The Los Angeles mayor’s ill-timed international travel — which coincided with historically destructive wildfires sweeping through her city — threatens to spiral into a political crisis for an elected official who has so far enjoyed a remarkably durable honeymoon in the nation’s second-largest city.
Mayor Karen Bass left the West African nation on Tuesday, where she was attending the inauguration of its new president. She arrived Wednesday afternoon in Los Angeles, where hurricane-force winds and dry weather created the conditions for catastrophic fires that have killed at least five people.
Bass’ absence — as local and state officials made public appearances as the crisis escalated Tuesday evening — was glaring, making her an easy target for political foes and frustrated Angelenos and tarnishing her image as an assiduous, in-the-weeds leader who prioritizes local issues.
“Of course, you don’t go,” Rick Caruso, the billionaire developer who ran against Bass in 2022, said of her overseas expedition. “That’s not leadership, that’s abandoning your post.”
With Bass missing in action, critics such as Caruso have stepped eagerly into the public relations void, lacerating the mayor’s leadership.
“Is it as bad as Ted Cruz going to Cancun? No. But it could be an indelible dent in her image,” said one veteran Democratic consultant in Los Angeles, who was granted anonymity to speak frankly about the political dynamics.
A Democratic political consultant recalled being struck by her innate popularity while watching one focus group during the mayor’s race that was unaffiliated with any campaign..
“They liked her. They wanted to vote for her,” the consultant said, “They liked the cut of her jib, they liked the way she talked.”
But, the consultant added, the current crisis could imperil that goodwill.
The question, the consultant said, is whether the fires will “be perceived as a management problem or purely a natural disaster. … If it’s perceived as the former, then the price could be very steep.”