LOS ANGELES — Community organizer and minister Rae Huang formally announced her candidacy for mayor of Los Angeles on Sunday, offering voters an option to the left of Mayor Karen Bass and potentially complicating prospects for Bass avoiding a runoff.
“This campaign is not about me,” the 43-year-old Huang said Sunday afternoon at Arts District Brewing Co. in downtown Los Angeles. “It is about us, all of us, all Angelenos, it is about the future that we will and must build together this new season for our city.
Rev. @raeforla painted a picture of a better, more livable Los Angeles at today’s launch of her campaign for Mayor of Los Angeles:
Housing for all
Fast, safe, and free transit
Living wages with dignity for all pic.twitter.com/HhHyIlJfCR
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“In this new season, we are going to make housing affordable for all. We are going to make transit free, safe and fast. We are going to make sure that wages and work are dignified.”
Huang is deputy director of Housing Now California, a coalition of over 150 organizations that fights tenant displacement. She is also a member of the Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, and if elected would be Los Angeles’ first Asian-American mayor.
Huang is a long shot to win with little name recognition or political experience, but if her campaign gains traction she could siphon enough votes from Bass to keep the mayor from a majority in the June 2 primary. If no candidate receives over 50%, the top two finishers will meet in a runoff in November.
Bass has drawn criticism for her handling of the devastating Palisades fire in January. When the fire broke out Bass was in Ghana as part of the four-member presidential delegation attending the inauguration of John Dramani Mahama as president.
Bass has also drawn criticism for not doing enough to address high housing costs.
Doug Herman, a spokesperson for the Bass campaign, told City News Service in an email that “Under Mayor Bass’ leadership, there has been unprecedented progress on the issues that matter most to Angelenos.”
“Homelessness has declined for the first time in two consecutive years, neighborhoods are safer with significant drops in crime, and the Palisades fire recovery continues far ahead of pace with the fastest recovery and rebuilding in California history,” Herman said.
“In addition, there was no better defender of Los Angeles than Mayor Karen Bass when Trump’s ICE raids started and we won a court ruling to help stop the illegal raids and unconstitutional arrests. That’s what we need to move Los Angeles forward.”
Former LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner declared his candidacy on Oct. 13.
“Rev. Huang and I share many concerns about the direction of Los Angeles, including our city’s lack of affordable housing. I look forward to getting to know her during the campaign ahead,” Beutner told City News Service on Sunday.
The 72-year-old Bass, a former congresswoman and Assembly speaker and a onetime community organizer herself, defeated businessman Rick Caruso in 2022 to become mayor.
Caruso has not announced whether he will run for mayor again in 2026.