will build together. This is the New L.A.”
