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LOS ANGELES () — Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman’s last-minute decision to enter the mayor’s race – challenging her ally Karen Bass – came as a shock to many, including to Bass, who told supporters she was “flabbergasted.”
It’s certainly made the race more competitive, which is what Raman says she wanted after growing frustrated with not being able to help her constituents.
“It gets harder and harder for me to look at them in the face and to say, ‘I can’t fix your streetlight for a year.’ I don’t think that’s an acceptable answer,” Raman told Eyewitness News. “I’ve hit up against my limitations as a council member.
“I’ve done a lot, but to do what needs to be done at this moment, to make sure departments are doing their job, to make sure that we’re organized to face the incredible moment of crisis and challenge that we’re at right now, we need to be doing something differently at the very top.”
Raman maintains she has deep admiration for Mayor Bass and says they share many of the same values.
When asked how she would be different than Bass on homelessness, Raman pointed to efforts in her district.
“We have had a track record of success in my district in getting rid of large encampments that were there when I first got elected across my old district and my re-districted district with incredible focus, persistence and moving people indoors, into housing,” Raman said.
“The way that it’s structured right now at the city, it’s very expensive,” she added. “The entire system lacks clarity, it lacks accountability, it lacks data and metrics for oversight, and if we don’t have those, we’re going to continue to spend money without results.”
Raman has served on the council for five years and some have called her the next Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York City.
Although she’s a member of Democratic Socialists of America, or DSA, Raman points out the district she leads, which includes portions of the San Fernando Valley, Hollywood Hills and Silver Lake, is far from the most progressive in the city. She believes she’s been an independent voice on the council.
“There have been multiple points whether it’s the DSA or any of the other groups that have endorsed me, where I have had a different opinion from the way they wanted me to vote, but I did what I thought was best for the city,” she said. “That’s what people can expect to see for me. A focus on what matters for Angelenos. Not what’s best for my own political interests.”
Besides Bass, Raman is up against DSA candidate Rae Huang, reality TV star Spencer Pratt and tech entrepreneur Adam Miller.
The primary is June 2. If a candidate doesn’t get more than 50% of the vote, the top two would move on to the November runoff.
When asked if she was surprised by her own movements the last week, Raman said yes.
“Yes, I’m surprised. I’m scared. I know I’m running against the political machine. I’ve always been an outsider candidate, and I will be in this race as well,” she said. “But, I actually really feel lucky I get to talk to even more people in this city about what they want and how we can serve them better.”
If Raman loses her bid for mayor, she won’t lose her seat on the L.A. City Council as her term runs through 2028.
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