Endorsement: Karen Bass for Los Angeles mayor
When I began running for mayor of Los Angeles, I was still relatively fresh from the Los Angeles city council. I had come from the council, but this was going to be my first foray into the mayoral race. I had no political base in Los Angeles that I was willing to use to elect me.
So, as I prepared to enter the race against incumbent Eric Garcetti, I started doing what I usually do in a new race. I went on Facebook and posted every day for a month. I posted every day about the policies and issues that would be critical to me in winning this race. I posted every day about the candidates who would be challenging me. With each day that passed, I felt more and more confident—firmly more confident—about where I stood in this race. I knew—I’m a city council member with years of experience and knowledge of the issues. I wasn’t going to be some unknown outsider. I already had the infrastructure, the endorsements and the name recognition to win. I had just needed to grow my own network.
I’ve been running a campaign since June 2016. This is not a long-running campaign, or a long-running campaign. This is a campaign that is happening on a daily basis—at least once or twice a day. By the end of April, I was on Facebook every day, posting on every issue that mattered to me. I was putting together my first campaign team, selecting my first campaign staff. More than that, I was beginning to build my campaign infrastructure. By May, I was talking with people about running for office every day. They were happy to hear that this was my plan. The more I talked with these potential supporters, the more confident I felt—so confident that I began to approach them, not with the “what would you do” question, but the “how do you feel about this” question.
The more I talked with these potential supporters