Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass spent part of her reelection campaign touting her administration’s efforts to make the city more affordable, only to find herself headed for a November runoff after failing to secure a majority of the primary vote. The California Democrat finished first in the June primary with 34.3% of the vote, while City Councilmember Nithya Raman advanced with 29%.
The two will now face each other on November 3, putting affordability, housing and Bass’ record during her first term squarely back before Los Angeles voters. The result adds new significance to an interview Bass shared earlier in the campaign, when she faced criticism after explaining what her administration had done to address Los Angeles’ high cost of living.
During the interview, Bass was asked what a mayor can realistically do to bring down the cost of living when expenses such as food and gas largely fall outside City Hall’s control. Bass responded that she believes her office can make the biggest difference on housing.
“The number one thing that we can do is to address the cost of housing,” the mayor stated. She added that her administration has worked to “fast-track tens of thousands of housing units” and is repurposing empty office spaces into liveable homes. Bass’ claim isn’t based solely on future proposals. Her administration now says nearly 47,000 affordable housing units are in the pipeline citywide. In August, Bass also celebrated the completion of an 80-unit affordable housing development in Koreatown, the first project in the neighborhood completed under her Executive Directive 1.
The mayor also spoke about protecting renters. She pointed to the Mayor’s Fund as one way her administration is trying to keep tenants from being evicted, along with measures to limit rent increases.
‘Why Are You Talking Like a New Candidate?’: Critics Challenge Bass’ Affordability Pitch
Bass’ comments during the interview drew scrutiny over her record in office. Many netizens responding to the clip on X questioned why Los Angeles remained so expensive after Bass had already spent years in office.
“Karen has been in charge for years, why is she promising to ‘make LA more affordable’ during re-election? What’s she waiting for?” one person asked. Another commented, “Where was all this 4 years ago? Where is it today?” A third wrote, “Why are you talking like a new candidate for Mayor? You’ve had plenty of time to provide and implement solutions.”
Others were even less charitable about Bass’ intentions. “Funny how you’re only doing these performative things right before an election. People know this [expletive] isn’t genuine,” one netizen claimed. Another told the mayor, “You haven’t done anything to help anybody except yourself.” Someone else questioned, “Why do you lie to the voters so much?” A fourth added, “Addressing government promises but never delivering.”
Bass, however, has taken steps on housing during her current term. According to ABC, earlier this year, she expanded Los Angeles’ Adaptive Reuse Ordinance citywide. The decades-old ordinance previously applied only to buildings downtown and in surrounding areas. Still, the expansion opened the program to qualifying buildings throughout the city and created a faster approval process for converting them into housing. City officials estimated the change could enable more than 43,000 additional housing units.
Housing has since become a major dividing line in Bass’ runoff against City Councilmember Nithya Raman. During their first runoff debate on August 19, Bass again pointed to her administration’s efforts to fast-track tens of thousands of housing units. Raman countered that Los Angeles still faces an extreme housing shortage that is pushing working families out of the city.
The disagreement also extends to how aggressively Los Angeles should pursue additional housing development. Bass has defended the city’s housing efforts while opposing some state efforts to mandate denser development. At the same time, Raman has argued that the city needs to move faster to increase its housing supply.
Bass can now point to nearly 47,000 affordable housing units in the pipeline and completed projects beginning to emerge from her expedited approval efforts. Raman, meanwhile, argues that Los Angeles still isn’t building quickly enough to keep working families from being priced out. After Bass received just over a third of the primary vote, that argument is no longer confined to critics in her X replies. Los Angeles voters will get another chance to judge her affordability record when they choose between Bass and Raman on November 3.
