Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass picked up the endorsement on Wednesday of the nation’s largest union representing film and TV workers.
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees joined other industry unions, including the Hollywood Teamsters and the American Federation of Musicians Local 47, in backing the incumbent Democrat.
Bass is running for reelection at a time when the industry has contracted sharply. Lawmakers are facing pressure to increase subsidies to retain production that might otherwise go overseas. Bass has recently said she supports eliminating the $750 million cap on the state’s tax credit for production.
“We can get our industry back, but we really do have to have a commitment,” Bass told Variety on Tuesday. “We took it for granted. We figured it would always be here. Everybody complained about filming in their neighborhoods and all of that, and then we wake up and discover that our signature industry is leaving us. So I am very committed and very aggressive about doing anything and everything I can.”
Many Hollywood donors have sided with Nithya Raman, the progressive councilwoman who represents Hollywood and Los Feliz. On Tuesday, Raman added Natalie Portman, Ayo Edebiri and Will Forte to her long list of celebrity campaign donors. Raman also donated $60,000 of her own money to the campaign, as she tries to finish in the top two in the June 2 primary.
