美国国家公共电台 NPR--Rep. Bass is elected mayor of Los Angeles in a contentious and close race

Rep. Bass¹ is elected mayor of Los Angeles in a contentious² and close race

Transcript³

Congresswoman Karen Bass was elected mayor of Los Angeles, making her the first woman and second African American to lead the city. The race was dominated by voters' concerns about homelessness.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Los Angeles has elected a new mayor. After a week of counting votes, Congresswoman Karen Bass was declared the winner in her race against billionaire businessman Rick Caruso. Bass will be the first woman ever to lead Los Angeles and only the second African American. For more, we're joined by NPR's Adrian Florido, who is in Los Angeles. Good morning, Adrian.

ADRIAN FLORIDO, BYLINE⁴: Good morning, Leila.

FADEL: So Adrian, tell us more about LA's mayor-elect, Karen Bass.

FLORIDO: Well, Karen Bass is an LA native who's represented the city as a Democrat⁵ in Congress for 12 years. Before that, she was a California state legislator. But she made her name as a community organizer in Black and Latino neighborhoods in South LA. In 1990, she founded a nonprofit, the Community Coalition⁶, to address the crack epidemic⁷ that was plaguing those neighborhoods. Two years ago, you might remember, she was on President Joe Biden's shortlist for a vice⁸ presidential running mate. All of this made her the early favorite to win the mayor's race. And now that she has, she'll be the first woman, as you said, to lead LA in its 241-year history...

FADEL: Wow.

FLORIDO: ...And only its second Black mayor.

FADEL: OK. So as you said, she was the early favorite, but she had a tougher race than expected. How did her challenger, Rick Caruso, manage to keep it so close?

FLORIDO: Well, in a word, money. Rick Caruso is a real estate developer who built some of LA's most well-known outdoor shopping malls, including The Grove⁹. And he's a billionaire who poured $100 million into his campaign, shattering records and outspending Bass more than 10 to 1. He also sold himself as the best person to solve what is really LA's biggest problem right now, its crisis with homelessness. Poll after poll showed that homelessness was voters' top concern here, along with worries about public safety. And surveys also showed that many voters did think that as an outsider and as a businessman, that Rick Caruso was the better candidate to solve that problem.

FADEL: Wow. So he spent all that money, but then he still fell short. What happened?

FLORIDO: Well, LA is a dark blue, deeply democratic city. And although the mayor's race is nonpartisan, Rick Caruso was a lifelong Republican who only switched parties last year, so that made a lot of voters skeptical¹⁰ of him. Still, he earned a lot of support in richer, whiter neighborhoods, especially on the city's west side. But Karen Bass really dominated in the city's more diverse working-class neighborhoods. And in the end, her liberal credentials¹¹ carried her to victory.

FADEL: And what can Angelenos expect from Mayor-elect Karen Bass?

FLORIDO: Well, she released a statement last night after she was declared the winner, saying that she planned to start immediately to solve the homelessness crisis and also to address LA's affordability¹² crisis. These are tough issues that have vexed¹³ city leaders for a long time. Bass also has some powerful new tools that previous mayors have not had. In this election, LA voters chose a much more progressive city council. And they also approved ballot¹⁴ initiatives to address housing, including a large tax increase on high-value real estate transactions that's going to raise up to $1 billion a year for affordable¹⁵ housing. Fernando Guerra, who directs the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University, says these things give Bass a huge opportunity to deliver on her promise.

FERNANDO GUERRA: She knows how to negotiate. She's going to be pulled from the left and she's got the money. She now has the ability, the city of LA now has the ability and the resources to fight homelessness like never before.

FLORIDO: The city is also facing other issues, Leila. LA City Hall has been engulfed¹⁶ in scandal recently. Council members have been arrested on corruption¹⁷ charges. Others have gotten in trouble for making racist¹⁸ comments. So restoring public trust in city government is going to be another big challenge for Mayor Bass. And LA is also going to soon start making preparations to host the Olympics in 2028, a process that Bass is going to be highly influential¹⁹ in and that is sure to surface a lot of competing tensions and interests.

FADEL: NPR's Adrian Florido in Los Angeles. Thank you.

FLORIDO: Thank you, Leila.

1 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

2 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

6 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

7 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

8 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

9 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

10 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

11 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。

12 affordability   

可购性

参考例句：

• Performance-Based Logistics Affordability: Can We Afford Categorical Conversion to Performance-Based Acquisition? 基于性能的后期的可承受性：能否担负得起向基于性能的采办的无条件的转变？
• There would be no crisis of affordability, as't for food or clothing. 就想食物与服装一样，因为供给没有危机。

13 vexed   

adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论

参考例句：

• The conference spent days discussing the vexed question of border controls. 会议花了几天的时间讨论边境关卡这个难题。
• He was vexed at his failure. 他因失败而懊恼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

15 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

16 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

18 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

19 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。