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ROSEN RUMINATIONS - The Mayoral primary race has concluded and now we are left with a choice between Karen Bass and Nithya Ramen. It makes me think of an old western star--Slim Pickens. The most qualified and capable candidate we had for Mayor was Adam Miller, but he must have had MI6 run his campaign. He was polling at 5% before the election and by the time all the votes are counted, he will have about 3.5%.
To be clear, using cold clear analysis, all three (Bass, Ramen, and Pratt) have none of the qualifications to be a successful Mayor. That said the reality is that we have to choose one of them. Before I get to that, there is a lesson for both remaining candidates from Spencer Pratt's failed campaign. He received 216,000 votes which represents about 25% of the people who voted. He was clearly unqualified, but his message wasn't. It was spot on! He did great at the debate because he raised and was articulate in talking about the pertinent issues that concern and are at the forefront of all Angelinos minds---the fire and its aftermath, security, the homeless mess, the condition of our streets and more. The problem was that as a messenger he could not overcome his lack of experience, doubt of his financial acumen and his lack of executive experience. But the words he spoke should not be forgotten. After that debate, he should have announced a team of competent people around him so he could overcome his lack of experience and prior history. It was not a surprise that he did not make the run-off.
So now we are left with two candidates and once again we are left with the choice of picking the lesser of two evils. Before I get to Karen, I do have a point of view about Nithya which I will restate here. Under that phony smile, lies someone who is both totally disingenuous and incapable and represents a political philosophy that has failed everywhere in the world. She's proud of being a Democratic socialist which to me is an oxymoron. There is no such thing. A socialist wants what you have; a democrat says this is America, go earn it. Socialism has failed and continually continues to fail all over the world. That smile is like a Hollywood set--looks great but there is nothing behind it. She advocated and convinced her constituency to support ULA, the impact of which was to cause LA to lose hundreds of construction jobs. She now realizes her mistake and wants it amended. While she points to the greed of people who have made a lot of money, her greed is that she wants to take it and wants people economically punished because of their success--she is economically ignorant and dangerous. It's a clear descent into mediocrity and continuing failure. Three other quick points---she voted against keeping the homeless more than 500' away from public schools--one could draw the conclusion that she is more interested in the homeless than she is in the children of our city. She also criticized auto makers for making catalytic converters to easy steal instead of the people who were stealing them. The eighth commandment of the Ten Commandments is "Thou shalt not steal". She obviously did not get that memo. Lastly, she and her socialist allies keep talking about defunding the police which at least 95% of the city's residents do not want. If anything, they want the police strengthened. Lately she has been waffling on this point. What all of this proves is that NITHYA CANNOT BE TRUSTED!
Now we get to Karen---full disclosure-I will vote for her. She's made many mistakes and I hope she has learned from them. World events are coming here and there is a lot of work to do to improve the quality of life for all Angelino's. She needs to put better, more talented people around her, get all of the homeless off the streets (trailer parks and small 3D homes are options that must be explored), improve the security and safety for all residents, fix the roads and recognize that smiling doesn't make you a good Mayor. What's needed in this city is leadership; not consensus. The problems are obvious--the question is will she have the courage and fortitude to deal with them? Time will tell.
(Fredric D. Rosen is a retired businessman and former CEO of Ticketmaster, where he led the company for 16 years and transformed it into the world’s leading ticketing service. He has served on numerous corporate and nonprofit boards, offering leadership across both private enterprise and charitable initiatives. With decades of experience in business and civic engagement, Rosen brings a seasoned perspective to issues at the intersection of commerce, culture, and community.)
