Mayor Karen Bass Is Not Done Standing Up for LA

Summary

Podcast Summary: Bleep! with Ana Navarro

Episode: Mayor Karen Bass Is Not Done Standing Up for LA
Date: May 27, 2026
Host: Ana Navarro
Guest: Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles

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Main Theme

This episode features a candid, wide-ranging interview with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass as she runs for re-election. Ana Navarro digs deep into Mayor Bass’s life, career, philosophy of leadership, and pressing issues facing LA—homelessness, crime, immigration raids, and the challenges of governing through turbulent times. The conversation focuses on resilience, coalition-building, and adaptive leadership amid adversity, especially in protecting LA's diverse communities.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Who Is Karen Bass?

(03:19–06:56)

• Bass’s Background: Born and raised in LA, originally a nurse and teacher, became active in public service addressing medical and community crises.
• Motivation for Public Service: Inspired by local trauma during the rise of gangs and the crack epidemic, Bass viewed addiction as a health issue and gang activity as social/economic, leading her to found an organization (the Community Coalition, now 36 years old) focused on prevention, youth engagement, and civic leadership.
• Quote:

  "I saw crack as a health issue... and I saw the gang involvement as a social and an economic issue. So I started an organization to divert kids from ever getting involved and also to promote drug treatment." (Karen Bass, 04:54)

2. Multicultural Identity and Activism

(06:56–08:29)

• Personal Life: Married to a Mexican American activist; her life “has always been multicultural, even before we called it that.”
• Solidarity Across Communities: Deep-rooted advocacy for immigrant rights, active since the 1980s.
• Memorable Moment:

  "My daughter called herself a black-sican." (Karen Bass, 07:22)

3. Challenging Times: Immigration Raids and Community Response

(10:42–15:14)

• 2015 Immigration Raids: Bass recounts the trauma of ICE raids described as a “city invasion and people were kidnapped… your own government went hunting Latinos.”
• Community Solidarity: LA’s diverse population unified in resistance—standing arm-in-arm during raids, echoing civil rights movement lessons in peaceful protest.
• Quote:

  "There was not a crack anywhere ... people banded together to protect their neighbors." (Karen Bass, 12:54)

• Nonviolent Resistance: Emphasizes necessity of massive, peaceful protest, legal action, and city policy initiatives to resist federal overreach.

4. Building Political Coalitions & Communicating with Latino Voters

(08:34–10:42)

• Election Realities: Ana Naviarro cites high numbers of undecided Latino voters, but Bass asserts her campaign is strong with Latinos thanks to deep roots and active engagement with Spanish-language media and ads.
• Historical Context: Foundation of African American-Latino coalition-building, especially in moments of federal attack.

5. World Cup & Economic Revitalization Amid Uncertainty

(19:30–22:48)

• DHS Relationship: Bass describes her history working with current DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, discussing her outreach regarding World Cup security and the trauma of past immigration raids.
• Reviving Local Economies: Plans for 100+ World Cup community celebrations in Central American neighborhoods to rejuvenate businesses devastated since ICE raids.

  "This is going to be a massive infusion of money into these businesses." (Karen Bass, 21:11)

• Tourism Caution: World Cup tourism is not as robust as expected; some businesses remain wary.

6. Retaining LA’s Creative Economy

(22:48–25:45)

• Hollywood and Production Flight: Tax credits have helped bring back productions; Bass acts through executive orders to lower costs for filming (e.g., cutting location costs by 70%, fast-tracking permits, establishing a “concierge service”).
• Deep Industry Knowledge: Bass leverages her legislative background for policy development in entertainment.

  "I believe in having them at the table to do the policies together." (Karen Bass, 25:30)

7. The Reality of Crime, Homelessness, and Civic Morale

(25:45–30:37)

• Public Fears: Navarro reports Angelenos’ anxiety about crime and homelessness; Bass emphasizes validating those feelings over reciting statistics.
• Decline in Crime: Gang-related homicides at a 60-year low; issues like high-profile organized burglaries often involve international actors.
• Homelessness Focus:
  • Bass declared a state of emergency on homelessness and structured efforts to move people from street to housing.
  • Metrics: "60% of them are staying off the street. 40%... we're not sure where they're going." (Karen Bass, 29:27)
  • LA has seen a decline in street homelessness two years running for the first time in decades.

8. Lessons from the LA Fires & Leadership Under Criticism

(35:15–39:10)

• Controversy: National criticism when Bass was abroad during 2025’s devastating LA fires.
• Accountability and Action: She changed fire department leadership, overhauled protocols (more aggressive pre-deployment, focus on prevention, implemented all post-crisis recommendations).

  "We were not prepared as a city ... so what we're doing now... we've also changed the protocols with much more emphasis on prevention and pre-deploying." (Karen Bass, 36:24)

• Leadership Image: Acknowledges that residents want visible, hands-on leadership during emergencies.

9. Facing a Reality TV Opponent

(39:10–39:58)

• Opponent’s Credentials: Running against a reality star with Trump endorsement, campaign “based on AI memes.” Bass is not surprised—cites LA’s history with celebrity politicians.

  "We've seen this movie before... This is Los Angeles, entertainment capital of the world. It's not a shock." (Karen Bass, 39:26)

10. Vision for the Next Four Years

(40:05–41:06)

• Priorities:
  • Ending street homelessness (no children walking through tent encampments to get to school)
  • Increasing perception of safety through adequate law enforcement and community engagement
  • Leveraging international events (World Cup, Olympics) to uplift historically neglected neighborhoods
• Quote:

  "I want them to know that the entire world lives here..." (Karen Bass, 40:44)

11. Karen Bass’s LA Food Recommendations

(41:06–41:57)

• Favorite Spots: El Cholo (for Mexican food) and taquitos on Olvera Street.
• Revitalization Focus: Special attention on restoring Alvera Street.

12. Message to Angelenos on Voting and Democracy

(41:57–44:24)

• Addressing Hopelessness: Navarro raises concern about voter disillusionment in light of gridlocked federal politics and attacks on democracy.
• Bass’s Response:
  • LA/California remains a refuge—no fear of voter suppression, every registered voter gets a mail ballot.
  • Emotional appeal for unity and defense of local democracy.
  • Quote:

    "We still have democracy here. We are a state where immigration and climate change are not issues... We are a unified city and we need to stay that way." (Karen Bass, 43:34)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On cross-racial family and activism:

  "My life has been multicultural. We didn't call it that so much then... We identified with each other's issues."
  — Karen Bass (07:14)

• On ICE raids:

  "You will remember these days for the rest of your life. 30 years from now, you will remember when the city was invaded and people were kidnapped."
  — Karen Bass (09:57)

• On visible, grounded leadership:

  "There's something that feels good when you see your local leadership ... in emergency management jackets on site and feeling like they're in charge."
  — Ana Navarro (37:44)

• On LA’s diversity:

  "I want them to know that the entire world lives here ... pick a restaurant, and you can find that country or those neighborhoods."
  — Karen Bass (40:44)

• On democratic resilience:

  "We still have democracy here. ... There is no voter suppression when every registered voter receives their ballot in the mail and you don't even have to go anywhere."
  — Karen Bass (43:24)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Karen Bass’s personal journey: 03:19–06:56
• Multicultural family & activism: 06:56–08:29
• ICE raids & community resistance: 10:42–15:14
• World Cup & economic strategy: 19:30–22:48
• Revitalizing Hollywood: 22:48–25:45
• Crime & public safety: 25:45–28:34
• Homelessness strategies/results: 28:34–30:37
• LA fires leadership controversy: 35:15–39:10
• Running against a reality TV opponent: 39:10–39:58
• Vision for LA’s future: 40:05–41:06
• Voting and civic hope: 41:57–44:24

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Tone & Language

• The conversation is direct, at times emotionally charged but hopeful, with both Navarro and Bass unafraid to tackle painful realities. There’s mutual respect, occasional humor, personal anecdotes, and a persistent focus on practical action rather than platitudes. Bass is candid about mistakes (especially re: fire response), determined in her outlook, and places community unity at the center of her vision for LA.

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Final Message

The episode closes with both guests urging Angelenos to vote in the June 2 primary, underscoring that active participation remains a bulwark against despair and a force for positive change even in the face of daunting challenges.

Transcript

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[Interviewer (Anna Navarro)]

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[Interviewer (Anna Navarro)]

Welcome to this episode of bleep. It's a very special episode. I am in LA and I'm going to interview Mayor Karen Bass who is running for reelection. Thank you so much Mayor Bass for joining us this morning and for giving us the time. You know, I felt like I knew a lot about you and as I was doing research about you for this interview, I realized I know precious little about you. You were in Congress for over 10 years. You've been mayor of LA for almost a full term now. But I feel like most people don't know who Karen Bass is. So can you tell me about Karen Bass the person, not the politician?

[Karen Bass]

Sure. No, absolutely. And Karen does not become a politician until way later in life. But I will tell you that I'm born and raised in Los Angeles and I grew up during tumultuous times. Wanted to made a decision that I wanted to spend my life in public service as a child. But elected office was not what was in my mind and so I was involved for many years in community related issues. That's what I did after work. You know your neighborhood issues, whether it's crime, policing or issues like that. But then, you know, I for a job and a career I was, I worked in the medical field. So I was a nurse for a number of years and I worked in the premature nursery with the babies and then I worked in the emergency room at County General Hospital, which is one of the nation's largest trauma centers. And I was also teaching full time at USC medical school. And I walked away from that. I could have been long retired had I stayed there. But I walked away from that because we were in an absolute crisis in LA. We had 1,000 homicides in one year. It was the height of the Crips and the Bloods and crack cocaine and all of that. And I saw crack as a health issue. People being addicted to this substance, that was very confusing. And then I saw the gang involvement as a social and an economic issue. So I started an organization to divert kids from ever getting involved in gang activity and then also to promote drug treatment and in drug rehabilitation. And that organization is now 36 years old. But I also focused a lot on recruiting and training teenagers so they would become civically involved. And the individual who headed up our youth organization is now the president of the city council. And when I leave town, he's the acting mayor. So that was really the goal. And then from there I ran for office, realizing I could work on the same issues in Sacramento as I was in the community. And that was the same thing in terms of Congress. But I walked away from Congress. Even though I really enjoyed being in Congress, I walked away from that because again, we had a crisis again in LA with homelessness. And what you see on our streets now is a lot better than what it was a few years ago, where you had massive encampments everywhere that they still exist, but we have reduced the number. And we are also at a 60 year low in terms of gang related homicides. A lot of the programs and pilots that we practiced 30 years ago have been refined, studied, researched, improved. And I started an office of Community Safety to institutionalize that work. Violence prevention is what it is.

[Interviewer (Anna Navarro)]

Well, you've told me about your professional life, but one of the things I found out about researching you this week is that you were married to a Latino. You were married, your first husband was a Mexican American. So what was it like at that time to be a multicultural, bicultural family? You were raising children as a black Latino family?

[Karen Bass]

Yes, my daughter called herself a black. Unfortunately, my daughter passed away. But yes, my husband was a Mexican American activist, just like I was an African American activist. He was on one side of the city, I was on another. But you know what I grew up believing in, and my entire life has been multicultural. We didn't call it that so much then, but we identified with each other's issues. We identified with. I always identified with immigrant rights, back from, you know, being A teenager. And. And so we would come together in citywide protests to do. I mean, the last time I was. Well, immigration reform, 1986, with Simpson, Mazzoli. And we were all active.

[Interviewer (Anna Navarro)]

You know, that's how I became a US Citizen. I. My family, who's from Nicaragua, applied for the Reagan amnesty. It was Ronald Reagan that signed it in 1986. And we had come here as political refugees from Nicaragua, but I ended up becoming a legal resident and then a citizen thanks to Simpson. Masoli. So the Republicans who hate me now, they can blame Ronald Reagan for that.

[Karen Bass]

Exactly right. Exactly right. I remember his speeches.

[Interviewer (Anna Navarro)]

I do too. They seem to have forgotten him. Now, as I was looking at the numbers right now in this reelection, you actually have a lot of challenges with the Latino community. They are the make or break community for an election. And LA and 44% are saying that they are still undecided. What do you think you need to communicate to that? What are they missing about Karen Bass and Mayor Bass?

[Karen Bass]

I actually think that number might have gone down. I mean, the undecideds were really high citywide, but now they're quite low. So people are making decisions. And as far as I know, looking at my latest polls, I'm leading in the Latino community, and I was four years ago as well. But I think it's all about getting the message out there. And then you have the airwaves that are just flooded with all the social media and, and it's a question as to how you communicate with the Latino population. So I have spent a lot of time on Spanish language radio and, and also investing because I don't believe in. You just go to ethnic media, you know, for freebies and you don't buy ads. And so, you know, I am making an investment in that as well. And so I think, you know, back when I started Community coalition, which was 36 years ago, it was built deliberately as an African American Latino organization. So my roots are deep. My roots with the immigrant rights organizations go back to the 80s and so forth, or when ice invaded, which is how we looked at it almost a year ago. I mean, in two weeks it'll be a one year anniversary. It was such, and it was such a. I don't even know how to describe it. I'll think of words one day to describe how awful it was. And I told young people that were going through it, I said, you know, I want you to know that you will remember these days for the rest of your life. 30 years from now, you, you will remember when the city was invaded and people were kidnapped. And your own government when hunting Latinos.

[Interviewer (Anna Navarro)]

I have so many friends who live here in la, so many of the Latinos in the entertainment industry. And I think in a way, it was definitely the worst of times. We saw inhumanity and cruelty and a government occupation like where I think many of us didn't think could happen in the United States. But it also brought the community together, and it was neighbors standing up for neighbor, and it was blacks standing up for their Latinos and whites standing up for immigrants. It was people being human at the basic level of humanity without all of the labels and the niches and the ethnicities and all of the hyphenates. We're all in this together, and we're under attack by an authoritarian government. You showed up. You showed up where the raids were going on, you stood up, you locked arm in arm with the immigration activists. What happens if this happens again or when it happens again? I'm sure you've noticed in the last couple of months, there's been a marked change by the Trump administration. I think they realized after Minneapolis that their immigration tactics, their Greg Bovino wearing the Nazi uniform, the dragging of pregnant women, the assassination of American citizens in the streets of the United States had shocked the conscience and outraged Americans. And they've tried to get immigration out of the headlines and try to make us forget the horrible shit they have done since Trump got in office. But I keep thinking after the midterms, they're going to be back because Steve Miller is not gonna give up and Donald Trump is not gonna give up. And their ultimate goal is to get rid of as many people that look like you and look like me as they possibly can. So if you get reelected mayor, what do you do when this happens again? If it happens again?

[Karen Bass]

Well, let me tell you that it was one of the worst moments ever, but it was also one of the best in terms of what you said. I was so proud of my city. There was not a crack anywhere. I think that they might have thought that this was going to divide the cities, and you saw that it did not divide the cities. Louisiana stood strong. There was no part of the city that thought that this was okay. And people banded together to protect their neighbors. And I think from that, people learned how to do that. And so I certainly hope it does not happen again. But one of the things that I've tried to talk to people about, especially younger people that have not gone through periods of repression, is that you gotta stand strong. And your protest is critically important. You must Protest. But it absolutely, positively, especially with this administration, has to be peaceful. Otherwise, you will just call up and just invite the. The administration to send the military. But our young people don't really know that because they haven't experienced this. And so getting people to protest in a massive way and having people understand the lessons from the civil rights movement and the power of nonviolent protests. And then we threw everything at them. I mean, I've done a number of executive directives around ice, but we've also sued in every way that we possibly can. And, you know, much to my surprise, Anna, when this was in the midst of it, I didn't have any hope or faith in the courts because the courts have been changed in a very negative way. But you know what? Down the line, it was so egregious that there were some changes and there were some good court decisions. So right now, we have one pending over the masking. Because it's like, how do you justify being masked that you're. You're worried about yourself? Well, what about the lapd? They're here every day, and they're not in masks. So, you know, so why should you be? But. But I think that now it won't be a shock this time. We will know how to join together out in the streets immediately. But more important than that, Angelina's work. Know how to help other Angelinos.

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[Interviewer (Anna Navarro)]

There's a new secretary of Department of Homeland Security that of course oversees ice.

[Karen Bass]

Right.

[Interviewer (Anna Navarro)]

You served with with him in Congress. You work together on legislation. I'm talking about Mark Wayne Mullen. Has he reached out to you? Have you reached out to him?

[Karen Bass]

Yes, yes, we have spoken.

[Interviewer (Anna Navarro)]

And what have those conversations been like?

[Karen Bass]

Well, it was just one, but let me just explain. Yes, I had a good relationship with Mark Wayne. As a matter of fact, one of the things I did when I was in Congress was I started a caucus for foster youth and he was one of my co chairs. I wanted it to be bipartisan. You know, he's Native American and so the foster care issue is an important issue to Native Americans and we work together well. So yes, I called him and expressed my concerns about the World cup because the World cup is wider watch than the Olympics and the World cup is in just a few days. Basically, June 12th is the opening game for the World Cup. And you know, I don't want people to be terrorized or terrified. And so, you know, the World cup is basically for the elite of the world. I mean, nobody can afford tickets to the World Cup. But what we're doing is we're having a series of community celebrations. We have about 100 venues and I really want the World cup to be an infusion of money into these neighborhoods that were traumatized by Trump. So we're going to do one massive watch party and it's across, it's in the middle of the Central American part of the city. And those restaurants around there that cater to the Central American population, they've, some of them have gone out of business because their workforce doesn't want to come in and the customers don't want to come in. To hear restaurant owners say that this is worse than Covid when everything was shut down because people also aren't ordering. They don't want to pick up food and they don't want food delivered. And so when we have these celebrations that last days and days, this is going to be a massive infusion of money into these businesses. So I see the World cup and the Olympics as ways to uplift our community. So my conversation with Mark Wayne was essentially about, you know, I don't believe they're going to be ice raids during the World Cup. I don't, because I think these events are too important to the President.

[Interviewer (Anna Navarro)]

And not to mention that the head of FIFA, the organization that organizes the World cup, has been sucking up to Trump for years now, gave him a made up peace prize and I think has doing that has been able to get some concessions out of Trump when it comes to how they're going to treat the World Cup. But I have read, and I don't know if you know, the statistics on this or if this is happening in la, that the number of tourists that they were expecting, the number of hotel reservations that they were expecting from worldwide tourists coming in to see the World cup are not materializing in the United States. Is that the case in la?

[Karen Bass]

Well, it's not what we expected it to be and so we'll see. We do still see a steady stream coming through. Again, because these are the games for the elite of the world. I'm not sure that the people flying their private jets in are going to be too worried about ice.

[Interviewer (Anna Navarro)]

You know, another industry you talked about, the economic impact of the immigration raids. So many restaurants, as you mentioned, have closed at every level, from Michelin star to food trucks. But there's also a great deal of exodus and flight going on in Hollywood, which is such an iconic, symbolic and significant industry for la. The amount of productions that have been lost to other states and to other countries grows daily. And the, and the trickle down effect of that, because it's not just the actors and it's not just the producers, it's the caterers. It's, I mean, it's so such a big part of your, of your city and your economy. What, what can you do about that? And what are you doing about that?

[Karen Bass]

Sure. Well, I do have to tell you that in spite of all of that, productions are increasing in la. Shows that had left are coming back. And this started with when the tax credits, even before the governor signed it, when it looked like it was clear that it was going to be signed and passed. Then production started coming back. And so we've had a 10% increase in one area, a 4, 40% in another area. We still have a long way to go. But what I did here is I came up with a series of executive directives using my power as mayor to lower the cost of filming here. So doing things like for example, one of our iconic locations, the Griffith Park Observatory, used to cost $100,000 to film there, I cut it by 70%. I reduced the number of city staff that have to be on location, and that reduces the cost because the productions would have to pay for it. Even further reductions for smaller productions. So I sat with. I established an entertainment industry committee once I took over, and I've been working directly with them on what type of policies would help make filming easier. So our first effort was advocating on the state, and then the second effort was implementing in la. The other thing they wanted is one individual that they could talk to, which basically amounts to us providing a concierge service so that the permitting, which I have also expedited, goes through quickly. So the barriers where, you know, I think for decades, the city took the film industry for granted. This is an issue I've worked on for many, many years. When I was in Sacramento and served as speaker of the House in my last term, I did the first tax cut. And then when I went off to Congress, I worked on intellectual property from the Judiciary Committee. So I have a very long history of working with the industry, but I believe in having them at the table to do the policies together.

[Interviewer (Anna Navarro)]

I'm staying in Beverly Hills. I've been talking to every Angeleno who will talk to me, and I feel like there's this low morale going on in the city. One of my friends said to me, it feels. Some parts of this city feel like Detroit in the 19. In the 1980s. Somebody else said to me, LA needs a wartime general, and that's not what Karen Bass is. Yesterday, I was speaking to a woman who works at the. At the restaurant at the hotel I'm staying at. And I said, I'm going to be speaking to your mayor. What should I ask her? And she said to me, I'm afraid. I live in the Miracle Mile, and I'm just afraid of the crime and the homelessness and what I see when I walk home. How do you answer some of those comments?

[Karen Bass]

Well, you know, and the thing about those comments, too, is that I do not believe you answer people like that with statistics, because I will tell you, the statistics paint an entirely different picture. But it's how people feel. It's how people feel. And in the Miracle Mile, which is an area that I stay in as well, we just opened up our rail line just a couple of weeks ago. And so it is an area that has been depressed for a number of years while the rail. While the rail line was being built. So the businesses above ground have definitely suffered. Many have gone under. We will see that re emerge now that the Line is open. But we have reduced street homelessness, which was the big, big issue, as I mentioned at the beginning. And crime is at a 60 year low. But again, my belief is, is that when you have a spike, and at different points in time, we've had spikes recently, there were a series of burglaries happening in very affluent areas. It's actually international organized crime. People who are coming in for a few days with very specific plans to steal in certain areas and then leaving the country again. And they were able to resolve that just a few days ago. They made arrests of the crime ring that was doing that. So, you know, it's difficult though for me to say that. And then you live on a block where the robberies took place, you have a crime crisis. So it's really my job to make sure that people see what is going on, but also that they feel safe and wartime General, you could try that if you want. But I think also it's a very difficult system here in terms of the mayor and the city council and the way that we are structured here. So a wartime general could come in, but will quickly see that they cannot command like they're in a war.

[Interviewer (Anna Navarro)]

And I know that one of your priorities has been homelessness. One of the first things that you did when you came came in as mayor was to declare a homelessness state of emergency. And you've taken a bunch of different actions, Some which I think you've admitted have worked better than others, some which you, you've. So how will you approach homelessness in the next term if you get elected, as opposed to how you've approached it in the first term, or what will you build upon? What will you do differently?

[Karen Bass]

Sure. Well, I will tell you that what I will build upon is our effort to get people off the street. For example, just yesterday, our outreach team got 70 people off the street out of a massive encampment. That's the thing. When you see these tents, you have no idea how many people are there. And so.

[Interviewer (Anna Navarro)]

But the people you get off the streets, are they staying off the streets? How many go back?

[Karen Bass]

60% of them are staying off the street. 40% are. We're not sure where they're going because this system that has been in place for over three decades was dysfunctional from the beginning. So I am focusing on getting people off the street while completely transforming the system at the same time. So what I plan to do moving forward is to continue getting people off the street, because that is the number one issue. I don't care how many Polls you take in the city about what are the leading issues. It's homelessness. Homelessness, Homelessness. People want to see folks off those streets. So what I have done differently is, you see, you hear about encampments being cleaned up, and then they return the next day. That's not my program. My program is not just to move one person from one side of the street to the next. We get them housed, and they don't come back. So we have a lot of flaws that we need to tighten up. But, Anna, I have to tell you, for the first time, Los Angeles has seen a decline in street homelessness two years in a row. Prior to that, it was just going up, up, up.

[Interviewer (Anna Navarro)]

What has the decline been?

[Karen Bass]

How much line been is that there's less people on the street because we have been housing people. We have focused on that, and that focus was never there before.

[Agusto Papa (Angel, Diego, Jason)]

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[Chiquis]

to next hola Chiquis y entre podcasts shows imivida personal ideas. C Gracias and Miracle groans Conel indoor potting mix the miracle gro para plantas interior que le damis plantas nutrientes es del primer dia para crecer mas fuertes sin complicate. Pas vida equilibro un que esteco rien do Dion conisual otro ella siempre verdes con Miracle grow A mucho con poquito es un milagro es miracle grow Visita Miracle grow Punto com y empies a tu propio camino decresimiento. Hola. Que tal? This is Chiquis from Chiquis and Chilles. I take care of mi gente, my friends. Mi familia hasta miglam squad. Whether I'm on tour or just at home, staying connected really matters to me. Even across borders. Siem francontakto. And if I find something good, I share it. Like T Mobile. You won't believe everything you get as a T Mobile member. Not only do I get America's best network, but I also get weekly perks with T Mobile Tuesdays. Streaming benefits like Hulu and Netflix. Y mucho mas. I mean, Tuesday was already elite for Los tacos, but Now T Mobile Tuesday's 2 2. Who needs weekends? All my family's favorite things. Texting, calling, streaming, sharing the latest binge with the crew. You know, las cosas mas importantes de la vida. Being a T Mobile member means we're doing life right. Todo flu lle mejor. And switching takes 15 minutes per line. With the Tealife app Seen broncas I share solor mejore. If you want more benefits, more perks and more connections, this is just the beginning. Switch to T Mobile online, in store or on the app. Visit t mobile.com qualifying lines and plan required. T Mobile Best mobile network in the U.S. according to Ookla Speed Test. Based on analysis by Ookla of speed test intelligence data 2H 2025 Ookla trademarks used under license and reprinted with permission.

[Interviewer (Anna Navarro)]

So I need to ask you about something that I think is an albatross around your neck. And a lot of these Good things that you have done, I feel people don't know about, but I think everybody knows that you were in Ghana for the swearing in of the precedent there when the LA fires began and were at their peak, the la. And I think people are pissed. I think, you know, you got a lot of not just local but national criticism for that, including from me. We talked about it on the View. I was very harsh because. And so I appreciate you doing this interview because you know that I have been critical of you in the past. What, what happened there, what could have been done differently. And, and more than that, because there will continue to be fires in la, hopefully not as historically destructive as the fires were last year. But what were the lessons learned and what have you done specifically?

[Karen Bass]

Sure, absolutely. Well, first of all, I had to change the leadership in the fire department and not just the chief, but a lot of the command staff had to go. We were not prepared as a city, but it wasn't just Los Angeles, it was also the county. And the fire chief said to me when I got back that, you know, they knew the Santa Ana winds were coming, but they never expected them to be as bad as they were because we had never experienced hurricane strength winds. So what we're doing now, aside from changing the leadership, we've also changed the protocols and with much more emphasis on prevention and prevention meaning clearing brush, but also meaning pre deploying. And so now every time there has been a weather emergency, not just heat, but also rain, whatever, we've pre deployed resources in those areas that didn't happen on the day of the fires when she sent 1,000 firefighters home. And we literally had fire engines with no firefighters because they were sent home, then they had to be called back. So keeping a shift on and pre deploying in a very aggressive manner. And then there were multiple recommendations that came out of the fire report and we've implemented those. But the leadership is number one.

[Interviewer (Anna Navarro)]

Yeah. And the leadership also from the mayor. You know, I live in Miami, I live in Florida. We've had our share of hurricanes and issues. And I just. There's something that feels good when you see your local leadership, your state leadership, your federal leadership in emergency management jackets on site and feeling like they're in charge, speaking to the public. And so I think that's what a lot of people are still upset about and are not focusing on the good things that you've done and the good results you've done. And of course, it's what one of your opponents is focusing on. Let me ask you, does it Kind of blow your mind that given all your experience, right, you have actual experience then in politics. You've been in the State House, you've been in Congress, you've been a mayor. So you've got local, state and federal experience. And you are being challenged by a guy who's never run anything other than his mouth and is running a campaign based on AI memes. And his biggest experience is being a reality star. So there's that kind of like. And is endorsed by Donald Trump in the city of la. So how does that. Like, how do you even wrap your arms around it? Or do you just not even think about it and continue focusing?

[Karen Bass]

There you go. I continue focusing, but that's not really a big surprise, right? I mean, we've seen this movie before. We watched it with people with big experience. And then you have a reality star. We had a superhero run for governor. I served with him during my time as speaker, was his time as governor. We worked together. So, you know, I'm not shocked. This is Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of the world. Is. It's not a shock that you would have a TV actor run for something here in our city. So I understand that he's entertaining and people are gravitating to that. But this is a deep blue city.

[Interviewer (Anna Navarro)]

What will you do different if you get reelected? What's your vision for the next four years?

[Karen Bass]

Well, my vision for the next four years is that parents don't have to walk through tents in order to get to school. And my other opponent doesn't seem to think that that's a problem. I do. I want to see street homelessness in. I want to see people begin to feel safe because we have an adequate number of law enforcement officers. And for the nation's second largest city, we have a very small police department. We have these world events coming our way. And I want our city to take advantage of these events and. And for them to uplift the neighbors, you know, around the city, especially in neighborhoods who have been suffering. I want, when people come to LA for the Olympics from around the world and they leave, that they understand that LA is more than Hollywood Boulevard and Santa Monica beach, but that the breadth of la. I want them to know that the entire world lives here. And you can pick whatever country you want to visit, just pick a restaurant and. And you can find that country or those neighborhoods.

[Interviewer (Anna Navarro)]

Do you have a favorite restaurant in la?

[Karen Bass]

You know what, it depends on what kind of food.

[Interviewer (Anna Navarro)]

Okay. Mexican food or Central American food? You got a favorite food truck or restaurant you frequent?

[Karen Bass]

Yes. Yes, yes, yes, absolutely. I mean, I'm traditional for Mexican food. It's El Cholo, I think, one of the oldest Mexican restaurants. Yesterday I was on Alvara street, which is the first street in our city. And great Mexican food there. You can go from restaurant to restaurant there. That's an area I'm focusing on because it needs to be revitalized.

[Interviewer (Anna Navarro)]

And what's your go to order?

[Karen Bass]

My go to order is the traditional enchiladas. I love tacos and taquitos. There's my favorite taquito place is on Alvera Street. People drive from all over the city to park and grab taquitos and then leave. Okay.

[Interviewer (Anna Navarro)]

Well, as we come to an end and early voting is already going on, the primary elections, for those that don't know, is June 2, it's important to vote, to show up and vote. What's your parting message to Angelenos?

[Karen Bass]

You know what?

[Interviewer (Anna Navarro)]

What's your parting message to Angelenos? One of the things that I'm worried about, Mayor, is, and it's not just happening in la, it's happening around the country. I feel like so many people feel like voting doesn't matter and doesn't make a change. And I feel like there's a lot of helplessness and hopelessness going on in this country right now. Just because you see Donald Trump changing districts, rigging elections, you see Congress not standing up to him, Republicans and Congress not standing up to him. And I think that's worn people's belief in democracy down. So what is your message to those people that feel that voting doesn't matter, that it's not going to make a difference and are feeling helpless and hopeless?

[Karen Bass]

Yeah. And let me just say before I respond to that, I think some of what you've seen and heard here is also reflected in the nation where people are going through that. And especially here, because we were hit with such trauma of where you think you have to turn, you need to turn to your federal government and then your federal government attacks you. That has been a very, very tough thing. But for me, I do want to raise to people in Los Angeles and California that there is a whole lot of awful things going on in the country. But here we have our right to vote. There is no voter suppression when every registered voter receives their ballot in the mail and you don't even have to go anywhere. And that's a critical message to the Latino population where they're worried about ICE being at polling places. You don't have to leave your home. You can fill out that ballot and hand it to the postal worker. You don't even need a stamp. And so we still have democracy here. We are a state where immigration and climate change are not issues. And everybody is clear about both of those issues and the way that we wrapped our arms around our brothers and sisters that were going through it. We are a unified city and we need to stay that way.

[Interviewer (Anna Navarro)]

Thank you for spending the time with us. I know you've got a lot of campaigning to do and you've also got a city to run. I suspect there will be a runoff. I wish you and the city of la, which is one of my favorite places in in the world and I think still one of the best places to come and visit all the good things. And we will stay tuned and I hope people listening will spread the message. You gotta go out and vote. The primaries are June 2, and there's early voting going on right now in LA and in California. Gracia alcaldesa carambas por su tiempo hoy. Thank you for your time. All right, Leap with Anna Navarro is a Hyphenate Media group Production in partnership with iHeart's Michael Tuda podcast Network. For more of your favorite shows, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Agusto Papa (Angel, Diego, Jason)]

All right, quick question. You trying to make your ride last longer or what? Loki Yeah, I just want it to run smooth. No stress. Just turn the key and go. Sin royos bet Seafoam Motor treatment. Oh, yeah, I've seen that. Bien fazel lusar. Pour it in your gas tankedo. Then you just drive and let it do its thing. No tools. Easy. I like that. Exactly. EC Foam helps your engine run smoother and last longer. And it works on whatever you drive, car, troca, tractor, gas or diesel. If it's got an engine, Seafoam's got you. That's actually fire. Millions of people use it every day to keep their engine running strong. Pick up a can today at your favorite auto parts store, C Foam. Pour it in and power on.

[Chiquis]

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[Interviewer (Anna Navarro)]

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[Chiquis]

Hola Soy chiquis y entre podcast shows Ilavida no siempre tengo tiempo paramis plantas pero entra control peromis plantas C Gracias plant food parato de las plantas que des de la rais. Saludables po cuesultados es un milagro es miracle gro Visit a miracle gro punto com empiesa tu propio camino decresimiento. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.