LA mayoral race: Karen Bass, Rick Caruso discuss major issues in another round of debate
LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles mayoral candidates Congresswoman Karen Bass and businessman Rick Caruso once again squared off in another debate.
Bass and Caruso shared the spotlight Thursday in an hour-long debate hosted by KNX News. The two finalists in the race for Los Angeles Mayor discussed the city's major issues at the Audacy SoundSpace.
It didn't take long for the candidates to throw shade at one another Thursday night. Bass mocked Caruso's campaign strategy, calling it "desperate."
"Rick Caruso is running a desperate campaign with a Republican strategy to consistently attack me because he's not doing well in the polls," she said.
Caruso called Bass out for not doing enough as a member of the Congress.
"I didn't see the Congresswoman in any bill saying we're going to build more housing in Los Angeles. She's represented us for 20 years," Caruso said.
SEPT. 21 DEBATE
Prior to Thursday's broadcast event, the two candidates engaged in a fiery debate hosted by FOX 11 back on September 21. The two clashed over the issues of homelessness, housing and public safety.
In the Sept. 21 debate, Bass slammed Caruso's plan to address homelessness by saying it only focuses on getting people indoors but neglecting things like health and mental health services.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Karen Bass, Rick Caruso discuss homelessness, corruption, crime
Caruso, however, said mental health services would come under his plan, but getting people off the street is a necessary first step.
"The cost of providing a service on the street is three times the cost of providing a service when someone is sheltered. We could treat three times the amount of people if we keep them in shelters [than] if you keep them on the street," Caruso said in the Sept. 21 debate.
During the Sept. 21 debate, Bass tried to set the record straight on Caruso accusing the Congresswoman of corruption. Prior to that debate, Caruso called out Bass for taking a scholarship from the University of Southern California a decade ago. According to a report from the Los Angeles Times, Bass received a $100,000 scholarship from USC's School of Social Work. A similar scholarship led to a corruption investigation into former LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas and a guilty plea from the former dean of that school of social work.
Bass said accepting that scholarship was "not bad judgment at all." She said she applied for that scholarship and earned it by studying hard and getting good grades.
"I was offered that scholarship so that I could be a better legislator to take care of the nation's most vulnerable children," Bass said in the Sept. 21 debate. "I didn't apply for an MBA so that I could be a venture capitalist. It's a social work degree that was given to me on merit."
RELATED: Caruso claims Bass hacked campaign email in 'desperate attempt to change the discussion'
The general election is on Tuesday, November 8.