Former US Democratic Congressman Karen Bas was inaugurated as the first female mayor of Los Angeles (LA) and the second black mayor ever.

According to the New York Times and others, Mayor Karen Barth said at her inauguration on the 11th (local time) that she will build her consensus as she responds to racial tensions in L.A., soaring homelessness and the rise of the COVID-19 virus. The event was attended by California leaders, including California Governor Gavin Newsom. Mayor Bath was sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris. Vice President Harris congratulated Mayor Bath on his historic victory, while also highlighting the obstacles he will face.

Mayor Barth, who was also on President Biden’s 2020 running mate candidate list, won the November 8 election by defeating real estate developer Rick Caruso, known as a billionaire. 토토

“The people of LA asked me to serve at an inflection point in our history,” Barth said in her address, pointing out the pandemic, changing economy and climate, rising cost of living and homelessness crisis, she said. Barth’s 69-year-old mayor said she jumped into the race because heightened racial divisions and civil unrest reminded her of unrest prior to the 1992 L.A. riots that split the city.

Los Angeles, the second-largest city in the United States with a population of 4 million, has seen a surge in homelessness and violent crime since the COVID-19 pandemic, raising complaints from citizens. According to a report last September, about 69,000 people are homeless in Los Angeles. For the first time since 2012, a majority of residents said LA was headed in the wrong direction, according to a poll conducted earlier this year by Loyola Marymound University. In response, he said his first act as mayor was to declare a homeless emergency. He promised to find homes for 17,000 homeless people in his first year in office.

Thousands of people gathered at the event to celebrate the inauguration of LA’s first female mayor. There were celebratory performances by singers Stevie Wonder and Chloe Bailey, and National Youth Poet Award winner Amanda Gorman. Amanda Gorman congratulated Bath’s inauguration as mayor by concluding with a reading, “Where there is a will, there is a woman, and where there is a woman, there is a way.”