Los Angeles’s homeless epidemic was center stage Wednesday night during a debate between mayoral candidates Rep. Karen Bass and businessman Rick Caruso, who both claimed to offer a better quality of life in the beleaguered city.
The candidates, both Democrats, described the city as at a “crisis” when asked to offer a one-word descriptor of the City of Angels besieged by skyrocketing crime and cost of living. Bass has held elected office in the state and Congress since 2004, while Caruso is a billionaire developer of iconic landmarks and a former Republican.
<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1663870384107,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000177-ab1c-dfb6-afff-bf5d00c50003","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1663870384107,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000177-ab1c-dfb6-afff-bf5d00c50003","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_63793613", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1102828"} }); ","_id":"00000183-6667-d3ce-a5d7-ffff21550000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedLos Angeles County has the second-highest homeless rate in the nation behind New York, with 41,980 people on the streets, a 4% increase over 2020, a report released this month revealed.
“I want to call a state of emergency and take the authority of the mayor’s office to get something done — 30,000 beds, 500 case workers, and 500 sanitation workers to clean up the streets,” Caruso said. “We have people dying on the streets. Get them in and in a shelter, and keep them safe.”
Caruso suggested job training and psychological care once the homeless are in shelters. Bass said she wanted to house the homeless but that the solution to the crisis is permanent housing. The city has budgeted $1.2 billion for a 2016 voter-approved tax increase to build permanent housing, but so far, the project is only one-tenth completed.
The city controller reported this year that red tape is ramping up the cost of each unit to $1 million, far more than a standard home across America. Los Angeles City Council has continued to ask for tax increases to fund the program.
Caruso said he wants to create a team the sole job of which would be to eliminate the bureaucracy that drives up building costs and results in yearslong delays.
Bass agreed that bureaucracy is out of control but did not offer a plan to deal with it. Neither addressed the apparent debacle of the current housing project. But both agreed that homelessness and crime go together.
“What we have done for too long is we have put people in shelters,” Bass said. “Now, the shelters have become so dangerous, people don’t even want to be in the shelters and are choosing to be outside on the street.”
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She offered to increase staffing at the Los Angeles Police Department, which has suffered under the “defund the police” position by her own party and local politicians. The number of officers is down 880 from 2019 under both hiring cutbacks and demoralized officers who have been quitting in droves.
A recent Washington Examiner investigation found the famous Robbery Homicide Division, which was founded after the murder of Robert F. Kennedy and has solved famous murders and serial killer cases for 54 years, is a shell of its former self with just 10 detectives.
“I have a public safety plan: getting officers on the street immediately” by moving the administrative staff into patrol positions, Bass said. “We need to hire officers and get the LAPD up to 9,700 and hire 200-400 a month.”
Caruso did not say what his plan entailed but that a lot of it was tied to the homeless.
“People don’t feel safe. They don’t feel safe going for a walk or taking off jewelry before going to dinner,” he said. “Things aren’t the same anymore. … We are dealing with life and death, the highest homicide rate in 15 years.”
Although Republicans appear poised to take over the House next year and have won local races across America, Los Angeles is still firmly entrenched in blue as both candidates disavowed former President Donald Trump and praised the Democratic Party.
“I liked the Democratic Party of 10 years ago, and I like the Democratic Party of today,” Bass said. “Because the Democratic Party of today is more diverse — more diverse politically and diverse in every single way.”
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Caruso said he has been socially liberal even while a Republican. He supports Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Gov. Jerry Brown.
“I left the Republican Party a long time ago and did it because it didn’t reflect my values,” Caruso said. “We have two governors who are shipping [immigrants] to other parts of the country, and they are used as props. It’s terrible. They’re human beings.”
