A Carbon of Her Mother

“Emilia was so proud of her mother’s achievements, and Karen is a very accomplished woman,” Ms. Honig said. “Emilia was so much like her. A nice girl, very respectful. She and her mother, they were a duo. Karen and Emilia were constantly together.” At the time of Emilia’s death, not long after her marriage, “her future was right out there,” Ms. Honig said. “She had just started a job in a law office. She was thinking about going to law school.”

Named a Star, Then Became One

As for Ms. Bass, she has been advancing up the political ladder at virtually record speed since her arrival in the state capitol. Ever since scoring her first electoral victory two years ago this week, making her the only black woman in the Legislature, Ms. Bass’s instantly meteoric political career has been in an accelerated gear — straight forward, fast. An officer in the legislative Black Caucus, she began at a lofty place where some veterans only aspire to be. She started her career as already a force among the powerful Democratic leadership in Sacramento. Even before she had taken office, the telegenic and charismatic Ms. Bass was selected Majority Whip of the Assembly. This is roughly equivalent to an athlete being selected for the Hall of Fame before playing his first game. Friends describe Ms. Bass as the personification of community activist — not just a visible figure, but a woman who made pragmatic decisions that directly improved lives in South Central. For the 14 years prior to her entry into politics, Ms. Bass was a founder and then the Executive Director of the Community Coalition for Substance Abuse, Prevention and Treatment. The mission of the group is to directly raise the quality of life in South Central. She has been a clinic instructor at the USC School of Medicine for the last 20 years. In 1998, she became a Senior Policy Fellow in UCLA’s School of Public Policy. Ms. Bass earned her bachelor’s in health sciences from Cal State Dominguez Hills. School Board President Saundra Davis told thefrontpageonline.com this morning that Ms. Bass’s colleagues recognized that even though she was a freshman in ‘04, she was thoroughly qualified and prepared for her ambitious new responsibilities.

‘She Came Prepared’

“Karen is a researcher,” Ms. Davis said. “She met with and interviewed the movers and shakers in Sacramento before taking her seat. She was a rookie in name, but not in knowledge.” Independence may be Ms. Bass’s most prized value. “Karen is her own woman,” Ms. Davis said. “It does not matter what the people around her say — if she believes differently. She does what she believes is right. And I’ll tell you something else. Karen accomplishes. She always finds a way to implement what she thinks should be done. She never drops the ball.” Named Rookie of the Year last month, Ms. Bass has been one of the most active members of the Legislature when it comes to introducing bills and aggressively pushing them along. Meaning to give the capital and the state a Bass kind of stamp, the Assemblywoman succeeded in getting six of her bills converted into law in her first year. Among them were expansion of the controversial Baldwin Hills Conservancy plus a measure that would help prevent children from going without health insurance and another that was a perceived boost for small businesses. It would eliminate red tape for small business owners by doing away with city and state duplication forms.