Editorial: What L.A. needs from Mayor Karen Bass
The Los Angeles Times’ editorial page on Thursday (June 13) endorsed a simple message — that city Hall needs a mayor who can get things done and can connect to ordinary people and businesses with an honest, forthright approach. The editorial notes that the current mayor doesn’t connect nor can she communicate with the diverse array of voters in the city at large. It doesn’t help that she has not kept in touch with the business community either.
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The Editorial Board, of course, is also an elected official and it’s obvious that they know that there is a problem with the mayor’s administration and that it needs to be addressed.
It seems to me the mayor would do well to visit the editorial board and make an appointment and chat for a while with a few of the editors or reporters, if only to get an idea about who represents their views and where their priorities lie.
You don’t have to agree with the newspaper to appreciate the value of the relationship.
What would it take for the mayor to make a good first impression?
First, she would make an appointment with the editorial board and a few editors or reporters, to get an idea about who represents their views and where their priorities lie.
Then, if she meets with them and does the right things, she can go into a conversation with them about what’s really important to them and what they really care about.
If she meets the press and she does the right things, she can go into a conversation with the press and the press can talk to her.
The bottom line is that Mayor Karen Bass needs to get with the newspaper editorial board and have a little discussion with them about how she’d like to be perceived and who she’d like to be. In that meeting, she can say “I’ve got my agenda, and I’m going to be more forthcoming with you about where I’m going as mayor and who I’m going after as mayor as you guys can tell” and make that a real issue in her campaign or in the next election.
That is, instead of just saying it, she’d actually do something about it.
In other words, she’d go into “the deal” with the paper and tell them, “
