LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass convened her Small Business Cabinet as she continues to drive an economic agenda that prioritizes the needs of small businesses. Mayor Bass established the cabinet to serve as a platform for collaboration and dialogue, making sure that the City is responsive to the needs of more than 450,000 small businesses and supporting the shared goal of building a robust and thriving economy in Los Angeles.
“Business owners are feeling the challenges of rising costs, the lingering impacts of the entertainment industry strikes and bureaucratic requirements, and we will continue to do all that we can to be responsive and cut through red tape at City Hall,” said Mayor Karen Bass. “We also know that opening Los Angeles for business also means confronting homelessness and increasing public safety. Last year, we brought more than 21,000 Angelenos inside and homicides and violent crime were down compared to 2022. We have made progress but there is still more work to be done.”
Small Business Cabinet members are:
Maria Contreras-Sweet, 24th U.S. Small Business Administrator; Director of Regional Management Corp, Rockway Equity Partners, LLC; Managing Partner, Contreras-Sweet Companies, LLC (Small Business Cabinet Chair)
Stephen Cheung, CEO & President, Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation
Julie Clowes, Director, Small Business Administration LA
Angela Gibson-Shaw, CEO & President, Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce
Kim Hunter, CEO, LAGRANT Communications
Lilly Rocha, CEO & Executive Director, Latino Restaurant Association
Maria Salinas, CEO & President, Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce
“Mayor Bass knows that supporting business means addressing all of the issues that impact businesses, from homelessness to housing to public safety,” said Stephen Cheung, CEO & President, Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation. “She is continuing to make real change in the city, and the Small Business Cabinet is pleased to continue supporting her work and our shared priorities to further open Los Angeles for business.”
During her first year in office, Mayor Bass established a small business policy team in the Mayor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, developed a permanent Al Fresco outdoor dining program that worked for businesses, helped deliver two successful small business summits which drew a combined 2,000 attendees, prioritized impacted businesses during emergency responses and issued Executive Directive 4 to support small business creation, development and growth in Los Angeles by implementing practices like the provision of virtual and in-person counter services for businesses looking to open or expand. More than 20,000 businesses opened in the city last year.