Los Angeles City Council member Nitya Raman officially entered the mayoral race on Saturday, unveiling her campaign at a press conference.
Ramon, who represents areas stretching from the San Fernando Valley to Silver Lake, announced her candidacy hours before the filing deadline. She now joins the ranks of former reality television personality Spencer Pratt, Housing Now California Deputy Director Ray Huang, veteran city engineer Asad Alnajjar and current mayor Karen Bass.
During her remarks, Raman said she was concerned that the city was “no longer a place of opportunity.”
“Los Angeles is at a breaking point, and people feel it in very fundamental ways,” she said. “Housing costs are pushing families out of the city, a homeless system without clear ownership and accountability is driving people into crisis, the city is spinning from emergency to emergency. Too many people don’t feel safe walking on their own blocks at night, broken streetlights are broken and crime is down because the city can’t handle the basics.”
She continued: “And while everyone agrees we need more housing, the city is still struggling to keep up with the urgency, much less build so slowly when working families are repeatedly priced out.”
Raman argued that Los Angeles needs a mayor who holds city departments accountable, plans ahead for emergencies, and increases housing availability and affordability. During her tenure on the City Council, she focused on efforts to address rent stabilization and homelessness.
Her entry into the race poses a strong challenge to the boss, who is running for a second four-year term. is in power Faced with scrutiny Most recently on her handling of the historic wildfires that burned parts of LA early last year.
Raman was formerly a close friend of Boss and the first council member elected with the support of the Democratic Socialists of America. A major success Last fall saw the election of New York City’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani.
At the same time, she developed strong relationships with leaders Yimbi The movement advocates expanding housing production through measures such as increasing single-family neighborhoods and revising the ULA, the so-called mansion tax that applies to property sales of $5.3m or more.
Ramon’s decision to run came at the last minute at the end of what has been one of the most volatile mayoral filing periods in Los Angeles in decades. Her announcement followed closely after LA County Supervisor Lindsay Horvath decided not to enter the race, focusing on her bid for a second term on the Board of Supervisors.
Horvath made her decision public a day before the deadline to file a declaration of intent for the June 2 primary, becoming the third potential challenger in two days to rule out a challenge to Bass.
Earlier in the week, former Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Austin Buettner and billionaire developer Rick Caruso also announced they would not run.
The mayoral race comes amid ongoing immigration attacks by the Trump administration Excited city, it became an issue at the forefront of voters’ minds. Bass described the attacks as “an attack from our own federal government” and an insult to cities and people across the US.
