Councilwoman Nithya Raman is running for mayor of LA, challenging former friend Karen Bass

Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman is running for mayor, shaking up the field of final candidates.

Raman said he will challenge Mayor Karen Bass, a former colleague, who campaigned on issues of housing and homelessness, transparency and “keeping our streets safe.”

In the interview, Raman called Bass an “icon” and someone he admires. But he said the city needs a change agent to solve its problems.

“I have a lot of respect for Mayor Bass. We’ve worked together on things that are important to me and things that are important to him, and there’s an important synergy there,” said Raman, who lives in Silver Lake. “But in the last few months in particular, I’ve started to feel that unless we have some big changes in the way we do things in Los Angeles, that the things we rely on will no longer work.”

Saturday’s announcement — hours before the June 2 election filing deadline — capped a tumultuous week in LA politics, with candidates and potential candidates moving in and out of the race to challenge Bass, who is seeking a second four-year term.

Raman will soon pose a serious challenge to Bass. He was the first member of the council to be elected with the support of the Democratic Socialists of America, which achieved great success last season with the election of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

At the same time, Raman has deep ties to YIMBY movement leaders, who are pushing for the city to increase housing production by increasing the number of single-family homes and rewriting Measure ULA, the so-called mansion tax, which applies to property sales of $5.3 million or more.

Raman’s eleventh-hour announcement caps the most tumultuous period for an LA mayoral bid in at least a generation. He launched his bid less than a day after another political heavyweight, LA County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, decided not to run.

Until Raman entered in a daze, the stadium seemed to have no opponents. Former LA schools superintendent Austin Beutner ended his campaign Thursday, addressing the death of his 22-year-old daughter. That same day, real estate developer Rick Caruso confirmed his decision not to proceed.

Bass campaign spokesman Douglas Herman did not immediately comment.

Raman’s announcement comes as Bass continues to come under fire for the city’s handling of the Palisades fire, which killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes. Unlike other candidates, Raman never criticized Bass for the city’s preparation, or response, to the disaster.

Bass, 72, faces more than a dozen opponents from across the political spectrum.

Reality TV star Spencer Pratt, a Republican, received praise from many Trump supporters, including Sheriff County Sheriff Chad Bianco and Sen. Rick Scott, from Florida. Pratt is focused on the city’s handling of the fire, which destroyed his home.

Spencer Pratt poses for a photo at Pacific Palisades.

(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)

Democratic socialist Rae Huang is running for mayor from his political left. Huang called for an increase in public housing and a reduction in the number of police officers, with the cost savings being poured into other city services.

Brentwood tech entrepreneur Adam Miller, a self-described lifelong Democrat, said the city is in trouble and needs tougher management. The 56-year-old nonprofit executive plans to use his fortune to launch his campaign.

Also in the race is Asaad Alnajjar, a Bureau of Street Lighting employee who sits on the Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council. Alnajjar has already loaned his campaign $80,000.

At City Hall, Raman’s entry into the mayoral race is a bombshell, especially given his relationship with Bass.

Mayor Karen Bass addresses the crowd at the Shine LA event at Hansen Dam Recreation Area in Lake View Terrace, Calif., on Saturday.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

In December 2022, shortly after taking office, Bass launched his Inside Safe program, which moves homeless people into homes, in the Raman district.

Two years later, when he ran for re-election, Raman prominently featured Bass in at least 12 of his campaign mailers and door hangers. Raman’s campaign produced a widely quoted video ad of Bass endorsing him at a Sherman Oaks get-out-the-vote rally.

Raman, whose district stretches from Silver Lake to Reseda, ultimately won re-election with 50.7 percent of the vote. In the years that followed, he continued to praise Bass’ leadership.

In November, while appearing at DSA’s Mamdani viewing party, Raman told The Times that Bass was “the most progressive mayor we’ve ever had in LA.”

Last month, Bass officially announced that he had secured Raman’s endorsement, adding him to a list of a dozen San Fernando Valley political leaders supporting his re-election campaign.

Raman ran for office in 2020, promising to put in place stronger protections for renters and offer an efficient, humane approach to combating homelessness. In his campaign platform, he called for turning the LAPD into a “very small, specialized force” — but he didn’t specify what exactly that would mean.

A woman takes a picture with her phone in C. Erwin Piper Technical Center on Saturday.

(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)

Since then, the LAPD has lost about 1,300 officers — a decrease of about 13%. The City Council imposed new eviction protections for tenants, and also limited the size of rent increases in “stable” townhouses, mostly built before October 1978.

Raman does not face the same political risks as Horvath, who is already running for re-election in his Westside and San Fernando Valley districts. Horvath, had he run for mayor, would have had to forfeit his position on the County Board of Supervisors.

If Raman loses, he will retain his council seat, as he will not be up for re-election until 2028.