La Business Groups Unite Behind Bass And Switch Up Their Playbook

LOS ANGELES — An array of Los Angeles business groups are endorsing Mayor Karen Bass for reelection, yet another sign that the city’s political establishment is rallying around its embattled incumbent.

But they are not just looking to make their mark on the mayor’s race. For the first time, the city’s fragmented business community is coordinating its political efforts, collectively planning to spend seven figures in races this year, including for two City Council seats and the city controller. Their aim is to increase their cachet and act as a stronger counterweight to Los Angeles’ powerful labor unions.

“We were going at it alone, ending up in similar places,” said Stuart Waldman, president of the Valley Industry Commerce Association. “But when [the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor] meets, everybody’s in the room. We wanted to show that we are coordinated and we are working together.”

Last year’s fight over a $30 minimum wage for hospitality workers — spearheaded by labor groups and forcefully opposed by businesses — was a catalyst for the effort. When their lobbying fell flat, some business groups, even those outside the tourism industry, became convinced they would need to flex more political muscle in elections to have more clout in City Hall.

“Many other industries and business types who are maybe not directly impacted, looked at it and said, ‘Are we next?’” said Nella McOsker, who leads the Central City Association, representing downtown business interests.

The pick puts them in the incongruous position of being on the same side as labor, which is strongly behind Bass. The support for the mayor may seem puzzling, given their frustration over the hospitality wage, which Bass supported, and how city government is operating overall.

But Maria Salinas, president of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, said Bass and her team were “engaged with us and trying to broker a conversation.” She also praised the mayor for meeting with them immediately after she defeated their preferred candidate, developer Rick Caruso, in 2022.

Bass also got points for her focus on the homelessness crisis, increasing police staffing and approving a $2.62 billion expansion project for the city’s convention center, a rare shared priority for both business and labor groups.

“There’s definitely room for improvement. The living wage issue is one. There’s other areas where we would like to see more,” said Areen Ibranossian, a veteran City Hall strategist who is involved with several business groups. “But for a mayor who has come in with, honestly, not a whole lot of experience with the city — getting those three pieces accomplished, which are so critical to the business community, it’d be hard to argue not to support her.”

That doesn’t mean the groups, which also include the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, the BizFed and the building owners and the Building Owners and Managers Association Greater Los Angeles, plan to make it easy for her if she wins. Some of the same business interests backing Bass are also pursuing a ballot initiative to repeal the city’s gross business receipts tax, which could deprive the city of $800 million in revenues.

The threat of the initiative could provide business interests with potent leverage over negotiations in City Hall — another sign the groups are stepping up their political hardball and taking a page out of their frequent foe’s playbook.

“Frankly, it’s a sophistication to the business community's approach that hasn't existed. If you look across the aisle and labor, they do that all the time,” said Ibranossian. “Look at the billionaires tax, and they're also having conversations with the Legislature on a whole host of other things.”

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