In struggling LA, Mayor Karen Bass fights for 2nd term against democratic socialist-backed Raman

LOS ANGELES (AP) — To voter Roy Lyons, Los Angeles has been losing luster for years. A homeless crisis endures despite billions of dollars of spending. City Hall’s budget keeps swelling — as do the taxes needed to support it.

As the retired insurance broker from the Sherman Oaks neighborhood ponders his pick in the upcoming mayoral election, he’s leaning toward the unpopular incumbent, Mayor Karen Bass, over her fellow progressive Democrat Nithya Raman, a little-known city council member who is backed by the Democratic Socialists of America. She endorsed Bass before changing her mind and entering the race.

Neither choice gives him confidence about the future.

“Is this the best we can do?” asked Lyons, a Democrat, who attended a recent candidate forum. “I don’t think either one shines.”

If Bass wins the Nov. 3 election, it will be because she was able to persuade voters like Lyons to give her a second chance after a rough first term that included the deadly Palisades Fire, which ignited when she was out of the country and caught the fire department unprepared.

Nearly three weeks into mail voting, only 5% of ballots have been returned, according to ballot tracking firm Political Data Inc.

On a recent sunny afternoon as he dropped off his ballot in the Studio City neighborhood, Kim Hansen said his vote for Raman represented what he considered the “least worst” option.

“I don’t like either of them,” said Hansen, a piano player who isn’t registered with a party. “I still wish there was somebody really good to vote for.”

City Hall struggles with the basics

The campaign is unfolding as the city contends with myriad urban ailments. In the latest data released in July, homelessness increased in the city, dealing a setback to Bass. Residents are dealing with climbing rent and housing costs, rising utility bills and buckled streets and sidewalks.

Hollywood jobs have been fleeing for years for cheaper filming locales, and the restaurant industry has been shaken by mounting closures. In August, the candidates sparred over their support for street food vendors versus brick-and-mortar restaurants. Meanwhile, the 2028 Olympics are on the horizon, raising questions about the public face the city will present to the world.

At issue is whether voters want to stick with the mayor or pivot to the political left with Raman and follow New York’s lead, where democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor.

Bass represents the Democratic establishment as she’s backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Vice President Kamala Harris and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, along with nearly every member of the city council, including several aligned with the democratic socialists. She served in the state legislature and Congress before becoming mayor in 2022 and was under consideration to be former President Joe Biden’s running mate in 2020.

Raman has picked up notable support from advocacy and political groups, including Our Revolution, which was founded by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, and the Sierra Club. She's thin on endorsements from prominent local politicians. She landed a widely publicized private meeting with former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is not involved in the race, that hinted at her efforts to broaden her circle.

One of the unknowns is where supporters of Republican Spencer Pratt — a former reality personality who lost his home in the Palisades Fire and was defeated in the primary — might turn on Election Day.

A rough term, a mayor imperiled

Bass won a meager 34% of the vote in the June primary — meaning two out of three voters picked someone else. Raman is in her first run for citywide office. While she represents change and a generational shift — she is 45, Bass, 73 — she has struggled at times to define what that would mean.

At a recent debate, the two traded scathing criticism, with Raman pressing her case for change and Bass arguing the city would be at risk with Raman’s “extreme” views, referring to her positions on police hiring and homelessness.

“We cannot afford another four years of decline, of mismanagement, of excuses,” Raman said. Bass told her rival: “You are not ready for prime time.”

A sense of foreboding has even crept into City Hall. Council member Traci Park said recently that she was voting for — but not endorsing — Bass. She warned that Raman would take the city backward.

“I have deep concerns about the leadership and effectiveness of both candidates,” said Park, a Democrat whose district includes the Palisades burn area.

In a city known to shrug at local politics — the media tend to showcase crime, sports and Hollywood rather than City Hall — the race has been overshadowed by the national fight for Congress, two wars and anxiety over inflation and grocery prices. The LA mayor — a position that shares power with the city council — has never had the clout of counterparts in New York or Chicago. And the office has a history of being a political graveyard for its former occupants who have been frustrated in efforts to reach higher office.

“This is a hard time to be an incumbent anything, because people are so disillusioned with how government is responding to their needs,” said LA-based Democratic consultant Bill Burton. “I think this race is a coin flip, but I also think that there is a palpable lack of enthusiasm.”

A clash of ideas over police and public safety

Four years ago, Bass defeated billionaire Republican-turned-Democrat Rick Caruso, who had promised to expand the police department and place a stronger emphasis on public safety. In the primary, crime was a major plank for Pratt.

Now it’s Bass who is stressing public safety with backing from the police union.

Bass has pushed to hire more police, while Raman said she intends to replace the police chief because of broken trust with citizens stemming from federal immigration raids. Raman once posted “defund the police” on social media in 2020, but more recently said staffing at the Los Angeles Police Department should remain at its current level.

The race also has historical markers: two women of color facing off for the city's top job. Bass is the first Black woman to hold the post, and Raman could be the first South Asian woman in the job.

In Studio City, college student Beatrix Davis described herself as an “anti-capitalist” who supports Sanders, but was uninspired by either choice for mayor. She went with Raman, but said she pales in comparison to Mamdani who is willing to “take a stand and speak his mind.”

“I wasn't all in for her,” she said of Raman, but added, “Bass is incompetent.”