Hollywood stars are urging Angelenos to re-elect Mayor Karen Bass as early voting got underway over the weekend.
The endorsements come in a race that has turned into a multimillion-dollar fight, with unions, wealthy donors and police groups buying airtime for and against Bass and challenger Nithya Raman.
Actor and film producer Samuel L Jackson, in a new video released Sunday, went after Raman on the issue voters raise most.
“Battling the nationwide homeless epidemic is the hardest job in the American government. Karen Bass walked toward it in one day. Her opponent chaired the city council’s housing and homelessness committee and canceled meetings on it,” he said.
“It’s easy to run a pilot in one district and call it a model. Try doing it in 15 districts with Washington cutting your funding, while the whole country watches. That’s the job Karen Bass has done… Vote, motherf*****!,” Jackson said in the latest video endorsing Bass.
Activist and actress Jane Fonda stood next to Bass in a similar video last week and said Bass “is a woman of the people.”
“This is not a career for her. It’s a calling. She was an activist and an organizer long before she ran for office… She’s been there in the State Assembly. She’s been there in Congress. She knows how to govern. We have to keep her as the Mayor of Los Angeles,” Fonda added.
Actor Anthony Anderson made his case in a video Saturday, pointing to Bass’s record with Hollywood.
“She created the California Film and Television Tax Credit. Gov. Newsom credits Mayor Bass with boosting film production here in California. I’ll take the person who built the bridge over the person that’s promising one,” he said.
Cedric the Entertainer said he has known Bass for many years, dating to her time in the California Legislature and later in the House of Representatives. “She is the right person for the job,” he said in a video.
While Bass is receiving public endorsement from Hollywood, outside money has flowed mostly to Raman’s side.
The biggest spender so far is Estamos Con Nithya, a committee funded largely by organized labor and a wealthy hedge fund manager. The Western States Regional Council of Carpenters had put more than $10 million into it by Thursday.
Hedge fund manager Aaron Sosnick, who has a Reno address and has pushed to expand LA’s bike-lane network, accounted for $6 million of that sum.
According to recent campaign finance reports, Bass has raised roughly $3.4 million in total, compared to $3 million raised by Raman. However, Raman retains nearly $1.4 million in cash on hand, which is almost double the available reserves of Bass.
During the monthly reporting period ending Oct. 17, Bass secured $827,000 through contributions and public matching funds, whereas Raman raised $485,000.
This high-stakes race reflects widespread voter dissatisfaction across Los Angeles, per a California Post-McLaughlin & Associates survey. A striking 66.2% of respondents feel the city is on the wrong track, with only 16.4% believing it is moving in the right direction.
Voters identified homelessness as their primary issue (47.3%), followed closely by the cost of living (41.7%) and housing affordability (35.4%).
Furthermore, 71.7% of respondents expressed disapproval of Bass’ performance as mayor, compared to 25.5% who approved. Among registered Democrats, disapproval stood at 65.5%.
Voters can return ballots before Election Day, Nov. 3.
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