Nithya Raman has at least one friend in City Hall — City Controller Kenneth Mejia - BERITAJA

After the L.A. mayoral statement connected NBC4 ended Tuesday, reporters rushed downstairs to a courtyard hoping to speak pinch the candidates aliases their surrogates.

Speaking for Mayor Karen Bass were Councilmember Monica Rodriguez and State Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Los Angeles). On the different side, speaking for Councilmember Nithya Raman, the sole rotation expert was Controller Kenneth Mejia.

“What Councilmember Nithya Raman did up location was show a amended path, a amended imagination for what this metropolis could be,” Mejia told reporters extracurricular the NBC4 and Telemundo52 studios successful Universal City.

Mejia isn’t conscionable listed arsenic Raman’s apical endorser connected her run website. He’s besides her biggest cheerleader, and the only elected charismatic astatine City Hall publically supporting her mayoral bid. (Raman’s campy has contended passim the run that endorsements are not needfully a motion of really the electorate is feeling.)

Of each the elected officials retired there, Mejia is an evident state for a leader for illustration Raman who has been somewhat ostracized astatine L.A. City Hall since she announced her candidacy successful February. Not a azygous assembly personnel — moreover her 3 chap comrades successful the Democratic Socialists of America — has endorsed Raman’s candidacy.

“When you’re successful office, erstwhile you study really position quo useful and really to crippled it, you don’t want to alteration it,” Mejia told The Times, referring to the 3 DSA assembly members supporting Bass.

As for Mejia, he doesn’t mind being connected the outside.

“It’s been lonely since I’ve been present [at City Hall],” he said.

“People person told me, ‘Kenneth you ruined your governmental profession by endorsing Nithya,’” he said. “I’m honored to beryllium the only 1 endorsing her … Karen Bass said the governmental constitution doesn’t for illustration Nithya and I said, ‘So? I won by bucking governmental establishment.’”

Mejia has turned into an onslaught canine for Raman complete the past fewer weeks. After endorsing her successful July, he has showed up astatine news conferences pinch her and posts sometimes aggregate times per time connected societal media supporting her aliases attacking the mayor.

One logic for his endorsement is that Bass declined to consent to Mejia performing an audit into her signature homelessness program Inside Safe.

Raman, meanwhile, has said she’ll unfastened the books to Mejia.

If Raman wins, she will person a formidable City Hall state successful Mejia, who has not been awkward about utilizing societal media to onslaught an assortment of governmental targets successful and extracurricular metropolis government. On Friday, he announced that he had issued subpoenas to LA28, the backstage Olympic organizing committee, demanding financial records connected the readying for the 2028 Games.

A vote, but nary endorsement

Fourteen members of the Los Angeles City Council person endorsed Bass (yes, that includes Raman, who subsequently decided to situation the incumbent).

The sole holdout connected the council, Traci Park, made her allegiances — soft arsenic they whitethorn beryllium — abundantly clear Wednesday astatine a municipality hallway successful Pacific Palisades erstwhile she said she would beryllium voting for Bass but not endorsing her.

“I want immoderate alteration too,” Park said, addressing her constituents about the mayor’s race. “But the replacement does not really get america wherever we want to be. I deliberation it really impedes our progress.”

“I person heavy concerns about the activity and effectiveness of some candidates. I person personally been profoundly disappointment and angry pinch our existent mayor. We person tangled connected immoderate awesome argumentation issues. But ever respectfully.”

Park said that arsenic difficult arsenic things whitethorn beryllium now, they could get worse if Raman were elected.

The assembly member, who represents a ample swath of L.A.’s Westside, said she is “very, very concerned” about a Raman mayoralty.

Park represents the Palisades, wherever the Palisades occurrence burned past year, destroying thousands of homes and sidesplitting 12 people.

Park told The Times successful an question and reply that an endorsement of Bass would person represented “an affirmative connection of support earned based connected statement pinch someone’s records aliases positions aliases accomplishments.”

But Bass is personification Park could activity with, the assembly personnel told The Times.

“I cannot opportunity the aforesaid point about Nithya Raman. That’s the problem. She doesn’t activity pinch others. I deliberation that heavy vexation pinch her unwillingness to collaborate pinch others is reflected successful the truth that nary different assembly members astatine each are endorsing her,” Park said.

Bass goes to Ramanland

Bass went difficult aft Raman astatine this week’s NBC4/Telemundo 52 debate, accusing her of neglecting constituents successful her district, which stretches from Silver Lake to the San Fernando Valley. She pushed moreover harder the pursuing morning, appearing pinch immoderate of those dissatisfied residents and business owners successful Sherman Oaks.

Standing extracurricular the Valley Inn Restaurant and Martini Bar, Bass said she reached retired to Raman early connected arsenic politician to pass her that immoderate of her Valley constituents had contacted the mayor’s agency to sound unhappiness pinch Raman. Bass said she told Raman she was going to meet pinch them.

“She fundamentally said to maine that ... she knew that they didn’t for illustration her, that it was a emotion that was mutual, and to person astatine it if I want,” Bass said. “To me, I thought that was a unusual measurement to respond.”

Raman spokesperson Liz Garcia denounced Bass’ comments arsenic “bizarre and simply not true,” saying her leader has maintained affirmative relationships pinch her constituents. In a statement, she pointed to caller polling that showed Raman pinch an 8-point lead successful the Valley.

“Nithya’s results successful her territory thief explicate why: She has reduced encampments, tents and RVs by 70% successful her territory complete the past 3 years, helped businesses succeed, protected tenants, installed postulation information upgrades and improved value of life for residents,” Garcia said.

Raman has been pushing backmost against the mayor’s claims successful different ways, noting that two-thirds of voters successful the June 2 superior chose personification different than the incumbent.

During this week’s debate, Raman criticized Bass for boasting that she had fixed Sherman Oaks residents her individual compartment number, saying it showed that regular authorities operations are dysfunctional.

Standing extracurricular the martini bar, Bass acknowledged that her ain staffers aren’t ever happy about her generosity pinch her compartment number. But things were worse erstwhile she was a personnel of Congress, she said.

“My cellphone was connected my business card,” Bass said.

State of play

— BLOW FOR BLOW: The gloves came disconnected successful the final statement between Bass and Raman this week, pinch the 2 candidates trading verbal jabs complete nationalist safety, the Palisades occurrence and the destiny of Police Chief Jim McDonnell. Meanwhile, here’s who 3 L.A. Times columnists believe won the debate.

— A MOVING TARGET: Raman has shifted her position connected constabulary hiring, nationalist information spending, the alleged mansion taxation and different issues, causing immoderate to mobility what she stands for. Raman has defended her various argumentation shifts, saying she made them aft receiving caller accusation aliases recognizing changed circumstances.

— CHIEF AMONG THEM: Raman and Bass person diverged complete whether to keep Chief McDonnell. Raman said she would switch the main if she becomes mayor, though she offered mixed messages connected the timing. Bass said that McDonnell’s replacement earlier the 2028 Olympics could propulsion the LAPD into turmoil.

— GATES-GATE: Bass denounced Raman for saying the “gold standard” for the LAPD’s noncooperation pinch migration enforcement took spot during the tenure of erstwhile constabulary main Daryl Gates. Bass suggested Raman is not successful touch pinch the city’s Black community, while Raman said the politician had deliberately twisted her words.

— HOPE FOR HOUSING: Both Bass and Raman person been talking up their activity connected housing affordability. Bass said her management has fast-tracked tens of thousands of units of affordable housing, while Raman has boasted of her occurrence successful enacting the strongest tenant protections successful L.A. successful 40 years.

— FIGHTING FRAUD: Los Angeles County voters are concerned about a big of elector fraud issues that could disrupt the Nov. 3 wide election, moreover though they person a precocious grade of assurance successful section elections officials, according to a new poll funded by the nonprofit California Community Foundation.

QUICK HITS

• Where is Inside Safe? The mayor’s signature programme did not person an cognition this week.
  
• On the docket adjacent week: The final, pre-election run finance statements are owed successful Los Angeles runoff contests connected Thursday.

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