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Nithya Raman Mounts Last-Minute Challenge to L.A. Mayor Karen Bass

The progressive councilmember says Los Angeles is failing on basic services, vowing an accountability-focused campaign.

Overview

  • Raman announced her mayoral bid on Feb. 7 and filed paperwork just hours before the city’s deadline for the June 2 primary.
  • In a Feb. 9 interview, she described a “moment of turmoil,” citing broken basics like yearlong streetlight repairs and stalled street paving, and pledged to “make Los Angeles work again.”
  • Her campaign centers on housing, homelessness, transparency and street safety; she chairs the City Council’s Housing and Homelessness Committee.
  • Bass’s campaign criticized Raman for opposing encampment cleanups and public-safety efforts, while touting declines in street homelessness and homicides; Raman had recently been listed as a Bass endorser.
  • Raman has not yet qualified for the ballot, which requires a fee plus 500 valid signatures or 1,000 signatures by March 4, and her late entry follows high-profile decisions by Lindsey Horvath, Austin Beutner and Rick Caruso not to run.