Many Los Angeles residents are voicing sharp doubts about Mayor Karen Bass marquee homelessness and policing agenda as the city heads toward a pivotal November 3 mayoral election.
According to the New York Post, the incumbent Democrat is confronting deep skepticism even when her proposals are presented to voters without her name attached. Bass faces a serious challenge from socialist Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman.
At the center of the controversy is Bass Inside Safe initiative, a program that has consumed hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to move homeless individuals from encampments into hotel rooms while they await permanent housing. I just dont think a hotel is the proper place for homeless people, said Val Villanueva.
Villanueva said many homeless people are dealing with mental issues and need something a bit more structured where there are support services readily available. Bass handling of homelessness is one major reason he is voting for Raman.
Shes not really handling the homeless situation, Villanueva said, arguing that she is just kind of moving them from place to place and doing so very violently. He added, I think the citys become quite complacent.
Other voters were open to the spending, but with strings attached. Undecided voter Adrian Guess said he supports housing the homeless if it also comes with services like mental health, addiction, financial literacy education, because if you only give them housing, but you dont do the other side, then youre just putting a bandaid on the problem.
Amy Zhao, who isnt voting this year, opposes pouring money on the problem the way Bass has done. I think throwing money at it is not necessarily the best way to go about it, she said.
Voters were also asked whether the next mayor should eventually expand the police force by around 1,000 officers, without being told that Bass supports the expansion. Some warned that simply adding officers, without reforming deployment and training, would be another superficial fix.
I dont think we necessarily need more untrained officers, Villanueva said, adding, We need better trained officers. Zhao said there could be benefit in that if the city is being responsible about how and who theyre hiring.
Guess said he supports police who are paired with like mental health workers, homeless workers, like social services and such. Caitlene Navalta, who declined to say who shes voting for, said the city should focus on addressing the root causes of incidents requiring police presence.
Voters were generally more supportive of two policies from Raman, without knowing she was behind them, on increasing housing density and maintaining Airbnb restrictions. Asked whether Los Angeles should allow duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes in single-family neighborhoods, undecided voter Lucas Robles said, I think we should probably build more vertically instead of horizontally.
Zhao agreed, saying, I cant afford a house if it brings down, like, the price of some of those properties, like, sure. Villanueva also staunchly backed keeping the restrictions that generally prohibit homeowners from using second properties as short-term rentals.
It is kind of evolving into something very different where people are buying a bunch of houses and then theyre remodeling them for cheap and then they are just renting them out for so much, he said. Guess agreed, saying Airbnb housing does jack up the prices for people who live in the city.
Robles disagreed, saying property owners should be free to rent out a second home. If that means renting it out to an Airbnb, I think you should be able to have power to do that, he said.
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