Karen Bass risks everything by taking page out of Kamala Harris’ playbook — as top staffer quits

Incumbent Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, fighting to keep her job for another four years, appears to be borrowing a page from former Vice President Kamala Harris’ political playbook as her reelection campaign undergoes a major leadership shakeup.

Doug Herman, who has worked with Bass since 2021 and helped guide her to victory in 2022, abruptly announced his departure as the mayor prepares for a difficult runoff battle against Democratic Socialists of America-backed Councilwoman Nithya Raman ahead of the November election.

His departure, first reported by Politico, was not publicly explained by the campaign. Instead, Bass’s team quickly moved to replace Herman — who built a reputation working on successful campaigns for Barack Obama and former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti — with a longtime ally of both Harris and former President Joe Biden.

“Going into the general election, our campaign is proud to announce that Julie Chávez Rodriguez will be leading the team,” Bass campaign spokesperson Alex Stack said in a statement.

Rodriguez served as campaign manager for Biden and later Harris after Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race. She also served as a senior adviser to the president.

In 2024, Donald Trump defeated Harris, sweeping all seven battleground states.

“Mayor Bass essentially replaced a team of professionals that worked with Barack Obama for one that worked with Kamala Harris — not a good trade in my opinion,” strategist Matt Klink told The California Post.

“The rationale of ‘strategic differences’ could mean anything, but it does suggest a mayoral campaign that’s worried and not confident heading into November’s general election,” he added.

The top two spots in the primary were claimed by Bass, who received 34.3% of the vote, and Raman, who secured 29.0%. Under Los Angeles election rules, if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two finishers advance to a runoff.

The contest has emerged as one of the most closely watched local races in the country as progressive candidates gain momentum, drawing comparisons to the national attention surrounding Zohran Mamdani during the New York mayoral race.

The race also attracted national attention in part because of former reality television personality Spencer Pratt, whose campaign generated a significant online following but failed to secure enough votes to advance to the November runoff.

“Only time will tell if a new campaign consultant puts the mayor’s campaign on the path to victory or if the problems with Karen Bass’s reelection reflect deeper issues with a vulnerable incumbent and a dissatisfied electorate,” Klink said.

Rodriguez — a product of the Democratic Party establishment and a longtime party loyalist — is the granddaughter of labor leader and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez.

She boasts a résumé that reads like a who’s who of Democratic politics: Rodriguez served in the Obama administration, worked for then-Sen. Harris, led Latino outreach for Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign, and later ran the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.

“Campaign shakeups are part of the fabric of politics, but when they happen in high-profile races, they make a big splash,” Klink added.

The circumstances surrounding Herman’s departure remain unclear, or at least have not been made public. He played a key role in helping Bass defeat developer Rick Caruso in the 2022 Los Angeles mayoral race.

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