Foes of Mayor Karen Bass form committee to raise money for recall bid

Foes of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have formed a fundraising committee to pursue a recall campaign against her, according to paperwork filed with the city’s Ethics Commission on Monday. The paperwork was originally filed with the state last week.

The filing, submitted nearly two months after a wildfire destroyed swaths of L.A.’s Pacific Palisades neighborhood, will allow Bass’ opponents to raise money to put a recall on the ballot.

More information about the effort emerged Tuesday morning, when the group released a video on social media and publicly launched a campaign website. Silicon Valley philanthropist and former Robert F. Kennedy Jr. running mate Nicole Shanahan is listed as the recall effort’s primary funder.

Shanahan, a former Democrat, poured millions from her personal fortune into Kennedy’s independent presidential bid. She later backed President Trump after she and Kennedy dropped out of the race. Shanahan did not respond to a Facebook message from The Times.

“Los Angeles has endured enough,” Shanahan said Tuesday on X. “Once a city of hope, it’s now overrun with crime, chaos, and suffering. Today, we begin the effort to revive the City of Angels — for the people. First step: recalling Karen Bass.”

Beyond Shanahan’s associations, several of the operatives pursuing the Bass recall campaign appear to be Republicans — a fact that could limit the campaign’s appeal in a heavily Democratic city.

Douglas Herman, a political strategist for Bass, said in a statement that the recall committee’s filing is “nothing more than another extreme right-wing political stunt designed to divide Los Angeles when we need to move forward.”

Bass, a Democrat who spent 12 years in Congress, has been under fire over her absence from the city when the Palisades fire broke out and her struggle to answer questions when she returned. She has been at odds with her former fire chief, Kristin Crowley, removing Crowley on Feb. 21.

The mayor also has had strained relations with Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who represents the Palisades. Her handpicked recovery czar, Steve Soboroff, recently said he was lied to about his compensation, then walked back the accusation.

Paperwork filed with the Ethics Commission lists Sahil Nandwani, a real estate agent, as the recall committee’s principal officer. Nandwani has been a donor to the state Republican Party, the San Bernardino County Republican Central Committee, Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Corona) and San Diego Republican Kevin Faulconer’s gubernatorial bid during the 2021 attempted recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to federal campaign finance data.

Nandwani also was active with the College Republicans while attending USC and was named “campaigner of the year” by the California Federation of College Republicans in 2019, according to the USC Republican Alumni Facebook page.

Nandwani referred questions about the committee to political strategist Gerald Sirotnak, who did not immediately respond to inquiries from The Times.

On his LinkedIn page, Sirotnak is listed as the executive director of the San Diego Republican Party. He also identified himself as a onetime campaign manager for Calvert, saying that victory “helped secure a majority in the House for the Republican Party.”

The committee’s paperwork lists its campaign treasurer as Kelly Lawler, a registered Republican who runs a Merced County-based firm that supports Republican and independent candidates nationwide.

Only one Los Angeles mayor has ever successfully been recalled. In 1938, voters ousted the ignominiously corrupt Frank Shaw, electing reformer Fletcher Bowron in his place.

To trigger a recall election, opponents of Bass would need to collect approximately 330,000 signatures, or 15% of the city’s registered voters, within 120 days of the filing date. That percentage has proved an extremely high bar in recent years.

Efforts to recall Councilmember Nithya Raman, former Councilmember Kevin de León and former Mayor Eric Garcetti were launched and then fizzled out. The most potent effort took place in 2021, when critics of Councilmember Mike Bonin gathered nearly 26,000 valid voter signatures supportive of a recall.

The Bonin recall drive still fell short by 1,350 signatures. In 2022, Bonin decided not to run for reelection.