Mayoral candidates speak to Annenberg Media

As we approach the final stretch of the LA mayoral race, Karen Bass and Rick Caruso are getting closer and closer in the polls.

We were able to get in touch with Caruso at the “Real Solutions” South LA Town Hall last night and here is what he said about why people should vote for him.

Rick Caruso: “If you’re happy with the way your community is today, if you’re happy with your primary, if you feel safe, if you’re happy with the homeless situation, if you’re happy with the corruption, then I’m not your candidate. If you want change, our system is broken. If you want someone to fix the system and have real positive change to make L.A. more livable and safer, I’d be honored to have your vote and put me to work.”

Caruso also discussed abortion, one of the most controversial issues amongst voters, and emphasized his pro-choice stance.

Rick Caruso: “I’ve always been pro-choice, so that’s always been my stance forever. And I think it’s unfair that what Karen has done is to try to turn things on me. And actually, I think it’s unfair to women in Los Angeles to make this a political issue.”

Karen Bass and her allies have attacked Caruso for his donations to Republican candidates, but Caruso clarified that his donations have never helped anti-abortion causes.

Rick Caruso: “I never gave a dollar to change Roe v Wade. I never gave a dollar that would affect a woman’s right to choose. I did give money to Republicans. 85% of my donations went to Democrats like a Jerry Brown, like a Gavin Newsom.”

We also got in touch with Karen Bass. Here is what she said about how she would change law enforcement in Los Angeles.

Karen Bass: “There are some neighborhoods in Los Angeles that really would like to have an increased police presence. In those neighborhoods, if that’s what they would like to see, that’s what they should have, if that’s what they feel they need in order to feel safe. In inner city areas like South Central East L.A., Pico Union, there is not a big cry to have an increased police presence. What is wanted there are resources for community based programs to prevent crime.”

Karen Bass also stated she hoped Los Angeles city and Los Angeles County could collaborate more on issues.

Karen Bass: “One of the things that has been broken in our policy is the lack of collaboration actually between L.A. City and L.A. County. I’m not even referring to the other cities, just L.A. City and L.A. County. And so we need to expedite the process. We need to centralize the process. And there’s a lot of regulations that need to be relaxed or waived or changed in a lot of different areas.”

This election looks come down to the wire.

Make your voice heard and vote on November 8th.