Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nithya Raman was expected to formally launch her campaign for mayor Sunday, weeks after her surprise decision to enter the race against incumbent and former political ally Karen Bass.
Raman scheduled her official campaign kickoff event at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Van Nuys/Sherman Oaks Recreation Center, where supporters were gathering to hear Raman deliver a 2 p.m. speech before volunteers head into nearby neighborhoods for door-to-door outreach.
Raman filed paperwork last month to run for mayor ahead of the June 2 primary election. Her decision to run came amid a shifting field of potential challengers in the days leading up to the filing deadline.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath ended weeks of speculation about a potential run, announcing last month that she would instead focus on her campaign for a second term on the Board of Supervisors.
Two other prominent figures decided against entering the race. Former Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Austin Beutner withdrew from consideration after the sudden death of his 22-year-old daughter, Emily, in January. Beutner said the loss required him to focus on his family rather than the demands of a mayoral campaign.
Billionaire developer Rick Caruso, who lost to Bass in the 2022 mayoral election, also ruled out another run last month after considering the possibility earlier in the year.
Last month, Raman described her relationship with Bass as “strong and close,” built over the last few years. She said she spoke with Bass about her mayoral run but did not provide further details, saying that she “prefers to maintain that privacy right now.”
“I do feel like Angelenos have really given us a lot of faith. Voted for more taxes to address affordable housing issues, to address homelessness, to address some of our biggest crises, and if we don’t show results to them, I think we will lose them,” Raman said after announcing her candidacy.
“We are making decisions about our budget that are based on political calculations, as opposed to what is best for Angelenos and what is best for Los Angeles’ middle class,” Raman added. “I think we can change.”
Bass admitted she didn’t expect a challenge from Raman.
“Well first of all, it was a surprise,” Bass told reporters last month. “We have been great allies, especially on the issue of homelessness. And I will tell you that I will look forward to working with Nithya Raman in my second term.”
Douglas Herman, a campaign advisor for Bass, criticized Raman’s mayoral bid.
“The last thing Los Angeles needs is a politician who opposed cleaning up homeless encampments and efforts to make our city safer,” he said following Raman’s decision. “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.”
Other challengers to Bass include Spencer Pratt, a reality television personality and Palisades Fire survivor; and Rae Huang, a community organizer.
Adam Miller, founder and former CEO of workforce education firm Cornerstone OnDemand, announced his bid for mayor last month.
Of the 10 Los Angeles mayors to have sought a second term since the office’s term became four years in 1925, only two have been denied second terms — John C. Porter in 1929 and James Hahn in 2005.
Raman was elected in 2020 and re-elected in 2024 to represent the Fourth Council District, representing communities in the southern portion of the San Fernando Valley and eastern Santa Monica Mountains such as Encino, Sherman Oaks, Studio City and Hollywood Hills, as well as Griffith Park, Los Feliz and Silver Lake.
Raman’s first successful council bid was supported by the Democratic Socialists of America — the same political organization that bolstered Zohran Mamdani, who won his election for mayor of New York City last year.
She chairs the council’s Housing and Homelessness Committee and is part of the council’s more left-leaning bloc alongside colleagues Eunisses Hernandez, Hugo Soto-Martinez and Ysabel Jurado.