Neophyte pundits of this city’s politics and government like to call the Los Angeles chief executive a “weak mayor.” That’s not true, at least since the charter reform of the late 1990s gave explicit authority to the mayor to hire and fire department heads, as well as setting their budgets and managing the operations of the government. It was a reminder of a question that has haunted every one of Bass’ predecessors in the modern life of America’s second-largest city: When – and how – should mayors get involved in the business of education?

The prospect of a prolonged standoff affected schools, of course, but also city residents. When those workers walked out in March and teachers joined in solidarity, schools shut down, stranding students and parents across the city and beyond.

It was a strike by service workers at the Los Angeles Unified School District. And she knew that public safety would haunt her tenure – after historic declines in the 1990s, crime has been reasserting itself in recent years, and the city’s police chief, Michel Moore, was up for reappointment just weeks after she took office.īut the first crisis she faced was not about housing or police. Karen Bass ran for mayor of Los Angeles mainly on her promise to address the city’s vast and persistent problem of homelessness. Unified, issues affecting children and families are difficult for mayors to avoid. Even though Karen Bass has prioritized homelessness and public safety and tried to sidestep a recent strike at L.A. Los Angeles mayors have historically taken different approaches to their involvement with education issues.

We All Fall Down by Eric Walters