by Randy Shaw on September 8, 2026 (BeyondChron.org)
Raman Offers Change
Will Nithya Raman join Boston’s Michelle Wu, Seattle’s Katie Wilson and New York City’s Zohran Mamdani in becoming a new generation of progressive mayors? It sure looks that way. Mayor Karen Bass’s missteps and a lot of mayoral bad luck have boosted Raman. Voters are calling for change. Re-electing incumbent Mayor Bass does not serve that goal.
Background on the Race
Soon after Councilmember Nithya Raman announced on February 6 she was running, I wrote “Can Nithya Raman Upset Karen Bass in LA Mayor’s Race?” I concluded, “Raman’s path to victory depends less on fervent support for her and more on a cross section of the electorate opposing Bass’s re-election.”
That’s exactly what is happening.
Those unhappy with Bass’s response to the Palisades/Malibu/Altadena fires are not giving her four more years. And after these fires receded into the political background a terrible fire at the Lineage warehouse in June devastated heavily Latino Boyle Heights.
The aftermath of that explosion has been horrific.” Media reports of giant rats and a terrible stench caused by 85 million pounds of frozen food rotting near a residential neighborhood. The fire burned for a week. It again showed Bass as unable to protect city residents.
In July LA Times columnist Gustavo Arellano described Eastside residents as “fed up with politicians who are not listening.”
Those impacted by the Lineage fire and its aftermath are unlikely to vote for Bass. These disasters support a larger narrative about Bass’s failure to effectively run the city.
Bass has made many missteps. Her ad to promote the city’s ability to fix potholes floundered when the pothole she publicly claimed she would fix was covered by a car. Nevertheless, her campaign team thought voters would be impressed by Bass’s pledge to remove such obstacles in the future.
Instead, the ad promoted her administrative incompetence. As described on Reddit, “Mayor Bass publicly responds to pothole repair request…by not repairing the pothole.”
Bass has waffled on new housing production. Despite the city’s desperate need for new housing, she exercised the city option under state law to delay building apartments in key neighborhoods until 2030.
Bass has also allowed NIMBY’s to block the Venice Dell Community‘s 120-unit affordable housing project. As the Los Angeles Times editorialized in 2024: “Mayor Bass Has No More Excuses for Delaying Venice Dell Housing.” The editorial highlighted the “long and unnecessary obstacle course set by Los Angeles city officials.”
I detailed opposition by wealthy neighbors to this essential project on a city-owned parking lot in Generation Priced Out, my book about the housing crisis. While the path to starting construction may finally be clear, Bass’s wavering on key issues has become all too common.
This mayor’s race is about competence and laying the groundwork for Los Angeles’s future, not ideology. That’s why many conservative and moderate voters will cast ballots Raman.
Homelessness
Mayor Bass implemented an Inside Safe program to get people off the streets. She hoped that her efforts would help her re-election.
But it was reported in April that 40% of those participating in the program returned to the streets. A July report then found homelessness increasing by 3.4% in Los Angeles over the past year while declining 50% in Raman’s council district (See “Street homelessness went up in Los Angeles. In Nithya Raman’s district, it was nearly cut in half.” LA Times, July 24, 2026.
This is bad news for Mayor Bass.
My experience in San Francisco mayor’s races taught me that accuracy about a city’s approach to homelessness is greatly outweighed by public perceptions. Los Angeles voters do not perceive Bass as reducing homelessness despite all the money spent.
In contrast, the 50% drop in Raman’s district will convince many voters that she can improve upon Bass’s record in reducing homelessness. Bass’s campaign is attacking Raman for votes on homelessness as its know that the July report could prove costly with voters.
Endorsements
Mayor Bass has an overwhelming number of progressive endorsements. This includes Raman’s fellow progressive council members and most labor unions.
Yet many endorsements were made prior to Raman announcing her candidacy. And there is a difference between a union endorsing Bass and mobilizing members to elect her.
Last week Raman secured the endorsement of UNITE HERE Local 11. President Kurt Peterson stated “Nithya has stood with us and our members through many fights. We believe [she] is the right person to help us solve the city’s problems.”
Petersen said “Unite Here had the largest ground operation of any union in the state during primaries in June and knocked on more than 300,000 doors. Our endorsement means a lot more than a press release.”
The Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) also recently endorsed Raman. It too will bring more bodies to the challenger’s field campaign.
A Desire for Change
Not since Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign have we seen a national, state and local election cycle more driven by a desire for Change. And this focus goes beyond progressive mayoral candidates. San Francisco’s moderate Daniel Lurie won election vowing major changes and his popularity has continued as he creates a more positive vibe in the city.
This desire for Change is how Raman gets the moderate and conservative votes she needs. Do voters really want Karen Bass running Los Angeles for another four years?
My sense is no. But we will find out soon.
Randy Shaw
Randy Shaw is the Editor of Beyond Chron and the Director of San Francisco’s Tenderloin Housing Clinic, which publishes Beyond Chron. Shaw’s new book is the revised and updated, The Tenderloin: Sex, Crime and Resistance in the Heart of San Francisco. His prior books include Generation Priced Out: Who Gets to Live in the New Urban America. The Activist’s Handbook: Winning Social Change in the 21st Century, and Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW and the Struggle for Justice in the 21st Century.