Opinion: Many cheer Bass’ mayoral win. Some wonder why L.A. elects only Democrats
Kathy Bates, left, and Steve Bass celebrate after the announcement of their win, Aug. 5, 2017. (Los Angeles Times)
A few days after the historic election of Mayor Eric Garcetti to fill the slot vacated by the retiring Antonio Villaraigosa, the Los Angeles Times ran a front-page piece headlined “Many Cheer Bass.” It went on to say:
City Councilman Jose Huizar, who had been named the favorite to replace Villaraigosa as mayor and who has been backed by L.A.’s powerful political class, has been swept into office by a grassroots movement of Latino voters outraged at the choice of Garcetti.
“In a city that’s run by a political class that cares more about protecting its privileges than about creating real opportunities,” an anonymous author of the piece, who identified himself as a “business leader,” wrote, “it’s time for a change.”
Many of those who cheered the election of Eric Garcetti were not surprised. The first-term mayor won with 54 percent of the vote, making Eric Garcetti the first Mexican-American mayor of a major American city.
But many who are not surprised about the victory of Garcetti and did not cheer it are nevertheless disturbed by the choice of the man who took over for Antonio Villaraigosa in the City Council.
If you read the piece, “Many Cheer Bass,” you can see that its author is not a self-described “business leader” who is “outraged” at Mr. Villaraigosa’s replacement.
Rather, its author is a supporter of Eric Garcetti.
Some of his reasons for so doing may have been as follows:
Garcetti won the election with help from a grassroots movement led by Steve Bass. Many of the people who supported Garc