Democratic Congresswoman Karen Blass has won the race for mayor of the U.S. city of Los Angeles after defeating billionaire Rick Caruso to become the city’s first female mayor.
Thanks to the support of the black community in the south of the city and the progressives in the west side of Los Angeles, Blass has gained control of the mayor’s office of one of the most important cities in the United States, beating Caruso, a businessman who owns hotels and shopping malls, according to CNN.
Blass’ campaign has been based on calling his opponent, a former Republican who had registered with the Democratic Party to improve his chances of winning office in a city with a strong Democratic tradition, an «opportunist».
For his part, Caruso has focused his campaign by emphasizing the word «Democrat» in an attempt to avoid discussion of his political evolution. However, his electoral strategy and the almost 96 million euros invested in the elections have only been enough for him to be almost 50,000 votes behind Blass, according to the ‘Los Angeles Times’.
All in all, the new mayor will take control of a city plagued by corruption scandals and with a growing crisis of homelessness and deep inequalities that have become more noticeable after the COVID-19 pandemic.