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Homeless count leaves LA voters with impossible choice for mayor — and crisis for democracy

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Karen Bass is in deep trouble.

Her reelection bid was already shaky, thanks to lingering public outrage over the Palisades Fire.

Then she began losing staff, even after winning the primary election with a plurality of the vote.

After longtime aide Doug Herman quit, she had to replace him with Julie Chávez Rodriguez, who managed Kamala Harris’s losing presidential campaign. 

Not exactly a hopeful sign.

But the mayor continued to argue that she had earned a second term, thanks to the progress that LA had made in reducing homelessness. 

Her campaign website boasted: “In the three years of the Bass Administration, LA has achieved its first-ever back-to-back decreases in homelessness.”

That argument is now toast.

On Friday, the LA Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) released its delayed homeless count for 2026.

It reported that the homeless population had risen almost 3.4% since 2025. And the number of “unsheltered” people living on the streets or in cars rose 7.9%.

That’s much worse than LA County, which recorded a 1.2% rise in homelessness and a 3.3% rise in the unsheltered population.

Bass tried to blame President Donald Trump. 

“The Trump Administration has driven up the cost of gas, groceries, and rent — pushing more families to the edge — and slashed critical safety net funding,”........

© New York Post