Karen Bass declares homelessness as ‘state of emergency’ on first day as LA mayor

Karen Bass, the new mayor of Los Angeles, began her first day in office by declaring a state of emergency to grapple with the city's homelessness crisis, bidding to move swiftly to help thousands of unhoused people off the streets.

Bass called the declaration "a sea change in how the city tackles homelessness", making good on a campaign pledge to call the emergency the day she took power. The issue dominated her mayoral race against the billionaire developer Rick Caruso and the crisis has continued to worsen despite vast public spending increases.

Bass, a former physician assistant who shattered glass ceilings with her rise to a leadership post in the California legislature and later a prominent spot in Congress, took a ceremonial oath of office on Sunday as mayor of Los Angeles.

Speaking at the ceremony, she said that the many disparate arms of government must unite to confront homelessness in the nation's second-largest city. To move in a new direction "we must have a single strategy" bringing together government, the private sector and other stakeholders, she said.

A progressive Democrat, Bass becomes the first woman and second Black person to hold the city's top job and will formally assume her duties on Monday amid multiple crises in the nation's second most populous city.

She was sworn in ceremonially by Kamala Harris, the US vice-president, former California attorney general and a longtime friend. The formal oath was administered privately by the city clerk.

Bass will be tasked with easing rising crime rates, restoring trust in a city hall shaken by racism and corruption scandals, and addressing the issue of more than 40,000 people living in encampments or RVs that have spread into virtually every neighborhood.

Striking a tone of unity on Sunday, Bass said if people link arms rather than point fingers, lives will be saved. She called that "my mission" as mayor.

She also urged residents to become involved in city government, echoing John F Kennedy's presidential inaugural address in which he said: "Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country."

"I call on the people of our city to not just dream of the LA we want, but to participate in making the dream come true," Bass said.

Bass, who was on Joe Biden's shortlist for vice-president, claimed the post last month after overcoming more than $100m in spending by rival Caruso, a billionaire developer and Republican turned Democrat who campaigned as a centrist and promised a strong emphasis on public safety.

Caruso would have represented a turn to the political right for the heavily Democratic city. Bass swayed voters by arguing she would be a coalition builder to help heal a troubled city of nearly 4 million.

"We are going to build a new Los Angeles," Bass had promised at an election night rally.

A marquee outside the theater featured a photo of a beaming Bass with the slogan "A new day for Los Angeles". The backdrop for the stage, topped by US flags, was an oversized shot of the steps and columns of city hall.

In a surprise appearance, Stevie Wonder got the crowd dancing, playing Living for the City. He and Bass shared a hug.

Bass, 69, ran as the consensus pick of the Democratic establishment and was endorsed by Biden, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Details on the emergency order have yet to emerge, though Bass has said she intends to place 17,000 homeless people into housing in her first year through a mix of interim and permanent facilities.

She also will contend with entrenched urban problems that include a housing shortage, crumbling streets and some of the nation's worst traffic.