Bass, Caruso face off in second one-on-one debate
Congresswoman Karen Bass and developer Rick Caruso traded jabs in what was a sometimes tense debate.
"What I do know is Rick Caruso is running a desperate campaign," said Bass.
"It's about leadership," Caruso said. "It's about integrity. It's about credibility. It's about character."
In the second one-on-one face-off between the two candidates, vying to be the city's next mayor, tackled familiar campaign issues like crime and homelessness.
"We have to address why they are unhoused, to begin with. If we don't do that, they will right back out on the street," said Bass. "My opponent wants to, essentially, round people up in warehouses and shelters. And that's something that was done many years ago and it just doesn't work."
Caruso rebutted and said that the unhoused needed services and care.
"Here's what we know, you bring them inside, you give them care with dignity and humanity," he said. "And then you give them the services they need — psychiatric services, drug addiction services... They have programs that have a 94 percent success rate. We know there is a path to success. There hasn't been strong will to do the right thing.
On crime, Caruso remarked on the shortage of officers.
"We have 880 officers. We are short on the streets thanks to the leadership today," Caruso said.
Bass also seemed to support the Los Angeles Police Department commenting on the push to defund the police.
"There are people who believe in defunding the police," said Bass. "I am not one of them."
Both of the candidates were asked about their experiences with USC. Bass was asked why she accepted a scholarship to the social work school which has come under scrutiny because of another federal investigation.
"No I don't regret accepting the scholarship and I've said that before," she said. "I worked nights and weekends to earn a master's degree in social work so I could protect the nation's vulnerable children."
Caruso was asked why, as a USC Trustee, he did not make reports available during multiple scandals at the university some involving horrific sexual assault.
"We didn't release the report. We talked to experts. Many of them said releasing any information is just going to cause more horrific pain for those who have been terribly, terribly wounded," he said.
Bass addressed her infamous decade-old speech at the Church of Scientology. In retrospect, the congresswoman said she would not have done it again and admitted she knew something wasn't right in the church.
"I knew of some of the Scientology's abuses," she said. "I didn't know the depth of them. I learned it later and frankly if I had to do it all over again I wouldn't have gone.
Caruso responded by saying that Bass praised Scientology during her time in congress.
"Up until 2019, she gave congressional proclamations heaping praise on Scientology," he said.
Bass rebuked saying she had "absolutely no idea" about Caruso's claims.
If he were to win the election, Caruso said that he would step away from his company using a blind trust.
"I want no involvement in my company," he said. "100% of my time and energy is going to be the mayor of LA. Period. End of story."
Bass remarked at the fact that the company bears Caruso's name.
"I don't know how that could be because you're in the real estate business," she said. "You have projects underway. Your company is called Caruso."
In the latest poll from UC Berkeley and the Los Angeles Times, Bass was leading Caruso by only three points among registered voters but by 15 points among likely voters. Those numbers are an improvement for Caruso since the last poll.
