Mayor Karen Bass and other Los Angeles officials visit Paris to prepare for the 2028 Olympics

Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record — our newsletter about the comings and goings of city government. It's David Wharton, with the help of City Hall reporter David Zahniser, bringing you last week's big-ticket information.

Looking ahead to the 2028 Summer Olympics, Los Angeles might learn a thing or two from Paris.

The French capital, which will host the 2024 edition of the Games in July, faces budget and security issues. Public sector workers are threatening to strike, and the offices of the organizing committee have been raided as part of a corruption investigation.

A recent opinion poll showed that 44% of the population consider hosting the Olympic Games a “bad thing.”

Against this backdrop, Mayor Karen Bass and several City Council members visited Paris this week to get a first-hand look at the obstacles Los Angeles may face.

“If someone has done it before me, I want to know what they learned,” Bass said. “Pros and Cons.”

Money is always crucial, given that previous host cities have accumulated significant debts. Inflation and other factors have pushed the cost of Paris, including the cost of building and renovating venues, to $10 billion.

Los Angeles will save construction costs by using existing stadiums but has already seen its budget for the Olympics grow by $700 million to an estimated $6.9 billion. LA28's special organizing committee has pledged to generate sufficient revenues to pay all expenses. If not, city and state lawmakers will have to fill the gap with taxpayer money.

“Of course I'm worried,” Bass said.

Accompanied by council members Paul Krikorian, Tracy Park and Katie Yaroslavsky, Bass met with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo to find out how French officials sought to prevent the Games from becoming a financial burden.

LA28 insists it maintains a lean operation, but in terms of revenue, it has only made about $1 billion of its stated sponsorship goal of $2.5 billion. It's been several years since major deals with Nike, Deloitte and Delta Airlines were announced.

The organizers remain confident, claiming that they have already obtained 65% of the total funding required.

“We track better than any other organizing committee 4 and a half years before the Games,” said Danny Coplin, LA28's chief operating officer, adding that a number of major sponsorships will be signed in the next month or so.

Security costs, which could reach $2 billion, represent another budget challenge. Paris will get help from its federal government, a strategy that Los Angeles and local organizers plan to emulate.

The Department of Homeland Security is expected to take the lead in preventing terrorist attacks by designating the 2028 Games as a “special national security event.” US officials announced this week that they will also help with transportation by providing $139 million in funds to improve mobility during the Olympics.

But perhaps the most important part of the Los Angeles band's three-day residency in Paris focused on homelessness.

Activists in both cities have complained of a failure to address the problem, and have expressed fears that officials will simply move unhoused residents to a remote location for the three weeks that the games will last.

After visiting a women's shelter in Paris, Bass admitted she was concerned about television coverage in 2028 shifting from a sporting event to a shot of tents lining nearby streets. Echoing sentiments that Olympic officials have expressed for years, she hopes the games will serve as a catalyst.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass attends an International Women's Day event at Paris City Hall on March 8, 2024.

(Louis Joly/Associated Press)

“The world will be here,” Bass said. “You don't want the world to see what we see now.”

Back in Southern California, Park credited the trip with giving the council “a new sense of purpose and direction.” In a few months, when Paris symbolically hands over the Olympic flag during the closing ceremony, the clock will start moving toward 2028.

Hidalgo warned Los Angeles to use its time wisely.

“You have to act as if the Games are going to be held in 2027,” Bass recalled her counterpart saying. “That way, you have a whole year to figure out what will be overlooked.”

Playing status

– Raman rallies: Let's start with the election results: Councilwoman Nithya Raman narrowly avoided a Nov. 5 runoff this week, receiving just over 50% of the vote and outright winning her re-election bid. She did so even though Deputy City Attorney Ethan Weaver, one of her opponents, was backed by $1.35 million in outside spending from police, firefighter unions, landlords and others. Raman's second term begins in December.

– Fight for the 14th: Tenant rights attorney Ysabel Jurado emerged first in the race for the Eastside's 14th Council District. She now heads to a runoff against embattled Councilman Kevin De Leon. Jurado received support from a range of left-wing organizations, including Ground Game LA and the Democratic Socialists of America-Los Angeles, as well as progressives such as Councilmember Eunice Hernandez.

— Burgos is thriving: In the eastern San Fernando Valley, business owner Jillian Burgos will run in a runoff against first-place candidate Adrien Nazarian, a former Assembly member and former aide to Assembly Speaker Paul Krikorian, who is stepping down this year. Like Jurado, Burgos was supported by figures on the left end of the political spectrum, including Hernandez, City Controller Kenneth Mejia, and former mayoral candidate Gina Viola.

— Hot Vs. Yu: In the 10th Council District, which stretches from Koreatown to Crenshaw Corridor, Councilwoman Heather Hutt will compete in a runoff against attorney Grace Yu.

– Metro money: Bass announced this week that two major metro projects will receive $709.9 million in financing. The money will go toward the agency's expansion of its subway to the West Side and a new light rail line into the San Fernando Valley.

– Punishing the police: Los Angeles officials are considering an overhaul of the police department's disciplinary process, saying the current system makes it difficult to get rid of bad police officers. Last year, of 27 cases in which a police chief wanted to fire an officer, 11 received lesser discipline. In two other cases, the officers were cleared of wrongdoing.

– Second time: Former deputy mayor Raymond Chan went on trial for the second time this week, facing extortion, bribery and other charges. The case is part of a larger investigation that led to the conviction of former council member Jose Huizar last year. The first set of proceedings against Chan ended in a mistrial after his lawyer was hospitalized.

– Taking out the trash: The city is adding 90 trash cans to the Westlake and Pico-Union sections of Councilman Eunice Hernandez's district, part of a larger effort to reduce the amount of trash littering those neighborhoods. Hernandez said the initiative will also raise awareness about the city's 3-1-1 hotline, which can be used to call in to pick up “bulky items” — furniture, mattresses and other debris left on curbs and sidewalks.

— SEWILL SIGNATURE: Anne Sewell, general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Housing, said this week that she will step down from her position at the end of July. In her departure letter, Sewell said she had been “working through intermittent leave” for six months while dealing with a “health challenge.” “Fortunately, my prognosis is very good, but I realized I needed to lighten up, step back, and make room for someone else to lead this effort,” she said in her letter.

– Funding scuffle: State congressional representatives are demanding answers after learning that the Federal Emergency Management Agency may not reimburse cities and counties an estimated $300 million to cover the cost of placing homeless residents in hotel rooms during COVID-19. Los Angeles, which has spent heavily on the Project Roomkey program to house homeless Angelenos, is at risk of losing an estimated $60 million.

-Are you ready for robot taxis? A fleet of Waymo robotic vehicles will soon begin doing business in Los Angeles, creating a new, unpredictable element on the city's streets. (For now, Waymo won't be on highways.) Rachel Uranga and Allen J. Chapin of the Los Angeles Times took a sometimes-worrying ride in a Waymo taxi to see what the experience would be like.

— Great for Katz: Mayor Bass nominated Richard Katz, a veteran of Los Angeles politics, to serve on the Board of Water and Power Commissioners, which oversees the Department of Water and Power. Katz, a former state legislator, was a member of the city's 2021 redistricting commission and has long served on the board that oversees Metro.

— Goodbye, B'nai B'rith: The City Council voted to allow the demolition of a century-old building in Los Angeles' Westlake neighborhood, known as a Jewish landmark and the heart of the city's labor organizing. The vote was a victory for Catholic Charities, which purchased the building — historically known as B'nai B'rith Lodge — in 2018. The group said the building was “structurally unsound” and could threaten the neighborhood's integrity.

Fast strokes

Where is inside safe? The mayor's anti-homelessness program went to a South Los Angeles neighborhood represented by Councilman Corinne Price — the fourth such operation to occur in his district. At the corner of Avalon Boulevard and Vernon Avenue, about 10 people were taken home, according to Price's office. On the agenda for next week: Bass is expected to appear Monday at the latest federal court hearing on the legal settlement between the city and the Los Angeles Human Rights Coalition over homelessness services. The judge in that case said last week that he wanted to review the city's homelessness programs, including Inside Safe.