Karen Bass’ revolving door spins again as top spokesperson resigns

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has lost yet another top communications official, extending a wave of turnover that has rattled the mayor’s press operation as she prepares for a bruising reelection campaign.

Kolby Lee, who oversaw communications and messaging on homelessness and housing for Bass, resigned Monday after serving five months in the role.

He becomes the latest communications aide to leave City Hall in less than a year.

He announced Tuesday that he was stepping down to spend more time with family.

“I’m very grateful to Mayor Bass for giving me the opportunity to be part of her team and serve the people of Los Angeles,” Lee told The California Post.

Lee helped guide the mayor’s communication team through a series of contentious crises, including the massive Boyle Heights warehouse fire last month, ongoing backlash over the Pacific Palisades fire recovery and homelessness.

Prior to taking the position for Bass, Lee served as an on-the-record spokesperson for presidential candidates including the Bernie Sanders campaign.

“We thank Kolby for his contribution to the office and wish him and his family well,” Sergio Godinez, Deputy Press Secretary for Bass, told The Post Wednesday.

Lee’s departure continues a remarkable stretch of upheaval inside the mayor’s communications office. Longtime communications chief Zach Seidl left City Hall last October after roughly a decade working alongside Bass in Congress and at City Hall. Press Secretary Clara Karger departed in January for a private-sector job. Bass then hired veteran communications strategist Amanda Crumley as deputy mayor of communications.

But Crumley resigned after just over two months, telling colleagues she wanted work that offered a better work-life balance.

“I decided I want to do something better suited to having a balanced life,” Crumley wrote at the time. “I remain committed in my support for Mayor Bass and look forward to her reelection.”

Samuel Jean was brought in after Seidl’s departure to help oversee the mayor’s messaging during the transition.

However, his role later became unclear after he stopped working out of City Hall and was no longer publicly listed as part of the communications leadership.

Lee arrived in February to help stabilize the office but also departed after only a brief tenure.

During Lee’s time in the administration, Bass also relied on outside political strategist Yusef Robb, who provided the mayor with pro-bono communications advice despite holding no official City Hall position, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Robb helped advise the mayor on several high-profile issues, including communications surrounding the Palisades wildfire recovery.

The Times also reported that Robb simultaneously worked as a crisis communications consultant for Lineage Logistics, the company whose Boyle Heights warehouse fire blanketed nearby neighborhoods with smoke and foul odors.

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