Karen Bass, sworn in as Los Angeles’ first female mayor, says she will declare a state of emergency on homelessness

Karen Bass was sworn in as mayor of Los Angeles on Sunday, becoming the first woman and second black person to govern the city.

In a grand ceremony at the Microsoft Theater with City Hall as the backdrop, Bass took the oath administered by Vice President Kamala Harris and plans to talk about how Los Angeles is at a “tipping point” as it deals with homelessness and face housing challenges.

She plans to declare a homeless emergency on Monday as her first act as mayor, which will “recognize the gravity of our crisis and find new ways to maximize our ability to house people urgently, forever.”

The move will “create the structure necessary for us to have a real, unified, citywide strategy to put us on the path to solving homelessness,” she said.

“If we’re going to bring in Angelenos and take our city in a new direction, we need a single strategy to unify our city and county and involve the state, the federal government, the private sector and all other stakeholders,” she said. .

She said she has started discussions with the province and other cities to work on a unified approach.

Bass also plans to call for the creation of a community safety bureau.

“Some neighborhoods have asked for additional officers … but which neighborhoods are asking and what they need is as diverse as our city,” Bass said. The office, she said, is for “meetings with neighbors, shop assistants, dog walkers, teenagers who know what’s really going on behind the statistics. We want block-by-block information on how to keep each neighborhood truly safe — is it more police, better lights, cleaner streets, a closed alley that you need?”

“Let me be bold enough to add that by addressing the social, health and economic conditions that threaten a safe environment, we can prevent crime and violence in the community,” Bass said.

“So let’s work with people, ask them who works in their neighborhoods, and build our public safety policy from the ground up,” she said.

The ceremony had showbiz flair. It included a performance by Stevie Wonder singing keep our love alive, which he performed in honor of Nelson Mandela. Mary Mary and Amanda Gorman also performed. The event was moved indoors in anticipation of rain, with workers creating a mock backdrop of City Hall steps.

Bass beat Rick Caruso in the November election, even though the real estate developer spent about $100 million on his mayoral bid.

In her speech, she thanked outgoing Mayor Eric Garcetti and cited him for securing the city’s 2028 Olympics, public transportation to the airport, cleaner air and better seismic safety. Garcetti was nominated as US ambassador to India, but it stalled in the Senate. It is unclear whether the nomination will make it to the end of the current Congress.

There is more to come.