In the heart of South Los Angeles, community members, press, content creators, and 19 candidates gathered on Oct. 3 for KBLA Talk’s California Voices: Town Hall and Ballot Forum at Seed LA. Moderated by Tavis Smiley, journalists such as Dr. Nii-Quarterlei Quartey questioned candidates on local infrastructure, housing, education, public safety, and criminal justice reform. Dr. Mark Ridley-Thomas opened the day by stressing what is at stake:
“Every single time we cast our votes, we honor those who’ve spent their lives to give us this opportunity. We should not take that for granted by any stretch of the imagination. So, what’s at stake here? Major issues on the ballot, which you will hear,” said Dr. Ridley-Thomas. “We are not here to tell you how to vote; we are here to tell you what’s important in the context of your voting historically and right now, and may I say it like I feel it? Tomorrow, if you don’t vote on Tuesday, November 3rd, you don’t have the right to complain on Wednesday, November 4th.”
Nineteen candidates participated, including prominent figures like Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, Councilwoman Nithya Raman, Steve Hilton, and Xavier Becerra. Backstage, a separate media room hosted interviews with Our Weekly and content creators.
Mayor Karen Bass defended her track record during an interview with Our Weekly:
“I’ve devoted my life to fighting for our community and our South L.A. neighborhoods—and I have the record to show it. It’s one thing to talk about what you’ll do; it’s another to be judged by what you’ve done,” said Mayor Bass.
She added, “I have the track record. I have the receipts. My opponent has been in City Hall twice as long as I have, so people should ask what she has actually done. We have 10,000 affordable housing units ready for occupancy right now, and we’ve created jobs for Angelenos—including African Americans and people who have struggled with the justice system. We’ve accomplished a lot.”
On stage with Smiley, addressing recent polling favoring Raman, Bass said:
“That result meant that people are p*ssed off. People are ps*sed off right now all around the country for a lot of good reasons. One of the main reasons why people are mad is because the city is not affordable anymore,” she said. “The city needs to be affordable. The number one way I can impact affordability is by building affordable housing. Tavis, we have built more affordable housing in the past four years than has been built in many years previously. My opponent, who leads in talking about affordable housing, if you look by council district, who has built the most affordable housing and the least, she’s number 14 out of 15.”
“And I have been concerned about some of the rules around affordable housing [are] going to displace our communities. That is another area where we are different. I believe in building housing; I do not believe in displacing our folks who fought too long to be in the neighborhoods we are in,” said Karen Bass.
Bass also acknowledged her previous public apology to Angelenos for her initial response to the wildfires and for not being in Los Angeles at the time, saying she felt “awful.”
In her opening remarks before answering questions from the audience, she said she is committed to continuing the work and results she has delivered during her current term, including on homelessness and affordable housing, while keeping her constituents’ needs at the forefront of her work. She also emphasized that her Inside Safe Program is worth the money spent and reiterated that she is not responsible for the Eaton Fire, as it was not in her jurisdiction, but that she hired a new chief of staff to help implement most of the safety recommendations for future local emergencies.
.When asked by an audience member what she is most proud of during her first term and also where she feels she has failed and can improve if she were given a second chance as mayor, she said the following –
“What I am most proud of, hands down, is saving lives. That is what I am most proud of. Getting Black people off the street, going on the street…Tavis, I do go on the street when I can and talk to our people and walk with them on that journey of getting off of the street. And every time I do that, it fills me. I don’t care what is coming my way; I can handle it if I am saving the lives of our people.
In an interview in the media room with Our Weekly, Bass’s mayoral opponent, Councilwoman Nithya Raman, said the following about homelessness.
“We need to take charge of our homelessness dollars. I established the Bureau of Homelessness Oversight within the city to monitor, to track every dollar, to monitor performance, and to make sure that the city could actually administer its own contracts in the near future,” she said. “I want to continue that work … and make sure the city has the capacity to manage its beds, to track every dollar, and to really hold the system accountable. There are empty beds while people are on the street. That’s unacceptable to me,” said Councilwoman Raman.
Challenger Councilwoman Nithya Raman addressed homelessness and tackled questions on stage. Facing heckling from audience members regarding why she chose to run against Bass after initially endorsing her, Raman stated:
“I changed my mind. You are right that I changed my mind. I initially supported Mayor Bass in her first election and during her first couple of years in office because I wanted a mayor who was running towards the problems this city has, including homelessness, which many mayors have run away from. I saw that she was running towards that. But I also began to see a pattern like the one I talked about in my speech (today), around the police contract, around decision-making at City Hall… where politically convenient decisions were put above decisions that mattered for Angelenos; I saw that,” said Raman.
“And my decision to run was not the first time I raised those concerns. I did that work behind the scenes. I sent memos. I proposed plans. I pushed for changes. I worked with her office for a very long time, but all too often those efforts went unanswered. The programs stayed the same, the decisions stayed the same and I believe very strongly that the people of Los Angeles are worse off for it. Running was not an easy decision, and it wasn’t a personal vendetta. But my loyalty is ultimately to my constituents and the people of this city.”
In the media room, Raman shared photo moments with Dr. Cornel West and Tavis Smiley, and was also embraced by Black and Brown construction workers who support her.
Steve Hilton took the stage to address voter questions regarding his platform and a Trump policy endorsement:
“I’ve said many times that I understand that there are millions of democrats and independents who can’t stand the president but want change in California. I’ve said many times, ‘Yeah, you can be anti-Trump and still vote for me specifically. There are many areas where I – part company– not least the 2020 election, where I’ve said many times that I’d never challenge the result of that election.”
He went on to say that he challenged policies that the Trump administration implemented to suspend and cancel research grant funding for the University of California (UC) system, suggestions of taking border patrol out of California airports, on landlines and taking stakes in AI companies. “As the administration puts things forth in this campaign, I have spoken out strongly on things where I disagree, because one of the responsibilities of the governor will be to stand up for California. And that will be true whether it’s a Democrat in the White House or a Republican. I want a constructive relationship with whoever is in the White House but also one that puts California first.”
With Our Weekly, Hilton said the following about what Californians need regarding housing costs in California and his strategy to help Californians.
“We pay the highest taxes in the country for the worst results. We have the highest taxes, but we have the worst roads. We have the worst school results. You know, we’re paying more and getting less, and so something is not working about our government,” said Hilton. “We’ve got to cut these budgets back, and we’ve got to get more efficient in our government.”
He further added, “I want to make sure that people don’t have to leave California in order to have the dream of a home you can afford to buy and a life that gives you everything that you want.”
Also, in his opening remarks before answering audience questions, Hilton reflected on growing up with working-class Hungarian parents in the United Kingdom, being an immigrant, going to college, and becoming a successful businessman. Hilton also jabbed at comments from Bass, saying she pointed out that he has a “British accent,” and he also said he believes a midterm election is needed, directly challenging his claim of an alleged comment Bass made during her campaign.
Meanwhile, Xavier Becerra did not show up due to out-of-town scheduling conflicts. KBLA Talk 1580 and Becerra attempted a Zoom connection, but technical difficulties prevented it from connecting properly, leaving frustrated audience members and press without his remarks.
Other notable appearances include Dr. Cornel West, who gave a moving presentation before Mayor Karen Bass joined the stage and journalist Dominique DiPrima’s rundown of the various propositions on the upcoming general election ballot.
To watch the full seven-hour livestream and see what the other candidates said, please visit KBLA Talk 1580’s YouTube channel. To register to vote or check your voter registration status, visit www.lavote.gov.
