Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass faced pushback from critics after she highlighted what her administration has done to address affordability in the city as she seeks another four years in office. The California Democrat recently shared a clip on X from an interview on Roland Martin Unfiltered in which she was asked what a mayor can realistically do to bring down the cost of living, considering that things like food and gas prices largely fall outside a mayor’s control.
Bass responded that housing is where she believes her office can make the biggest difference.
“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.
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.
Critics Question Bass’ Record on Affordability
Bass’ comments during the interview drew scrutiny over her record in office. Many netizens responding to the clip on X questioned why the affordability solutions she discussed had not been implemented during her years as mayor.
“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, but 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 make way for more than 43,000 additional housing units.
