Karen Bass

And it's like, how dare I not fight?

You know, because I don't care how hard we're having it today.

Nothing, nothing compares to prior moments in our history, whether you were talking

enslavement, Jim Crow, which I also called apartheid, US apartheid, because, you know, the South African regime, when they were setting up apartheid in the early part of the last century, they came to the South to study what was happening in your state and in other states to set up their system.

And I think about all of the fights we've had to get where we are today.

And that, to me, fills me up with encouragement and inspiration

and dedication.

Well, a big believer in keeping my eyes on the prize and never getting confused by that.

And so if this is why I ran, number one is to address the gross inequity in this city.

Again, one of the wealthiest cities in the world, but the income inequality is so vast that the most extreme example of that is homelessness.

But you also have multiple families living in an apartment

because they can't afford rent on one income or even on two incomes.

And to me, staying focused and not letting the noise distract me.

That has been very, very important.

And it's difficult.

I don't want to paint it as it's easy.

It isn't.

You know, when you're under attack from every level, when you hear the President of the United States call your name in the Oval Office and basically wholesale lie about you and know that that's going to be covered on a network repeatedly and that the people that watch that network will not have any other information, it's not that it is easy.

But I think it's always important to keep your eyes on the prize and keep in touch with the people who you're trying to impact.

Well, yes.