Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass spoke briefly to business leaders and members of United Chambers of Commerce Thursday at the annual Mayor’s Lunch at Skirball Center.
Bass reiterated her goal of keeping Angelenos safe and cited the recently approved city budget to increase LAPD funds for recruitment. She addressed the “smash and grab” robberies that have targeted valley businesses by saying LAPD’s task force has arrested 80 members of the gangs involved.
She talked about her Inside Safe program and the need to build more housing for the homeless, and said the problem was not enough motels for temporary housing, all topics she has covered in prior speeches.
When asked how she would prioritize economic development and would answer the perception that “City Hall doesn’t like business” she said that, “You don’t develop a strategy on the third floor. You need to talk to people” and gave a new commitment to the business community to spend more time at the City Hall in the valley listening to business concerns, and trying to fill the 7,000 vacancies in the city apparatus that impede services like permits, city business licenses and more.
Also new was her proposed citywide discussion on safety and quality of life in the city, which will include surveys, polling, focus groups and more discussions on what residents and businesses within the city need and want.
