What has LA Mayor Karen Bass done in her first year in office, and how does the Korean-American community view her?
December 12 marks the one-year anniversary of Bass’s assumption of office, after she defeated Rick Caruso, a billionaire candidate. In a significant inauguration event, the first African-American female mayor of Los Angeles was sworn in, with Vice President Kamala Harris officiating the oath.
During this ceremony, Bass stressed her strong commitment to addressing homelessness, improving public safety, and fostering the local economy. She also promised to take care of minority communities, revitalize businesses, and create jobs.
In terms of homelessness relief, the city says it has assisted more than 21,000 homeless people through its “Inside Safe” program, which has cost about $80 million in total. However, this number doesn’t necessarily mean that these individuals have left the streets to settle into homes and jobs.
As for crime, the city reported a 4.6 percent drop in violent crime this year, but crimes such as property theft are up 2.1 percent. Considering that many crimes against streets, small businesses, and homes go unreported, this marks a considerable increase in crime rates for L.A. residents.
The Korean-American community recently conducted a survey on Mayor Bass’ major policies over the past week through the Korea Daily’s website (koreadaily.com). 836 community members participated in the survey.
When asked how the mayor was doing in addressing homelessness, one of her biggest campaign promises, 75.7 percent said she was doing a very poor job, and only 1 percent said she was doing a good job. Regarding securing housing for people experiencing homelessness, 66.4% said the mayor did a ‘very poor job’ and 21.9% said she did a ‘poor job.’
“You can look at the government statistics and feel like there’s been some improvement, but when you look at the streets and businesses, you don’t see the improvement,” said Kisu Kim, 65, who owns a grocery store in South L.A. “I don’t expect the problem to be solved anytime soon. But it’s important for the mayor to remember that we still have a long, long way to go.”
When it comes to “fighting crime and ensuring public safety,” 74.9% of respondents rated the mayor’s performance as ‘very poor.’
This reflects growing frustration over the recent increase in smash-and-grab crimes and the lack of sufficient legal action against them.
“I think the poll results reflect the reality that the Korean community is feeling very uncomfortable with the increase in crime in their neighborhoods,” said Grace Yoo, candidate for City Council in District 10. “I think it’s a little early to expect everything to be solved in one year. However, if the current policy framework is correct, we should see concrete results in two years, and if not, it should be seen as pushing the wrong button.”
In the area of “support for business revitalization” after the pandemic, 57.3 percent of respondents rated it ‘very poor’ and 22.2 percent rated it ‘poor,’ effectively giving it a failing grade. For “support for the Korean American community,” 66.7 percent said it was “very poor.”
“There have been some achievements, but the problems are deep and the expectations of the Korean community are very high, which may have led to this negative response,” said Steve Kang, Board Chair of the Korean American Democratic Committee. “I would carefully want to suggest people be more patient and engage in city affairs as citizens.”
Mayor Bass recently replaced her press secretary and bolstered her public affairs team ahead of her second year in office. She also signaled that she would do more to strengthen the police department.
BY BRIAN CHOI, JUNHAN PARK [ichoi@koreadaily.com]
