Los Angeles elects U.S. Rep. Karen Bass mayor; first Black woman in post
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles will elect Karen Bass, a city councilwoman by appointment, as city mayor May 17. The first Black woman and the second African American woman after former mayor Tom Bradley, the 61-year-old lawmaker is the first elected mayor of Los Angeles after the city adopted the requirement that mayoral candidates must be at least 35 years old. The council and city charter also ensure that no mayor will serve more than two terms.
Bass, a Democrat from District 9 in South Los Angeles, will succeed outgoing Mayor Tom Bradley (D) after six years in office. During the 2010 mayoral race, Bass received 2,851 votes (52.3 percent), making her the city’s first choice.
“It is time to take Los Angeles to the next level,” Bass said in a statement Wednesday. “The people of Los Angeles want progress. I will strive to make sure that happens. I look forward to leading this city with both passion and professionalism, while also focusing on the issues that are most important to the city. It’s time to move Los Angeles forward. My goal is to provide a better life for everyone.”
Bass, who attended the University of Miami in Miami, Florida, and has a degree in mass communications from California State University, Long Beach, was elected to the City Council in the November 2001 election. In 2003, she was elected to the Los Angeles Board of Education, and in 2004 she became the first African American woman to represent District 9 when she was elected into the city council.
Bass was re-elected in 2006 and 2007. She is in her second term on the Los Angeles Board of Education, having served from 2001 to 2006. She was also elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 2001.
She said in her statement Wednesday that she has no problem with the “progressive agenda” proposed by current Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, which has included the creation of more low-income housing and the expansion of public schools. Bass said that she will work with him on issues that will improve the community.
“I have been a supporter of Mayor