How a fizzled recall attempt actually helped Mayor Karen Bass

Los Angeles Times ^ | Aug. 2, 2025 8 AM PT | Julia Wick and David Zahniser

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Several millennia ago during the Trojan War, an army of Greeks built a massive wooden horse, feigned departure and left it as a “gift” outside the walled city of Troy.

The Trojans brought the offering — filled, unbeknownst to them, with Greek soldiers — into their fortified city and unwittingly wrought their own downfall. At least that’s how the legend goes.

So if an attack disguised as a gift is a Trojan horse, what do you call a gift disguised as an attack?

One could argue that the attempted recall of Mayor Karen Bass inadvertently fits the bill.

Back in early March, Silicon Valley philanthropist and former Robert F. Kennedy Jr. running mate Nicole Shanahan launched an effort to recall Bass. At the time, Bass was still on her back foot — an incumbent, first-term mayor who’d become a national target for her initial response to the Palisades fire.

It’s notoriously difficult to gather enough signatures to trigger a recall. But Shanahan’s extremely deep pockets (her ex-husband co-founded Google) made anything possible. With the mayor already wounded and Angelenos feeling angry and frustrated, a well-funded recall effort could have been the spark that torched Bass’ reelection chances.

That did not come to pass.

Proponents didn’t even finish the paperwork necessary to begin gathering signatures, then tweeted in June that a recall would “no longer be our vehicle for change” and that they would instead focus on holding elected officials accountable at the ballot box in 2026. Their spokesperson has not responded to several emails from The Times.

But the short-lived recall effort had one effect its proponents likely did not anticipate. During a tenuous moment for Bass, they may have unintentionally handed her an extremely useful tool: the ability to form...

[Sarah Barracuda]

Only a grade a piece of crap who left LA while the city was burning to the ground parties it up in Ghana, comes back, has the entire local commie media lick her ass and still keep her job

[Dalberg-Acton]

Karen Bass worked for Castro’s Cuban Intelligence to recruit in southern California.

She’s a big “C” Communist.

[BenLurkin]

Mayor Bass has much more in common with P.T. Beauregard than she does with King Priam.

[jdege]

Several millennia ago during the Trojan War, an army of Greeks built a massive wooden horse, feigned departure and left it as a “gift” outside the walled city of Troy.

Then only one millennium ago, Arthur and his knights built a giant wooden rabbit...

[minnesota_bound]

Bass hired 11 lawyers at taxpayer expense so she would not be questioned about all the billions missing from the homeless money pot. She is expected to do the same so she is not on record about the brush fire response.

[WashingtonSource]

BS claim it helped her. Story spun from nothing. Clearly the LA Rag is her apologist.

[TheWriterTX]

Perhaps a large wooden badger...

[rdcbn1]

No way was Bass ever going to be removed via recall.

Better to let her keep screwing up LA and shoot for 2026

Remember , this moron was Joe Biden’s first choice for VP.

[Nateman]

It did help her. It allowed her to form an anti-recall committee which has no limits on contributions. She raised 4 times the money with that than her ordinary reelection committee did.

[napscoordinator]

It works for Ted cruise. He’s really bad luck for the state when he vacations overseas.