Mayor Bass Leads Delegation Of LA City Leaders To Washington, DC

Mayor Karen Bass and a half dozen L.A. city councilmembers are in Washington, D.C., this week to build relationships with federal officials and advocate for local needs.

The Los Angeles delegation, which includes council President Paul Krekorian and councilmembers Bob Blumenfield, Hugo Soto-Martinez, Traci Park, Eunisses Hernandez, and Heather Hutt, are expected to meet with eight members of the Biden administration and several members of Congress.

Hernandez told LAist she wanted to go on the trip to make sure her constituents, the people in District 1, are represented in the nation’s capital.

“We represent a wide swath of the city of Los Angeles and many different types of communities,” she said. “I just wanted to make sure that we were at the table and not just on the menu.”

Migrant buses

The group met with the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and with Shalanda Young, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, on Monday.

“Both of those meetings were about the migrants that are being dropped off by the Governor of Texas and making sure that L.A. gets the resources we need,” Bass said in an interview.

They also asked Mayorkas to expedite FEMA reimbursements to the city for COVID-related expenses, according to the mayor’s office.

Gun violence

The group met with the deputy directors for the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, Gregory Jackson and Robert Wilcox, to highlight the work the city is doing and to request funding for gun violence prevention programs in L.A.

Hutt, who represents parts of Koreatown and Mid-City in District 10, said she’s happy the delegation was able to talk about gun violence prevention with the brand new department, especially since two of her children are gun violence survivors.

“One of them is paralyzed from his knee to his foot and still has a bullet in him,” Hutt said. “So knowing that the federal government is going in a direction of preventing ghost guns, preventing folks with other issues being able to obtain guns, and really going after the bad actors is important.”

Housing and homelessness

Homelessness is a key issue for their trip, and Bass said they’ve been able to bring in millions of dollars for affordable housing projects that have been stuck in limbo because of gaps in funding.

The delegation has already met with Tom Perez and Neera Tanden, the director of Intergovernmental Affairs and the White House Director of the Domestic Policy Council, to ask for more federal support with the housing crisis in the city.

Soto-Martinez said the trip is an important opportunity to share the stories of his constituents in District 13, including those living on the streets of Hollywood, with officials in Washington, D.C.

“We really wanted to stress that in a district that has an internationally known destination, we have some serious issues around housing and homelessness,” he told LAist.

Soto-Martinez said moving the needle at the federal level, even just a little bit, can have massive effects at the local level.

They will also be meeting with Secretary Marcia Fudge from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The group is expected to request more funding for housing vouchers and to ease the certification requirements for rental assistance.

2028 Olympics

The delegation has met with Department of Transportation officials, including Secretary Pete Buttigieg, to discuss preparations for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in L.A.

Hutt said she wants the city to take advantage of every opportunity so that people want to spend time in Los Angeles before and after the sporting events.

“I want them to see the rich culture that Los Angeles has to offer, and we do that by building up each one of the districts,” she said.

Hutt said infrastructure should be a priority for every part of the city. The delegation is also expected to meet with a Homeland Security advisor to go over public safety goals for the 2028 games.

Capitol Hill

The group will be heading to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to meet with members of the House of Representatives and Senate.

“If we have 19 members of Congress that represent L.A. County, and each one of them can direct funding, we need to maximize that,” she said.

Bass said she will also be speaking with Bakersfield congressional representative and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

In addition to the California delegation, the group of city officials are expected to meet with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries before they fly home on Thursday.