On Dec. 13 Mayor Karen Bass hit the ground running by holding a rally to launch her new campaign to announce her run for re-election as the Mayor of Los Angeles.
During the rally she had a few goals such as stressing the importance of affordability, highlighting the work that she has done with decreasing homelessness and reducing crime in Los Angeles, and emphasizing her stance as a politician who will continuously tackle efforts put forth from the Trump administration, although she did not specifically name President Trump.
“Who would’ve imagined that we would have to defend ourselves from our very government?”
“They say we can’t come together. Labor can’t come together with business, and business can’t come together with community, and the faith community can’t come together. But we all come together, always,” said Bass. She also added, “And I’m proud to say that the relationships in this room aren’t relationships because of the campaign, they are relationships because we all believe in justice.”
She further shared her joy to have her supporters at the rally. “This is just overwhelming. I have to tell you my heart is so full,” said Bass. “This is so powerful and means so much to me because this has been a hell of a year.”
The event took place a few days after three years of her swearing in, signifying the third anniversary as the rally involved community leaders and voters of Bass at Los Angeles Trade Technical College.
She also spoke about navigating the historic January Palisades Fire that devastated many and also the ICE raids launched by the federal government as a way to execute mass deportation efforts and combat illegal immigration, according to City News Service.
“The city I’ve been in my whole life, the city that I love, I feel we have accomplished a lot, but we’re not done,” said Bass. “Until every Palisadian is back home, I will not rest until L.A. is affordable, until one paycheck is enough and families don’t have to double up or triple up. And I will not rest until there are no Angelenos on our streets.”
The other candidates that are campaigning 2026 L.A. Mayoral Race currently includes Karen Bass, former deputy mayor and former LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner, Los Angeles city engineer Asaad Alnajjar, and housing and community activist Rae Huang. Rick Caruso, a billionaire and businessman who lost the mayoral race to bass in 2022 has not announced a run for mayor as of yet many speculate he will instead run for governor.
The election takes place next year on Tuesday June 2nd, if no one gets a simple majority, then a run off the top two candidates will be held on Nov. 3 2026.