Karen Bass Ducks Out Of Mayoral Forum After Failing To Escape Blame For Mangling LA Wildfire Response

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass walked back her commitment to participate in a scheduled televised mayoral debate, drawing criticism, organizers said Saturday.

Bass, who is campaigning for reelection, was one of the four candidates who had formally confirmed that they would participate in the May 13 mayoral forum to be televised on FOX 11, the League of Women Voters of Greater Los Angeles and the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs jointly said, with “regret.” Bass opted to visit Sacramento “fighting for funding for housing, homelessness, and Palisades recovery,” her spokesperson Alex Stack said, according to the LA Times.

Bass’s cancelation drew criticism. “Mayor Bass’s withdrawal is disappointing,” wrote the two debate organizers. “Public forums such as this are a cornerstone of democratic accountability. These forums provide voters with the opportunity to hear candidates share their perspectives, respond to questions, and engage with one another on issues facing Los Angeles.”

Mike Bonin, head of the Pat Brown Institute and a former LA councilmember, told the LA Times that Bass was the first to confirm her attendance. “To be very clear, the mayor CHOSE this date and the other candidates adjusted their schedules accordingly,” he told the outlet via a text message.

“The forum was organized to give Los Angeles voters the opportunity to hear directly from candidates seeking to lead the city through a period of extraordinary challenges,” the two debate hosts said.

“We remain committed to providing voters with meaningful opportunities to engage with those seeking public office,” they added.

The other three candidates who formally accepted the invitation to the debate stage were Councilmember Nithya Raman, businessman Adam Miller, and community advocate Rae Huang.

Reality television personality Spencer Pratt, the fifth mayoral candidate, who was also invited, declined to attend, citing a scheduling conflict, according to the hosts.

Pratt, a survivor of the January 2025 wildfires, had criticized Bass’s handling of the crisis during a May 6 televised debate, according to NBC Los Angeles. While Bass was able to evade attacks from rival candidates, Pratt was voted by viewers as the winner of the three-candidate debate between Bass, Raman, and himself, the outlet reported. (RELATED: Spencer Pratt Exposes Karen Bass Over Wildfire Disaster To Her Face Mid-Debate)

Bass repeatedly took flak as the wildfires in and around LA raged, for traveling to Ghana while the threat of the firestorm loomed over the city and for budget cuts to the Los Angeles Fire Department and reported emoluments for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power officials. Some of the city’s fire hydrants failed. Many individuals petitioned for her immediate recall.

The then-LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley told the media January 10 — four days after the fires started — that the budget cuts hampered the city’s emergency response to the fires. Bass fired her six weeks later, saying that 1,000 firefighters had been sent home rather than to attend to the fires on Crowley’s watch and that Crowley had refused to draw up an action report on the fires.