00:00LA's first female mayor, Karen Bass, is in the toughest fight of her political life
00:05as she tries to convince Los Angeles that she deserves a second term.
00:10That's after a dramatic fall from the almost heroic public image she built
00:14during her meteoric political rise.
00:17In just 16 years, Bass went from an LA activist to shortlist for Joe Biden's vice president.
00:25Angelenos elected her mayor in 2022, knowing her as a glass ceiling shattering leader,
00:30a compassionate activist fighting for South LA youth, and a mother who fought on despite tragic loss.
00:37Bass has a particular set of skills and it involves bringing people together in coalitions.
00:44This is something she did with great skill in Sacramento and also in Washington, D.C.
00:50She was part of the passage of the First Step Act, for example, which was a federal prison reform bill
00:55that was championed by the Trump White House. She also developed a lot of relationships across party
01:01lines. If you talk to Republicans in Washington, many of them have fond memories of her even if
01:05they disagreed with her. But Bass lacks management skill and that became quite clear in the Palisades
01:12fire. Turns out coalition building is not enough to solve LA's worst crises. Today, nearly two-thirds
01:19of likely LA voters view Karen Bass negatively. We're hearing a lot from just everybody that
01:25Karen Bass has got to go. I haven't heard any good things about Bass this year. Bass, to me,
01:30hasn't done anything for her whole term. And she did not get my vote. Bass is asking voters
01:36for four more years to build on progress so far tackling homelessness, crime, and the housing crisis,
01:42arguing that Los Angeles is moving in the right direction despite widespread frustration with her leadership.
01:47We'll see you in the next step.
