Gustavo Arellano: Karen Bass' Latino-Black family is everything the ugly audiotape is not

LOS ANGELES — Last month, after the first L.A. mayoral debate between Karen Bass and Rick Caruso, I approached their campaigns with the same request.

I wanted to sit down with each candidate to discuss subjects that would offer insight into how they would serve as mayor.

I asked Bass to talk about her Mexican American stepchildren. As a family, they have lived what so many people say L.A. has always lacked and needs now more than ever: good relations between the Black and Latino communities.

With Caruso, I wanted to discuss our shared Catholicism. That's the anchor for his community work and volunteerism, which is too often overshadowed by his gleaming developments and ability to spend nearly $80 million of his own money (so far) to run for office.

Bass, 69, has rarely opened up about her blended family. Caruso proudly proclaims his faith, flashing an image of the Virgen de Guadalupe in the background, in another.