Los Angeles mayoral candidate Nithya Raman’s insinuation that she’s being “punished for running against Mayor Bass” is the equivalent of her reaching “the bottom of the barrel politically,” according to Marqueece Harris-Dawson, President of the Los Angeles City Council.

Tensions arose further between Raman and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Monday after Raman announced in a YouTube video her removal as chair of the Los Angeles City Council’s Housing and Homelessness Committee. While Raman, LA’s councilmember for the city’s 4th District, described the removal as retaliation, Harris-Dawson said the decision was made in the best interests of residents as Raman focuses on her mayoral campaign.

“It’s hardly a punishment,” Harris-Dawson told NBC Los Angeles. “It’s something to make the council functional and to put the council in the position to answer some very key questions between now and election regarding homelessness.”

The council president said Raman’s portrayal of her removal is disappointing, especially since he said he and the councilmember had months of discussions about her leadership on the committee. Harris-Dawson said the last conversation they had on the topic was about the direction the committee went in its decision to remove Raman.

“It was very, very disappointing to see her reach to the bottom of the barrel politically and to use something that she knew would happen,” Harris-Dawson said. “In fact, she has a quote in the Times saying, ‘I expect that I’m going to lose my leadership position as a result of this move,’ months ago. So, for her to reach to the bottom of the barrel and use it as something to shoot a commercial, it’s just disappointing because I always thought of Nithya Raman as somebody who was better than that and above that.”

Raman is being removed as the head of the Housing and Homeless Committee on the city council. Conan Nolan reports for the NBC4 News at 4 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026.

Raman said the Housing and Homelessness Committee would be split into two different committees, with one focusing on housing and the other focusing on homelessness.

Harris-Dawson argued against Raman’s claim that her removal was retaliation.

“If this were really political retribution, it would have been done Feb. 8, the day after she announced (her candidacy for mayor),” he said. “I didn’t do it then.”

“Since that time, (the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) has tried to defund homelessness, the county has begun a process to separate and Judge (David) Carter has reentered the fray with all eyes on the city of Los Angeles and what we’re going to do about homelessness. So, those are questions we have to answer now that cannot wait until the end of the mayor’s race.”

NBCLA has reached out to Raman’s campaign office for comment.