Mayor Karen Bass's reelection campaign is returning $9,700 in campaign contributions tied to leaders of a South Los Angeles anti-gang nonprofit after questions arose over whether the donations violated city contractor rules. The money came from Danny Bakewell Sr., board chair of the Los Angeles Brotherhood Crusade-Black United Fund, along with his son Danny Bakewell Jr. and other family members connected to the organization.
The Brotherhood Crusade has received more than $3 million in gang prevention work from Bass's office since she became mayor, according to the Los Angeles Times, which first raised the question of whether the donations might violate a city law restricting campaign contributions by city contractors. The nonprofit runs gang intervention and violence prevention programs in South Los Angeles divisions including 77th Street and Baldwin Village under contracts with the Mayor's Office of Gang Reduction and Youth Development, according to a UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools report. Bass signed a $525,000 contract with Brotherhood Crusade in 2025 to provide those services, per the Times account.
What City Law Bars Contractors From Doing
Under a city ethics law traced back to Charter Measure H, which was approved by voters in 2011, businesses, nonprofits, chief executives and board chairs are barred from certain campaign fundraising activity after bidding on a city contract, and the restriction lasts until 12 months after a contract has been finalized. The measure, approved by 75 percent of city voters that March, imposed new restrictions on those seeking city contracts worth $100,000 or more, according to Ballotpedia. The law prohibits contractors from donating to elected officials who have power over their contracts.
Danny Bakewell Sr. provided nearly two-thirds of the $9,700 in returned contributions, the Times reported, with other Bakewell family members providing the remainder. Danny Bakewell Jr. gave Bass's reelection campaign $1,800 in September 2024, and Pamela Bakewell, Bakewell Sr.'s sister who served on Brotherhood Crusade's board, gave the same amount that same month. The campaign will also refund a $2,500 contribution Bakewell Sr. gave to Bass's anti-recall committee in 2025, and it will not accept an $1,800 contribution he sent last month.
Bakewell Says He Didn't Know He Was Barred From Donating
Bakewell Sr. told the Times he was unaware that his role at Brotherhood Crusade, which he described as an unpaid position, barred him from donating to Bass. He said he is not part of the nonprofit's day-to-day operations. Still, he expressed disappointment at having to step back from supporting the mayor's campaign financially.
“I'm really sorry that I can't contribute to her. I think she's the best person for the job,” Bakewell Sr. told the Times.
Bass campaign spokesperson Alex Stack told the newspaper the campaign moved quickly once the issue surfaced. “Once we were made aware that these individuals were unable to donate, their contributions were refunded,” Stack said. Campaign consultant Stephen Kaufman said Bakewell's donations were not flagged initially because he was listed as retired on his contribution, and Kaufman added that the campaign goes to great lengths to review all contributions and ensure that they comply with city law, including reviewing the city contractor database. Danny Bakewell Jr. had previously been identified as a prohibited contributor in a 2023 Brotherhood Crusade contract with Bass, per the same account.
A Fundraiser Invitation Raises Separate Questions
The episode surfaced alongside scrutiny of an August 16 Bass fundraiser in South Los Angeles that Bakewell Sr. co-hosted, which was promoted by the Los Angeles Sentinel. Citizens for Accountable Leadership, a volunteer political leadership group overseen by about two dozen Black community leaders, co-hosted the event. CAL board member Rickey Ivie said CAL, not individual board members, co-hosted the fundraiser, and he said CAL's board members were unaware that their names appeared on the invitation.
That distinction matters because city ethics law separately prohibits members of city boards and commissions from appearing on fundraising invitations for city candidates. Two Bass appointees, Vilma Dawson, who serves on the police permit review panel, and Nicole Nicholas, who serves on the board of transportation commissioners, were among those appointed by the mayor. Eric Bates, who serves on the South Los Angeles Area Planning Commission, was appointed by former Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2014 and reappointed in 2019.
Precedent Shows the Ethics Commission Has Fined Both Sides
The city has enforced this rule before. The Los Angeles Ethics Commission issued a $5,000 fine to Jill Banks Barad-Hopkins in 2022 for hosting a fundraiser for then-Councilmember Paul Koretz while she served on the Department of Water and Power board, and the commission fined Koretz $2,500 that same year for soliciting a sitting commissioner to host his event. Koretz returned about $8,000 raised at that fundraiser, according to the record cited by the Times.
The financial stakes for future violations have grown sharply. City contractor contribution law now sets a maximum penalty of $15,000 or triple the original donation for violations occurring after January 8, 2025, up from a prior maximum of $5,000 per count or three times the donation for violations on or before that date. The heightened exposure comes as Bass seeks a second term as Los Angeles mayor, having advanced to a November 3 general election runoff against City Councilmember Nithya Raman after the June primary, according to PBS News.
The refunds also land against the backdrop of Bass's own earlier ethics push. In December 2023, she announced an overhaul of her administration's ethical policies, appointing a dedicated ethics officer and placing new restrictions on lobbyist and developer contributions to affiliated nonprofits such as the Mayor's Fund of Los Angeles. Los Angeles has steadily expanded these pay-to-play restrictions in recent years, including a 2022 rule barring real estate developers and property owners seeking discretionary planning approvals from donating to city candidates during project review and for 12 months afterward.
