As L.A. Emerges From Wildfires, Can Its Mayor Recover, Too?

Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles was a popular figure as she addressed crime and other issues in the city. But her luck turned with the wildfires.It was 8:40 a.m., and Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles was in stop-and-go traffic in the back of a black SUV.

She was already an hour and a half into her day one morning last week, which started with the dismantling of a quarter-mile-long homeless encampment. As local merchants embraced her, an amputee, a toddler and 43 other people were moved to shelter.

Now, she was headed to Pacific Palisades, to give a rebuilding update at the spot where the Jan. 7 wildfires leveled a library. Scrolling on her phone, she sorted through details of a nearly $1…