Letters to the Editor: Karen Bass won. Rick Caruso conceded. L.A. shows how democracy is done

To the editor: Los Angeles had a mayoral election to be proud of. (“What L.A. needs from Mayor Karen Bass,” editorial, Nov. 16)

We had two very capable candidates. Their contrasting experiences and skills led to an interesting, competitive campaign largely free of the ugliness that often infects our politics. Voting — by mail and at the polls — was conducted without notable incident.

When the results were clear, Mayor-elect Karen Bass was humble and her opponent Rick Caruso was gracious. And there was no attempt to discredit those results.

The democratic process — under pressure like never before in some places — lives on in Los Angeles.

Mike Eberts, Los Feliz

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To the editor: Caruso lost and could end up with around 485,000 votes once all the ballots are counted.

He spent about $100 million of his own money running for mayor. That is about $206 per vote.

In 2010, Meg Whitman ran for governor of California and spent $144 million of her own money to get about 4.1 million votes, or about $35 per vote. Caruso thus proves to be far less efficient at trying to buy an election.

Paul Hunt, Sierra Madre

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To the editor: I voted for Bass, but I can see why a lot of Angelenos liked Caruso. Frankly, their politics are not all that different, and I did not see any obvious animosity between these two candidates. Caruso was gracious in conceding to Bass.

If I can suggest one thing for Bass to do immediately: Enlist Caruso as her homelessness and housing czar.

He wanted to help this city. He might even have good ideas on the subject. This would give him the chance to come through on his big campaign promise while taking some of the pressure off of Bass, who could concentrate on all the other issues facing our city.

It would also promote solidarity among Los Angeles’ Democrats.

Mark Johnson, Los Angeles

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To the editor: I hope that Bass asks Caruso to join her administration to help bridge our divide and work on behalf of residents to make Los Angeles the best it can be.

Caruso can bring his building expertise to City Hall. But best of all, we could show the rest of the country how good things can happen when you work with your opponent.

Barbara Azrialy, Los Angeles

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To the editor: Caruso is one of the most successful business leaders the city has ever known. He is also among the most generous philanthropists in Los Angeles.

At a time of crisis, the citizens of Los Angeles had an opportunity to elect him as their mayor. Missing that opportunity is a mistake of historic proportion.

Wayne Ratkovich, Los Angeles