To the residents of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles City Council, and all elected officials with authority to address the leadership of the City of Los Angeles:

We, the undersigned residents, taxpayers, workers, business owners, and stakeholders of Los Angeles, call for Mayor Karen Bass to resign and for the City of Los Angeles to pursue every lawful mechanism available to address the leadership failures that have occurred during her tenure.

This petition is not about partisan politics. It is about accountability, competent administration, responsible use of taxpayer money, public safety, homelessness, emergency preparedness, and leadership when the city's systems fail.

1. Failure of accountability over homelessness
Homelessness has been Mayor Bass's defining priority, with Inside Safe serving as the centerpiece of her strategy.

Yet the program has cost more than $300 million, while approximately 43% of participants had returned to the streets by June 2026. Encampments have repeatedly returned after costly operations, including locations where city teams have conducted numerous interventions.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles experienced an increase in homelessness in 2026.

These outcomes demand accountability.

2. The Mayor's absenteeism from LAHSA
Mayor Bass appointed herself to the LAHSA Commission in 2023, making direct oversight of the homelessness agency one of her responsibilities.

Yet she missed 13 of 21 meetings during a recent 12-month period and 25 of 47 meetings since joining the commission—more than half.

In September 2026, she announced that she would leave the commission, citing time and scheduling constraints.

Los Angeles deserves leadership that stays at the table when problems become difficult—not leadership that leaves the table.

3. Refusal to testify before Congress
On September 15, 2026, Congress held a hearing examining fraud, waste, financial mismanagement, and federally funded homelessness programs in Los Angeles.

Mayor Bass was invited to testify but declined.

Given the enormous public scrutiny surrounding Los Angeles' homelessness system, taxpayers deserve leaders who are willing to answer difficult questions.

If the administration believes its record can withstand scrutiny, it should welcome scrutiny.

4. Serious fraud allegations involving homelessness funds
Federal authorities have announced criminal cases involving alleged theft, bribery, and misuse of approximately $12 million in homelessness assistance.

These are allegations against individual defendants, and guilt must be determined through the judicial process.

But they raise an essential question about oversight:

When Los Angeles spends hundreds of millions of dollars addressing homelessness, every dollar should be traceable, properly documented, independently audited, and connected to measurable results.

5. The gap between spending and permanent results
Inside Safe was intended to move people from homelessness into interim housing and ultimately permanent housing.

Yet stays have reportedly stretched to approximately a year, despite an original goal of permanent housing within 90 days.

If substantial numbers of participants ultimately return to the streets, taxpayers have a right to ask whether the program is providing a pathway out of homelessness or simply an extremely expensive temporary relocation system.

Los Angeles needs measurable outcomes, permanent housing, treatment options, accountability, enforcement, and transparent financial management.

6. Emergency preparedness and the Santa Ynez Reservoir
The Palisades fire exposed serious vulnerabilities in Los Angeles' emergency preparedness.

The 117-million-gallon Santa Ynez Reservoir was empty when the January 2025 Palisades fire began because it had been taken offline over problems with its floating cover.

In 2026, the reservoir was drained again for a $19.5 million cover-replacement project.

Residents should not have to wonder whether critical infrastructure will be operational when disaster strikes.

7. Persistent failures affecting ordinary residents
Residents continue to report recurring encampments, illegal dumping, public drug use, crime, infrastructure problems, abandoned properties, and other deteriorating conditions.

Too many residents feel that they repeatedly report problems only to see them return.

Government exists to serve the people who live here—not simply to announce programs, hold press conferences, or point to isolated success stories.

8. Animal welfare failures on Skid Row
Residents and animal advocates have raised serious concerns about animal welfare on Skid Row and the city's ability to provide adequate enforcement, veterinary care, rescue resources, and intervention.

The administration has announced new partnerships and veterinary initiatives, which are welcome.

But the need for these measures after years of complaints demonstrates that the city has struggled to address the problem adequately.

Good government requires more than responding after a crisis becomes impossible to ignore.

9. Addressing the underlying causes
Los Angeles must address not only the consequences of homelessness and addiction, but their underlying causes.

Harm reduction may intend to serve legitimate public-health purposes, but taxpayers are entitled to ask whether it is being paired with sufficient detoxification, addiction treatment, psychiatric care, case management, and pathways to long-term recovery.

Compassion and accountability must coexist.

Los Angeles cannot afford policies that repeatedly address the consequences while failing to provide sufficient pathways out of addiction, mental illness, and chronic homelessness.

10. Leadership requires accepting responsibility
Every mayor inherits difficult problems. State funding, federal policy, housing costs, and county services all affect Los Angeles.

But the fundamental question is: What does the mayor do with the authority she has?

Under Mayor Bass, residents have witnessed:

Hundreds of millions spent on Inside Safe while a substantial share of participants return to homelessness.
Encampments repeatedly returning after costly operations.

An increase in homelessness in 2026.

The mayor missing more than half of the meetings of the homelessness agency she appointed herself to oversee.

Her subsequent departure from that commission.

Federal scrutiny of Los Angeles' homelessness funding system.

Criminal allegations involving millions of dollars in homelessness funds.

A congressional hearing examining fraud and failure in federally funded homelessness services at which the mayor declined to testify.

Continuing concerns about infrastructure and emergency preparedness.

Growing frustration among residents who feel City Hall does not hear or respond to them.

This is not about demanding perfection from a mayor. It is about demanding accountability.

 

                                                                                                    OUR DEMAND:

We call upon Mayor Karen Bass to resign as Mayor of Los Angeles.

If she refuses, we call upon the Los Angeles City Council and all appropriate governmental authorities to use every lawful mechanism available to investigate the administration's performance, financial oversight, homelessness programs, infrastructure decisions, and public-safety policies and determine whether further action is warranted.

Los Angeles is one of the greatest cities in the world. Its residents deserve government that is transparent, competent, financially responsible, responsive, prepared for emergencies, and willing to accept responsibility when policies fail.

We believe Los Angeles deserves better leadership.

We call on Karen Bass to resign.

Sign this petition if you believe Los Angeles needs a change in leadership and a renewed commitment to accountability, transparency, public safety, fiscal responsibility, and effective solutions to homelessness.