Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nithya Raman filed to run for mayor on Saturday, just hours before the deadline closed — reversing her endorsement of Mayor Karen Bass and joining a field of more than two dozen candidates ahead of the June primary election.
Raman, a progressive council member who has served since 2020 and previously backed Bass's reelection, told the Los Angeles Times that the city has been "at a breaking point" and entered the race amid ongoing scrutiny of the mayor's handling of the Los Angeles fires and investigations into whether Bass sought to soften a city report evaluating officials' crisis response.
According to the Washington Examiner, the development has generated significant discussion about the state of Democratic leadership in one of America's largest cities. Critics and observers note that when a sitting mayor's own allies begin challenging her, it signals deeper institutional concerns that transcend ordinary political rivalry.
Just last month, Bass publicly announced that Raman was among a dozen San Fernando Valley political leaders endorsing her reelection campaign. The two had collaborated on municipal projects, including street and park revitalization initiatives throughout the city.
Raman nonetheless called Bass an "icon" in her interview with the Times, even as she positioned herself as an alternative. She told reporters the city had failed to address voter concerns about crime and declining opportunity.
"I do think Angelenos have really given us a lot of faith, voted for more taxes to address important housing issues, address homelessness, to address some of our biggest crises," Raman said. "And if we don't show results to them, I think we will lose them."
That appeal to accountability carries particular weight given the circumstances surrounding Bass's tenure. Investigations revealed that the mayor requested changes to a city report assessing officials' response to the Los Angeles fires — alterations that made the document less critical of their crisis management.
The report controversy compounded existing questions about Bass's leadership and further eroded confidence among some in her own political coalition. With over two dozen candidates now in the race, the June primary has become one of the most competitive municipal contests in recent memory. There is a certain irony in a progressive councilwoman running against a progressive mayor on a platform of unmet promises. When members of the same ideological team cannot deliver results for their own voters, perhaps the problem is not personnel but the policy framework itself.
The Bass campaign responded swiftly through adviser Douglas Herman, who issued a pointed statement on Saturday, taking direct aim at Raman's record on public safety and homelessness.
"The last thing Los Angeles needs is a politician who opposed cleaning up homeless encampments and efforts to make our city safer. Mayor Bass will continue changing L.A. by building on her track record delivering L.A.'s first sustained decrease in street homelessness, a 60 year-low in homicides, and the most aggressive agenda our city has ever seen to make our city more affordable."
Those are notable claims from the Bass camp, though the article does not independently verify the statistics cited by Herman. Voters will ultimately weigh whether those figures reflect genuine progress or whether the city's persistent quality-of-life challenges tell a different story at the street level.
Raman's last-minute entry underscores a broader pattern visible in progressive-led cities across the country. When residents vote for higher taxes expecting results on homelessness, housing, and safety, patience has a limit — and that limit appears to have arrived in Los Angeles.
The fact that Bass could not hold together even her own endorsement coalition raises legitimate questions about governance effectiveness. An endorsement withdrawn weeks after it was given is not merely a political inconvenience; it is a public vote of no confidence from a fellow Democrat.
Los Angeles voters will have their say in the June primary. Whether they choose continuity under Bass or a new direction under Raman or another challenger, the central question remains the same one conservatives have asked for years: Are the policies producing the promised results, or is it time for a fundamentally different approach?