After lengthy delay, Mayor Bass names new film liaison for Los Angeles
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More than two and a half years after she took office, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has fulfilled a nagging campaign promise to film industry advocates.
She is appointing Board of Public Works President Steve Kang to serve as a liaison between the city’s bureaucracy and the film industry, she said Wednesday. The mayor made the announcement while speaking to a private Zoom meeting of her entertainment industry council Wednesday afternoon, according to three attendees.
Kang will be the chief film liaison, assisted by Dan Halden — who serves as acting director of external relations at the city’s Bureau of Street Services, or StreetsLA — and producer Amy Goldberg.
The city’s film liaison role was established under former Mayor Eric Garcetti.
In the past, the liaison has served as the point person for film and TV productions looking to shoot in L.A., helping filmmakers navigate the city’s vast bureaucracy.
“I have full confidence that President Steve Kang will deliver in his role as City Film Liaison by finding solutions that protect our signature industry and ensure that local filming of TV shows, movies and commercials can successfully continue and expand,” Bass said in a statement. “With the successful expansion of the California Film & TV Tax Credit and our ongoing efforts to improve local processes, our work continues to keep production jobs here and support small businesses who rely on the industry.”
Bass’ decision not to prioritize the appointment of a film liaison had long frustrated industry advocates. Those concerns were heightened at a moment when L.A.’s future as a film capital is in peril.
Amid a broader slump in overall film and TV production, the city has long been bleeding production jobs to states and countries that offer generous tax incentives, cheaper labor and more filming-friendly bureaucracies.
Most of those issues are outside the mayor’s control. But some industry advocates believed that naming a film liaison would be an easy move that could make shooting in L.A. a little less of a headache.
The 22 shows were chosen amid a massive amount of interest in the state’s incentive program, which now has a cap of $750 million, up from $330 million.
Since Bass took office in December 2022, those advocates have pressed the mayor’s office on the issue, with no clear answers about the delay.
“There’s been a clear sense of need, and frustration that it hasn’t happened,” said one industry advocate, who had been present during the mayor’s office’s regular meetings with representatives from film studios, labor groups and other industry interests.
Bass’ announcement came on the same day state officials said that nearly two dozen television shows would receive tax credits for shooting in California, after the state Legislature raised the annual cap for the state’s incentive program earlier this year. Most of those shows will shoot in the Los Angeles area.
The uptick in local shoot days will offer welcome relief after years of stalled production. But it also heightens the urgency of having a city infrastructure in place to ease issues along the way.
As president of the Board of Public Works, Kang oversees the city’s contract with FilmLA, the nonprofit that grants permits to productions. He previously served as director of external affairs at the Koreatown Youth and Community Center and vice president of the Central Area Planning Commission.
“President Kang knows the infrastructure of the city, knows the permitting process, knows how our local government works,” producer Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, chair of Bass’ Entertainment Industry Council and also is founder and chief executive of Gotham Group, said in a statement. “Steve and his excellent team are ready to dive in and support Mayor Bass and her excellent team working hand-in-hand with the industry.”
Garcetti had several film liaisons during his administration. Members of the industry often point to City Hall veteran Kevin James — who held the role for several years beginning in 2015 — as an ideal model, since he had deep City Hall experience, as well as ties to the industry.
Like Kang, James served as film liaison while president of the Board of Public Works. The board governs the city’s Department of Public Works, which is responsible for StreetsLA, as well as the Street Lighting, Sanitation and Engineering bureaus.
The mayor signed an executive directive to support local film and TV jobs — an order that she said will lower costs and streamline city processes for on-location filming.
The mayor’s office has had to navigate a historically difficult 2025, beginning with a catastrophic firestorm, then immigration raids and an unprecedented military presence in the city — all of which have necessitated 24/7 crisis responses from her office. But the frustrations over the lack of a named point person far predate the recent crises.
While signing an executive directive to support local film and TV production in May, Bass was asked about the position and said she planned to appoint someone within the next few days.
More than three months later, she finally did.
Times staff writer Samantha Masunaga contributed to this report.
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