Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., has officially announced her candidacy for mayor of Los Angeles, CNN reports.
If elected, Bass would become the first Black woman and just the second Black mayor in the history of the city. Previously, Tom Bradley was elected as the first Black mayor and served from 1973 to 1993.
"With my whole heart, I'm ready," Bass announced in a tweet Monday afternoon. "Let's do this—together. I'm running for mayor."
In a statement announcing the 2022 mayoral bid, Bass said she'll be focused on a plethora of issues that are affecting the region.
"Our city is facing a public health, safety, and economic crisis in homelessness that has evolved into a humanitarian emergency," Bass said. "I've spent my entire life bringing groups of people together in coalitions to solve complex problems and produce concrete change — especially in times of crisis. Los Angeles is my home."
As a former head of the Congressional Black Caucus, Bass, a six-term representative, is one of several candidates hoping to succeed current Mayor Eric Garcetti. The primary is June 7, and the general election is on Nov. 8, 2022.
A prominent member of the Democratic Party, Bass was on Joe Biden's shortlist for vice president in 2020. Recently she was a top negotiator in Congress' bipartisan negotiations to overhaul policing laws, which ended without a deal last week.
Before being elected to Congress, Bass served as a member of the California state legislature. She became speaker of the California State Assembly, the first Black woman to hold the position in any state legislature in the country.
