Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who took office Sunday afternoon, announced that her first action in office Monday morning will be to declare a state of emergency for homelessness.
The newly appointed mayor said there are more than 40,000 homeless people in the city of angels, and the statement will acknowledge homelessness as a crisis.
Los Angeles mayoral candidate Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., speaks at an election night party in Los Angeles on November 8.
(AP/Jae C. Hong)
“Los Angeles has called me to serve at a critical point in our history,” Bass said, explaining that the country has just gone through a pandemic, inflation and the cost of living are rising, and 40,000 people are sleeping on the streets. “No matter what, we never give up. We’ve never given up and that’s our Los Angeles magic.”
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According to Bass, too many Angelenos have no choice but to group multiple families into their homes.
Many people have a hard time paying their bills and covering car repairs. Often, the mayor said, many people are pushed into a crisis that can include addiction and then lose their homes.
Los Angeles Mayoral Candidate Rep. Karen Bass meets with several prominent supporters at Angel’s Point in Elysian Park on May 27, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
((Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
For the past three weeks, Bass has been working on the transition to office with Mayor Eric Garcetti.
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Part of that transition has included calling on city council members, the city attorney, the comptroller and others to come together and act urgently to solve the problem of homelessness.
“We’ve already started,” Bass said, issuing the request that everyone join her as she takes on this task. “You guys chose me to lead and I will lead.”
Los Angeles, CA – March 17: Tents and belongings at a homeless encampment at Toriumi Plaza at 1st St and Judge John Aiso St in Los Angeles on Thursday March 17, 2022. The encampment has been fenced off and will be He has asked the people who live there to leave. The plaza is closed for maintenance and repairs according to officials. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority is providing shelter and services to people displaced by the shutdown.
(Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)
Bass was sworn in as the 43rd mayor of Los Angeles, also becoming the first woman and second black person to serve in that position.
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Vice President Kamala Harris, who did not deliver a speech during the ceremony, swore Bass in office.
Instead of taking place on the steps of City Hall, the ceremony took place in the Microsoft Theater and was attended by nearly all city officials, Governor Gavin Newsom, and several of Bass’s constituents of Congress. Projected on the screen behind everyone were the steps of City Hall.
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Also in attendance were musicians including contemporary gospel duo Mary Mary and Stevie Wonder, who sang “Living for the City,” and national youth poet laureate Amanda Gorman, who read a poem.
