Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was greeted with chants of “Karen! Karen!” on the first night of the Democratic National Convention on Monday after describing Vice President Kamala Harris as an exemplary person who fights to protect children.

Bass told a lively Chicago audience that she and Harris worked together to address youth homelessness and improve the child welfare system more than a decade ago, when Bass was California Assembly speaker and Harris was state's attorney.

“Our bond was forged many years ago by a shared responsibility for children,” said Bass, who has known Harris, 59, for nearly two decades. “The belief that it is everyone's responsibility to care for all children, no matter where they come from or who their parents are.”

Bass, 70, a known child advocate who founded the bipartisan Caucus on Foster Care as a congressman, also spoke briefly Monday about Harris' work as California's attorney general to help young people in the juvenile justice system.

“I know Kamala,” Bass said, “and she feels the importance of this work in her bones. When she meets young people, you feel her passion. You feel her heart. And you feel her fearlessness.”

“Commitment to children means being prepared to fight hard for all children. Believe me, that's what Kamala has done her whole life.”

Bass smiled broadly at the crowd and appeared to enjoy her moment in the spotlight, giggling as she spoke about how she and Harris made history and that Harris, the first female vice president, will swear in Bass in 2022 after she becomes the first woman to serve as mayor of Los Angeles.

“We knew we were sending a message to young women around the world that they, too, can be leaders,” Bass said ahead of the swearing-in ceremony.

Both Harris and Bass also opened up to reporters about their families: Harris is a stepmother, or “momala,” as she calls herself, while Bass has three adult stepchildren.

Other Californians who spoke on the first night of the convention included Sen. Lafonsa Butler, Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis, Rep. Maxine Waters, Rep. Robert Garcia and Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr.

Before Harris was selected as then-candidate Joe Biden's running mate in the 2020 presidential election, Bass was also seen as a possible candidate, but some suspected that Harris' political consultants were trying to remove Bass from the list of contenders.

Still, rumors of Bass being a potential vice presidential candidate garnered national attention, and a year later, she announced her candidacy for mayor of Los Angeles.