The top strategist for Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass\u2019 reelection bid has left her campaign, just as she is gearing up for a bruising showdown against City Councilmember Nithya Raman in the Nov. 3 runoff.<\/p>\n
Douglas Herman, who has worked with Bass since 2021, told The Times on Wednesday that he stepped down from the campaign earlier in the day. He is being replaced by Julie Ch\u00e1vez Rodriguez, who was campaign manager<\/a> for the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris presidential campaigns in 2024, a Bass spokesperson said.<\/p>\n Ch\u00e1vez Rodriguez has spent the last few months running Unidos Con Karen Bass 2026, an independent expenditure campaign that focused on Latino voter turnout during the primary.<\/p>\n Herman, asked about his departure, said he left because of \u201cstrategic differences\u201d regarding the direction of the reelection campaign. He did not provide details.<\/p>\n The Bass spokesperson, Alex Stack, declined to discuss Herman\u2019s exit.<\/p>\n \u201cGoing into the general election, our campaign is proud to announce that Julie Ch\u00e1vez Rodriguez will be leading the team,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n The granddaughter of C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez, co-founder of the United Farm Workers union, Ch\u00e1vez Rodriguez worked in both the Obama and the Biden administrations. She ran President Biden\u2019s 2024 campaign until he dropped out and then ran Harris\u2019 campaign, losing to President Trump. While working for Harris, she courted Latinos and working-class voters in battleground states.<\/p>\n