LA mayoral candidates hope to sway voters a week before the election
With eight days to go until Election Day and early voting already underway, the two candidates vying for Los Angeles City's top post held nothing back while on the campaign trail.
Mayoral candidates Karen Bass and Rick Caruso are all smiles with potential voters but are trading jabs when addressing each other.
On Monday, Congresswoman Bass said Caruso is lying about his political beliefs and his switch in January to the Democratic party.
"I think he's just a huckster pulling the wool on everyone's face," said Bass supporter Gregory Gutierrez. "I mean I think he's disingenuous at the base of it all so what can you get from that point on... The switching of the parties is a dead giveaway."
Caruso brushed off Bass' most recent attack and said the pair should focus on the issues at hand rather than reverting to name-calling.
"When you want to be the mayor of the second largest city in the country you got to act with character and integrity and how you address somebody reflects that," said Caruso. "I think that kind of talk is inappropriate. We should be talking about the issues and that's where I'm staying focused on."
Crime and homeless have been two of the biggest issues on voters' minds. bass met with housing advocates and renters in Chinatown Monday. They discussed ways to protect low-income housing, hoping that more people don't lose their homes.
"We can't have people displaced, that's crazy," said Bass. "We need to get people off the streets now and we need to do everything in our power to make sure that more people don't fall on the streets."
Bass' message seemingly resonated with some voters hoping to see what else bass can do.
"She understands local politics because she was a local politician," said supporter Linda Yudin. "She understands state politics because she was a state politician. She understands national politics because she is a member of our House of Representatives."
However, Bass' statements and her overall campaign surrounding the recent rise in antisemitism have failed to capture at least one voter.
"God help us if Karen Bass gets in," said Rebecca Eisenberg wit the L.A. Orthodox Jewish Community. "Not good for Jews and not good for L.A."
Caruso spent the early evening handing out Halloween candy and introducing himself to people in Larchmont Village. Some voters like resident Todd Warner remain undecided.
"I've been studying both [Caruso] and Karen Bass quite a bit," said Warner, whose pet store has been broken into three times since the pandemic started. "I think they're both really great candidates but right now I've been leaning more toward Rick Caruso."
