L.A. Mayor Karen Bass Rejects Kardashians’ $600 Gift: Uncover the Other Presents She Declined

Gifts are pouring in at the office of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass; some came from famous A-listers. To name a few,  the Kardashian family has sent a generous offering which the mayor has declined.

Despite the glam of the gifts, Mayor Karen Bass stayed committed to her responsibilities and ethical values that she rejected these expensive gifts. This sparks questions about the boundaries between politics and celebrities.

A Reuters and former Los Angeles Times journalist Ben Walsh has gathered documents showing that since Karen Bass took on her position as mayor, her office has received various gifts.

Notably, these gifts are valuable and not just simple ones. Welsh requested public records and posted this intriguing detail on Reddit.

Last month Kim Kardashian and family sent L.A. Mayor Karen Bass a @skims "swag bag" worth $600.

She turned it down.

That's according to a log of more than 130 gifts to the new mayor I received via a public records request.

Here's the full list: https://t.co/ggonREXjzg pic.twitter.com/tuFhjgHMAM

— Ben Welsh (@palewire) May 26, 2023

Welsh even created a spreadsheet filled with the gifts’ details, their senders and Bass’s office response. One of the most notable gift-givers is the Kardashian family.

Kim Kardashian tried to send Karen Bass a gift based worth $600. The goodie bag includes Kardashian-branded products.

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Inside the gift basket was an eclectic combination of liquor, hot sauce, beauty care products, makeup items, and SKIMS apparel, Kim’s well-known brand.

Ethics-based Rejections

Declining this gift is nothing political. The records show that her office returned the gifts due to Los Angeles’ strict rules concerning gift acceptance.

It is not mainly because Kim Kardashian had supported and endorsed the L.A. mayor’s opponent in the last election. These rules aim to avoid misconduct and to maintain transparency.

LA Mayor Karen Bass sent BACK Kim Kardashian's $600 gift basket https://t.co/d3XgqKpkJO pic.twitter.com/LnkVdBYKNI

— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) May 31, 2023

According to a KTLA report, elected officials are prohibited from receiving gifts from lobbyists. For transparency, officials must disclose presents that cost more than $50, as stated by the Los Angeles Ethics Commission.

Officials can only accept gifts up to $100 from specific sources, like entities with previous financial businesses with the city. Gifts that cost $390 if given by reportable entities without government dealings.

Other High-Profile Gift Rejections

The Kardashians aren’t the only ones that Bass had rejected. For instance, the Los Angeles Dodgers sent the L.A. mayor a custom sweatshirt, jersey, and a yearbook.

Karen Bass declined the Dodgers’ gift, which cost $229. Other gifts that her office sent back are a necklace from designer Maya Brenner, two jerseys from LAFC, a gift from the previous Dodgers executive Howard Sunkin, and a skincare set from a herbal supplement business.

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However, it’s not all about rejection. The L.A. mayor hasaccepted some gifts that cost $100 and below. One example is a coffee package from Robert Avetisyan that costs $150. Avetisyan was the Republic of Artsakh’s representative to the U.S.

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