On April 21, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nithya Raman released a new campaign video, in the style of a fast-paced, modern online clip in which Zahran Mamdani updates the spirit of Aaron Sorkin. “I will run for mayor to make sure that Los Angeles remains the film and television capital of the world,” she declared, before ticking off her agenda and criticizing current Mayor Karen Bass for her record in dealing with Los Angeles’ downward production spiral, including her late hiring of a film coordinator who Raman has criticized for his lack of entertainment experience.
“This really exposes how inexperienced Councilman Raman is in actually helping the industry,” responds Bass campaign spokesman Alex Stack, noting that those she consulted in Hollywood “wanted a movie czar who knew how to deal with government and bureaucracy, so they could shoot and we could help get the government out of the way — and it worked.” Bass’s leadership during the production crisis has drawn criticism beyond Raman for timidity and delays. Critics view recent announcements of municipal pilot programs to address Hollywood problems as merely attempts to address political liability during campaign season. “These policies have been in the works for months, in coordination with stakeholders,” Stack responds.
Raman, a progressive with a background in urban planning whose signature focus has long been on housing affordability, would seem well-positioned for a political moment that now demands a Hollywood close-up, with the production crunch emerging as a major political issue in the race. When she first ran in 2020 for her council seat — a district that spans Sherman Oaks, Koreatown, Silver Lake, Los Feliz, the Miracle Mile and the Hollywood Hills — she was beloved by the entertainment industry. The former Time’s Up executive has received endorsements from the likes of Tina Fey, Natalie Portman, Mindy Kaling, and Jane Fonda, as well as a core group of guild members, especially writers.
Raman’s main association with the business was her husband, veteran television writer and producer Valli Chandrasekaran, who was nominated for several Primetime Emmy Awards and was a writer and producer on the television show. Modern family, 30 Rock, Daily Boys And Netflix Nobody wants this. Raman spoke of reconnecting with Chandrasekaran, her college sweetheart, “after spending hours together” on the 2007 WGA strike line, and in 2023, before the union authorized a strike, she posted a message of solidarity on Instagram: “Over the years, I’ve watched him and his colleagues go through massive disruptions to their businesses.”
Since taking office, critics say Raman’s record on industry issues has been poor aside from speaking out a year ago to support Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ultimately successful effort to increase tax incentives in California. During an April 2025 rally in support of the legislation, she noted that Hollywood is “a middle-class industry of agents, set designers, drivers, camera operators, hair stylists and caterers,” adding, “We’re not asking for a handout. We’re asking for a chance to work.”
Last March, Raman recused herself from voting on four City Council agenda items aimed at addressing Hollywood’s production crisis, all of which were approved. They included initiatives to create free permits for “micro-filming,” develop a city-wide sound certification program, and improve workflow with other municipal authorities to facilitate the filming process.
Raman did not specify why she pulled out “out of an abundance of caution,” but it likely had something to do with Chandrasekaran’s career. After filing to run for mayor, Raman revealed last February on a government form that her husband had earned more than $100,000 in income the previous year from Universal Television and Apple TV, plus another $10,000 to $100,000 from Amazon Studios.
Bass believes Raman’s campaign rhetoric rings hollow, given her record in office. “I’ve worked with the industry for years, from creating the state’s first film and TV tax credit to lowering fees and streamlining permits as mayor,” she says. Hollywood Reporter. “I’ve been closely involved with the City Council in taking action to bring more filming to Los Angeles, but the truth is, Nithya Raman has never been a part of that work. She’s never come to me with any proposal to help the film industry, and a lot of what she mentioned in her Instagram video is already happening as a result of the work we’ve done. Don’t take my word for it, look at the record — not authoring a single piece of legislation in over five years in the City Council is all the people need. I know this became an issue for Raman when she started running for mayor.”
In a statement, Raman responded to her rival, saying, “I have been a champion of the film and television industry throughout my career.” “As Mayor, I will be committed to fighting for Angelenos on the issues that matter most to them — including bringing back Hollywood jobs with the full power of the Mayor’s Office. I will always do whatever it takes to make sure I can do this job fully and without compromise.” She declined to respond to inquiries about the City Council’s rejection of her and whether her husband’s Hollywood career would prove to help or hinder the administration’s decisions related to the entertainment industry if she won the mayor’s office.
Raman’s campaign issued a separate statement highlighting her tenure at Time’s Up before joining the City Council and, once elected, the work she did within her district to advocate for modernization of studio spaces. “This work reflects a broader philosophy: The city should be an active partner in maintaining the production infrastructure here, not a passive bystander watching it erode,” the campaign said, adding that her office spent nearly two years working on a master plan and development agreement for Studio City’s Radford Historic District, which Netflix is now in final talks to purchase. “This is an example of what she will do as mayor at the city level — make sure the city is a true partner when studios want to invest and upgrade here, so we stop losing ground to other markets.”
Raman’s video was filmed on April 21 at the Disney District in Burbank. The company, which in recent years has sought to distance itself from politics, did not respond when asked if it had agreed to advertise the campaign on its properties. For her part, Raman did not specify whether she received permission from Disney to film there.
