los angeles — Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is heading into a tough reelection bid as she continues to reel from the fallout from last year’s devastating wildfires and ongoing criticism of the City Council on issues ranging from street paving to homelessness.
The deadline is Saturday for candidates to enter the competition before the June 2 primary. Bass – 1st term Democrat the first A Black woman takes on this position – already facing challenges from a tech entrepreneur and non-profit founder Adam Miller; Reality TV personality Spencer PrattWho lost his home to the killer Palisades fire; And community organizer Ray Huang.
The race is taking place at an unstable time for the city, which has a population of about 4 million people.
Complaints about the cost of living — whether it’s about rent, taxes, or groceries — are a constant refrain. Dirty and polluted streets and sidewalks abound. Hollywood jobs have been moving toward more affordable places for years.
The Trump administration’s ongoing immigration raids have rocked the city. Despite studies showing a slight decline in the homeless population, encampments are still common. Recovery from the Palisades Fire, which killed 12 people and destroyed much of the tony coastal neighborhood in January 2025, continues at a pace some say is too slow.
In an upbeat speech this month in which she laid out her vision for the city’s future, Bass talked about the city’s upcoming 2028 Olympics and plans to spruce up busy roads.
“Even in this difficult chapter in our history, great events and moments of unity are possible,” Bass said. “And they are coming.”
Bill Carrick, a Democratic consultant based in Los Angeles, believes that the race is wide open. Under California’s primary rules, all candidates appear on the same ballot, and the top two finishers advance to the general election in November — a system that can produce unexpected results.
Voters are “somewhat dissatisfied with city government, and I think the Palisades Fire certainly contributed greatly to that feeling,” Carrick said.
The mayor who was On a trip To Ghana as part of a presidential delegation when a fire began burning in the Palisades neighborhood, she was defensive about her actions during and after the fire.
The Los Angeles Times published a series of reports, based on public records requests, showing that drafts of the Los Angeles Fire Department’s after-action report included deletions and revisions intended to mitigate failures by city officials and the department.
Bass’ office this week strongly denied allegations in a Times story, based on anonymous and direct sources, that she pushed for changes to the report before its publication to protect City Hall from potential legal action. She told reporters that the story was “completely fabricated.”
Officials said the deadly fire was sparked by remnants of a January 1 fire that continued to burn underground. In October, the man was 29 years old He was arrested and charged With the previous fire lit. The LAFD has faced scrutiny over whether it properly extinguished the New Year’s Day fire.
Pratt said on his website that he “watched my house burn because the system failed us.”
“We don’t need more government programs,” Pratt added. “We need common sense, accountability and a mayor who shows up for everyone.”
Miller, who is running as an outsider with the potential to invest in his campaign, poses a new challenge to Bass, who defeated billionaire Rick Caruso in her 2022 election. Miller founded Cornerstone upon requesta global education company, and later co-founded the nonprofit Better Angels to address homelessness.
“Los Angeles has extraordinary potential, but too often City Hall isn’t there for the people who call it home,” Miller said in a statement.