LOS ANGELES () — With Election Day two weeks away, one of the nation’s most closely watched mayoral contests is drawing renewed attention to rising utility costs, as Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman on Monday outlined a plan to address complaints about high LADWP bills.
Raman spoke outside an LADWP facility in North Hollywood alongside customers who said their bills have surged in recent months. The issue has gained attention following claims by local resident Micah Reed regarding fees on LADWP bills that many customers said they were unaware of.
Raman, who is challenging incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, said LADWP bills have increased 40% citywide during Bass’ tenure. LADWP operates under the oversight of the mayor’s office.
If elected, Raman said she would pursue a three-point plan that includes auditing LADWP with City Controller Kenneth Mejia, including a review of executive pay; requiring LADWP officials to appear before the City Council to publicly explain rates; and repairing and modernizing the utility system.
“The public deserves transparency about the cost that they are experiencing. They deserve a public justification of these enormous costs,” Raman said. “They deserve a justification for every dollar that is being spent.”
Meanwhile, Bass appeared in MacArthur Park, where she received endorsements from several progressive groups, including the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, Dolores Huerta Action and El Centro del Pueblo.
The location carried political significance after Bass confronted ICE agents there during an enforcement operation last summer and told them to leave.
The issue resurfaced during a debate last week when Raman referenced former LAPD Chief Daryl Gates.
Raman criticized the LAPD for what she called secrecy under Bass’ administration, pointing to the department’s failure to release recent data on officer-involved shootings and allegations the department has worked with federal immigration officers.
Raman noted that she would address those issues if elected mayor, and hoped to get to the department back to the gold standard under Gates, who served as the LAPD chief from 1978 to 1992.
Bass criticized Raman for her comments, citing what she deemed negative impacts that Black and Latino Angelenos had experienced under Gates’ leadership.
“To mention Daryl Gates and to tie his name with gold standard, she obviously does not know the history of the city. She most certainly does not know the history of Black and brown Angelenos or those words would’ve never come out of her mouth,” Bass said Monday.
Raman later clarified that she was referring to one point of Gates’ tenure and accused Bass of “twisting my words.”
“Let me be clear: Daryl Gates was an abhorrent and racist police chief, and I reject his record of racism, police brutality, militarization and resistance to civilian oversight,” Raman said in a video explaining her comments.
“My comments were about one specific policy: Los Angeles’ longstanding prohibition on using local police to enforce federal immigration law that came about nearly 50 years ago under Mayor Tom Bradley. That policy became the foundation for the Sanctuary City Ordinance that I authored,” Raman added.
Critics have long associated some policing tactics used during Gates’ tenure with violence and racism.
Bass and Raman were previously political allies before Raman entered the mayoral race.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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