Mayoral primary candidate Nithya Raman on why Los Angeles needs a shake up at the top.

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:20]It's Sunday, May 31, 2026. I'm Anthony Davis. Welcome to the Weekend Show, where we make the time to consider the news of the week. You can support my work and independent journalism on Substack at the Anthony Davis. Our guest today is an urban planner by training, now known for her advocacy of housing affordability, homelessness policy, and tenant protections. She's an almost six-year Los Angeles city council member who fed up with the status quo has stepped up to take on Mayor Karen Bass and the MAGA Republican candidate Spencer Pratt in the LA mayoral primary.

[00:00:56]Nthia Ramen, welcome to the weekend show.

[00:00:59]>> Thank you so much for having me. Um, you've been around for a while, right? I mean, not everybody would necessarily know the work that you've been doing over the last six years that I know that you're you're keen to build on. It's quite a big step kind of stepping out of your comfort zone and and and becoming very public with with this campaign and certainly taking on uh Karen Bass who you've been who you've been working with. Um, what kind of drove you to do that initially?

[00:01:26]You know, I have been proud of the work that I've been able to do at city council for the past few years. We've passed some of the strongest renter protections in the country in an city where the cost of living is extraordinarily high. In my district, I've been able to reduce tents and encampments significantly, over 54% over just a period of three years. But I will say that here in Los Angeles, things have felt like they are moving in the wrong direction for some time now. I think the fires really accentuated that.

[00:01:59]Um, and the aftermath where residents did not get the support they needed from the city to recover felt like a real failing on the part of the city.

[00:02:08]Overall, I would say that this mayor um has not led with the urgency and focus that this moment in Los Angeles demands. We have an extraordinary cost of living crisis driven by the rising cost of housing and we haven't had a deputy mayor of housing for the last two years in city hall. We just do not have a focus on the issues that matter for Los Angeles and Angelenos could feel that. They could feel that ruerlessness on the streets and for me in city hall I could feel that as well. And so I chose this moment to step up, particularly looking at this mayoral race where we had a incumbent um representing a very broken status quo which has resulted in worse conditions here in LA and a MAGA Republican who is polling scarily well here in this city which is seemingly so opposite to everything that he represents. Um, but I think frustrations, when frustrations are this high, people turn to even a right-wing um person for answers. And I think that's a very dangerous moment for our city.

[00:03:22]>> Well, we've had experience of a reality TV show person previously uh now in the White House who claimed that they could fix this and fix that and, you know, make life better for everybody. And and and sadly, none of that has happened. If anything, the country is struggling far more now with the cost of living and everything else, starting wars and but we we'll come on to that a little bit later. Hopefully, people have learned their lesson about about choosing people off the television.

[00:03:48]the the the reality is that that it's very easy to come in as an outsider and go, I'll fix this, I'll fix that, as as Trump has done, but not actually understand the workings of the political system and even how kind of budgets and certainly city councils uh work. I is that how important is that to have the you know, you've been in for almost six years. You have a lot of experience in understanding how the vote works and how to get things through. Is that insider knowledge that you have essential in these times?

[00:04:22]>> I think it is important to understand what pushes forward success in city hall. Um, and I think so much of it has to do with the leadership of departments and whether departments are delivering on outcomes uh for people on the streets. And I think that understanding is incredibly important to change LA to make sure that LA is really delivering for residents.

[00:04:49]For me, in the past few years, I've also been disappointed by the fact that so many of the decisions that we've made in the city have been guided by not what's best for Angelinos by but what's best for political campaigns. And I've watched as decisions have been made in the city that have actually left the city worse off, that have left Angelinos worse off overall. You know, I look, for example, at investments and contracts for the police union that were larger than the city could afford. I look at investments in a convention center that were much larger than what the city can afford. and then look at the city actually failing to deliver on essential services and going back to voters and asking for more to deliver what I think are essentials in the city. And I see a city that has been led by political decisions and by political donations rather than by what's best for Angelinos. And for me that has been very very frustrating to see and understanding how that decision-m works and changing it so that we can actually create a city hall that's functioning for Angelinos to me is the central idea that I have been talking about on the campaign trail and one that has really been resonating for so many voters across the city.

[00:06:14]>> Public safety is the one of the major issues, isn't it? That that people feel less safe. Um why is it the case?

[00:06:23]Because you know crime is down invariably and and so there is a sense that when people dial 911 they can't get a police officer to show up. You know they they kind of they do a little litmus test to see how how serious your issue is before they dispatch anybody.

[00:06:41]What are your thoughts on that?

[00:06:44]I think public safety is one of the most essential things that a city needs to be delivering for its residents. And when you don't have someone show up when you call for help, residents feel like the city has let them down. And they lose trust and faith in the capacity of the city to be able to deliver for them. And I I really think that's a huge huge issue right now. We have a system where we have underinvested in some elements of public safety while putting more money into an LAPD contract that was designed to increase LAPD staffing and retention but failed to do that. So now we have a contract which is ensuring that we're paying about half a billion dollars more annually for a,500 fewer officers than we were before. It has left us in a very very depleted financial position, which means that the city is less able to hire 911 call takers or um or unarmed response that could actually go out in place of armed responders when appropriate and take call load off of LAPD. Our investments in other parts of public safety are depleted as a result of our investments in just the contract for the union.

[00:08:05]basically salaries for existing police officers that are beyond what the city could even afford. And I think it has left us overall with a system of public safety that has left Angelinos feeling ironically less safe. What I think we could have is a much more balanced system. A system where you have armed officers you who are able to respond to calls for service that require them.

[00:08:30]investments in 911 call takers who can pick up phone calls quickly and investments in a citywide unarmed response system that could go out for calls that don't require armed officers.

[00:08:43]That could go out for calls that actually may be better responded to by someone who has the training to deescalate, who can talk to a person experiencing homelessness. Whatever it is, I think that there is a real possibility of building out a more holistic system of public safety that responds to the needs of Angelinos and that ultimately delivers better public safety outcomes for the city. And that's the vision that I have for LA.

[00:09:13]Unfortunately, that's not where we are.

[00:09:14]And I think a lot of Angelinos are feeling that gap.

[00:09:17]Karen Bass argues that that you kind of voted against uh the the the bill that would have enabled her to to get more police officers, but what you're saying is that there's no point in in throwing good money after bad.

[00:09:32]>> Well, the particular vote that she's talking about was one vote three months before we were supposed to engage with this question of how much we were going to invest in in in in police staffing.

[00:09:46]uh that would have enabled us to consider that investment in the context of many other investments that the city was making. Our regular budget process, it felt to me like a highly politicized vote again to show that the city was making strides towards public safety, >> right?

[00:10:04]>> Without actually demonstrating a capacity to deliver on real public safety outcomes for Angelenos. To me, that's not the kind of politicking that Angelinos want. Angelenos are smart. I talk to voters every single day and they want politicians to engage honestly with the questions before them. They don't want ideological answers. They don't want, you know, uh, slogans. They want people to reckon with the issues and they want people to be honest with how you can actually deliver on better outcomes for them. That is, I think, the kind of honesty that I've been delivering on the campaign trail and that has resonated with many people, which is why you're seeing, I think, more engagement, more nuanced engagement with these issues over the past few months.

[00:10:52]>> How do you take to the example that some people make that you're similar to Zoran Mandani in New York? He as a progressive mayor has did what you basically just explained and said, "Okay, let's do away with the politicking and and the unnecessary word salads and actually focus on the issues that people need."

[00:11:11]And I hear that people are now kind of desperate to move back to New York because he's done so much in such a short amount of time. Are you proud of that, Monica?

[00:11:21]>> You know, he is one of the most popular politicians in America. So, obviously I'm delighted to be compared to someone who is that popular, but I will say that, you know, I I am I am me. You know, I'm a 44 year old mom from Silver Lake. I care deeply about the city. I'm an urban planner. I'm a little bit of a policy wonk. And I've engaged with the city deeply over the past few years and delivered for my constituents and delivered for Angelinos through big legislative policy changes. And so my campaign is really built on my track record in city council. Um, as well as the perspective that I bring to it, being a mother of young children in this city, knowing what I want for them growing up here, safe streets, well-lit streets, um, a city that they can afford. Right now, this city is so incredibly unaffordable. and that perspective, their future here and their ability to seek out opportunity in this city governs so much of how I see my approach to governing here. And so, you know, always appreciate the comparison to other other um you know, extremely popular elected officials, but also really bring a strong sense of who I am and why I'm in this race.

[00:12:40]>> Your your education credentials are pretty impressive.

[00:12:44]Harvard, MIT, and tell us about the town planning because when I read about this, I actually thought this was very interesting and and how having this knowledge can really help you understand how a city operates.

[00:13:00]You know, I think one of the things that's interesting for me about having an urban planning background and approaching this city and its problems with that training is thinking about how some of the most pressing issues that Angelenos complain about have counterintuitive sources for why they're happening. So, a lot of people complain about traffic here. A lot of people complain about traffic.

[00:13:26]You know, it is one of the biggest things that defines Los Angeles for many people is how terrible the traffic is.

[00:13:33]And people often complain about new housing coming into neighborhoods saying that, oh, if you build this new housing here, it's going to make the traffic worse. But in actuality, according to kind of the research that planners have done on cities, in many ways, it is the lack of housing near job centers that increases traffic here in the city of Los Angeles. If you don't have enough housing near where people work and they're coming from parts far a field that don't have transit connections, that means they will be getting in their car to come to work. which means actually the lack of housing is what's resulting in more traffic, not increasing housing. You know, so it's that kind of counterintuitive causality in some ways that urban planning draws your attention to that I can see play out in discussions about neighborhood change, about building new housing, about affordable housing that make it kind of an exciting uh opportunity to engage with the public and to say, "Hey, look, maybe if we actually had more apartments near the train lines that we're investing in, Maybe actually we could get cars off the street instead of adding to the car load that we have. And and it's it's it's it's an exciting way to engage with the city and it and its challenges.

[00:14:59]>> It's going to be tested with the Olympics, isn't it? In a big way. Is the city ready for that?

[00:15:05]>> I think the city is getting ready. Um but I do fear that we are behind. I don't think it is too late at all. But I but I do think that we are behind. We were supposed to receive a plan for a sharing of expenditures between ourselves and LA28 some months ago. We still haven't gotten that. And for the city, that is a challenge because uh we are on the hook for the first $275 million in cost overages. The state is on the hook for the next batch of that and then we're on the hook for anything above that. So making sure that we are um you know ensuring that the costs are coming in less and that the city is not paying an extraordinary amount on this is is a very very important challenge particularly at a time when the city is already cashstrapped.

[00:15:58]You know that's a big concern of mine.

[00:16:00]Luckily this Olympics does not require significant infrastructure investment.

[00:16:04]We're not building big stadiums. We're not you know going over cost on that.

[00:16:09]We're not behind, but we do have to plan for how people are going to get from one particular uh particular game to the other, one particular site to the other.

[00:16:21]And that planning work is ongoing and and slow.

[00:16:25]>> One of the the biggest issues that that people complain about is is homelessness. And and I've actually been kind of surprised as to people's attitude towards unhoused people. there is quite a negative connotation and and certainly the language that you hear from Spencer Pratt in this in in this race is you know we'll get rid of these people. I mean and this is the Donald Trump mentality is basically just tearing people off of the streets and and and dumping them elsewhere so that they're out of sight and out of mind.

[00:16:56]Homelessness is actually a far more uh challenging subject than people realize. It isn't just about about relocating people. There has to be a will from those who are on the street to to want to go into shelters or to want to deal with their addictions. You have a lot of experience. I mean, you even set up a program uh before you got into into city hall, right? So, just tell us a little bit about your background there and your interest in helping people with their lives in this way.

[00:17:31]>> Well, yes. I I actually got started on this political journey because I started a volunteer group in my neighborhood with a group of my neighbors trying to address the needs of people who were living in tents and encampments on our streets. We were seeing more than we had seen before. We did not see other people stepping in to help. And so we as volunteers stepped forward, tried to offer, you know, um just kind of getting to know people, but also tried to connect people to services and to shelter and to housing however we could just as individuals living in the neighborhood. We I realized that the city had a much bigger role to play in addressing these issues. Tried to reach out to my elected representative to ask for support. kind of got the brush off from him and then responded by running against him on a platform of saying we can do more that we should be able to take on this issue in a proactive way as a city and to be able to address it the right way. the way that I think a lot of Angelinos want it to be addressed, you know, with housing, with shelter, with services, not necessarily through arrests and just moving people from one sidewalk to another, which I think a lot of Angelinos recognize is not effective at addressing homelessness overall.

[00:18:52]>> It's I mean, it's a huge problem, not just in LA, but in any major metropolis around the world. And you know, people tend to think it's it's just an LA thing, but you know, any any city, especially a city that has sunshine, does attract people to live on the streets, right? Much better than than being out in the cold and in the rain.

[00:19:10]>> Well, it does. But LA has a unique feature which I think makes homelessness um I think feel more present here, which is we don't have the shelter beds that we need for our homeless population. So, New York actually has more homeless people than even the county of LA.

[00:19:28]Certainly many more than the city of LA.

[00:19:30]But because the city of New York has a court mandate to build the number of shelter beds that they need for their total homeless population, only a very small percentage of their homeless population is on the streets experiencing unsheltered homelessness.

[00:19:47]Here in the city of LA, we have about a third of the shelter beds that we need for our total homeless population. And as a result, twothirds of our homeless population is experiencing what we call unsheltered homelessness. They're in tents under tarps, in cars, and RVs.

[00:20:05]That's about 27,000 people on any given night here in the city of LA. And that's a number that, you know, is very, very palpable. And I think that's why here in Los Angeles, which has the largest unsheltered population of of of unhoused people of any place in the world, that's why the issue feels so intense here.

[00:20:26]It's because people who are homeless are also unsheltered, which means that they are present on our streets in a way that they're not in other places.

[00:20:35]>> The fact that you've taken the time to get to know people on on the streets and and get a sense of of what they want. I mean what what what are the people calling for? Because some people certainly homeless people that I've spoken to a lot of them do want to live on the street like that is the life that they have chosen and it is hard especially when you live in the most expensive one of the most expensive cities in the world to to kind of get back into the system.

[00:21:01]Well, for me, the experience that I've had in my district and in most neighborhoods across Los Angeles, the vast majority of people do want shelter.

[00:21:11]They want to go indoors. Um, and when we are able to offer shelter, they take it.

[00:21:17]It is very rare instances in my experience where people actually are refusing shelter. And with those individuals, time and effort um and engagement often works to get them indoors. There are people however who are so deeply challenged with mental illness or with substance use that they may refuse all offers of support. Um and for people who have severe mental illness, I do think you know a pathway that that uh that is open is something like involuntary conservatorship. There are people who are so sick that need that kind of pathway. But for the vast majority of people, an offer of a of a shelter bed that can accommodate them is the thing that will bring them indoors. And here in Los Angeles, over and over again, we are prevented from being able to offer that because we simply don't have enough. As mayor, what I would want to do is to create a system where we can offer many more shelter beds, make our incredibly expensive system that we're investing in work significantly better, and move many more people indoors through that work. Right now at city hall, we are spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year annually on addressing homelessness. But no one is in charge despite my best efforts as a council member to create oversight to create real accountability.

[00:22:40]No one is in charge of all of those dollars. No one's in charge of making sure that every bet is filled, that every dollar is going towards helping as many people as possible. I think Angelinos deserve that. And I think this election is a microcosm of why that kind of work um you know that kind of effort to ensure that that kind of system is built is so important. when people invest in housing and shelter as they have here in LA multiple times over the past few years voted to tax themselves to provide shelter and services to people who are on the streets if the city doesn't respond by creating a system that is demonstrably working. I think people get frustrated. People turn away. People turn to people like Spencer Pratt who are offering quick fixes.

[00:23:32]Yeah.

[00:23:32]>> Twitter rants in place of real solutions. But I think that kind of response becomes much more attractive when you feel like this pathway is not as effective or that it's not delivering the results that you hoped it would. And that's my worry. That's why I want the system to work so well. it must work in order for us to be able to succeed as a city >> because the conservative and Republican mindset is these people don't deserve a free home. You know that they're like, well, we've worked for our home and you know, if they don't want to work, then they shouldn't have a home given to them. How do you deal with that argument? Because, you know, there is a a good percentage of people who subscribe to that to that mindset, >> right? And I think it can be particularly acute for people who are also working very hard and may not be making that much money to see that people who are on the streets are getting access to very expensive interventions. Um, and it feels unfair.

[00:24:32]The way I have kind of brought people on board with the kind of work that we've been doing is one by demonstrating that I'm really fighting for the most cost-effective solutions that are also effective at get getting people off the street and really working to ensure that we're not spending um you know extraordinary amounts of money per person that we're using every dollar wisely and that we're bringing as many people off the streets as possible. But secondly, I think the argument that really works for so many people is to say we both want no more people living on the streets.

[00:25:11]What I'm trying to do is find the most direct pathway to get there and this is the most effective way of getting people off the streets. This is the most sustainable way of ensuring that this sidewalk stays clear is actually by offering shelter to this individual. And when you are sharing a goal, I think that bringing people on board with um with this approach works much better because they have seen the failures of the previous approaches which just simply move people from sidewalk to sidewalk or from neighborhood to neighborhood without actually addressing the reasons why they were on the street in the first place.

[00:25:52]>> America is hard though, isn't it? You know, I always say you're only really a a paycheck or a phone call away from homelessness because the you know the health care can bankrupt people and bankrupts people all the time. The cost of housing is so great now that that people literally cannot find work that pays as much as it it costs in in rent.

[00:26:16]And and so as I see it, you know, when I when I see people on the street, everybody has a story. everybody had a home and had a family and had a job and finds themselves in the in this position. Do do we do enough to explain that journey to people and and and how high the stakes really are here?

[00:26:35]Yes, I you know I think you're absolutely right that that this is a very hard country to live in and particularly in a place like LA where the cost of housing is so high when you have um health um uh interruption that prevents you from working. When you have job loss, when you experience domestic violence, it can lead to you being on the streets because there is no purchase. There's no give in this economy at all. It is a very very tough place to live. But I will say one of the one of the um one of the things I feel so privileged to be able to do is to represent Angelinos even as a council member because I think Angelinos understand that that is why they have voted so frequently to respond to the crisis on our streets with support and with services and with housing rather than with arrests or, you know, just simply what we call what I call the sidewalk shuffle, you know, where you're moving someone from one sidewalk to another.

[00:27:51]I think they understand that. They understand that life is hard and that this system is stacked against many of the poorest on our streets and that the actions of the Trump administration right now are making it even harder for people.

[00:28:05]But I do think that the city owes its residents and owes its voters a system that really works. You know, uh I don't think that it is unreasonable for residents here in LA to look at the crisis on our streets and think we are spending extraordinary amounts of money on this issue. We should see much more progress. I think that is an appropriate expectation. Maybe it's because I really believe in the power of government to do things to really make a difference in people's lives. We should not expect less from our city. We shouldn't expect less from our region. And I want to really deliver on those outcomes for Angelinos. I want to make sure that they know that we're working as hard as possible, that every dollar is working to help as many people as possible.

[00:28:55]We have to take a quick break, but I want to come back and talk to you about the fires, but also your opponents, which you could argue are also fires.

[00:29:04]We'll do that next here on the weekend show.

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[00:30:56]We're back on the weekend show with mayoral candidate Nitia Ramen. Um Nthia, let let's let's talk about what LA has faced in in in in recent months. uh and certainly last last year and last January the fires that took hold as a result of climate change something that nobody really wants to talk about but maybe that's a subject for another day um although I noticed that your opponent Spencer Pratt did kind of admit that the climate is changing in a recent interview which kind of blew my mind but there we are the there was a lot of criticism o of Mayor Karen Bass who was away at the time and came back and then there was this kind of weird interview moment on the airbridge of the of the the aircraft. She was coming back and she was asked, you know, why did you leave? Why didn't you come back? What do you do? You have anything to say to Angelenos? And she basically froze. That was a a really bad kind of media moment for the mayor that has taken her many months to recover from. What what would you have said in those moments? And and and what what do you think happened to the mayor then?

[00:31:59]Oh, I'm not sure what I would have said in that moment, but I, you know, I will say that I hope that I would have been communic.

[00:32:11]>> Yeah.

[00:32:12]>> Um, I hope that I would have been communicating with the press long before I got on the plane to come back home and ideally would have been communicating through the plane. I mean, I have, you know, I would have been doing that, but really my hope is that I would have never left having seen the the weather warnings.

[00:32:36]>> Yeah.

[00:32:36]>> Um, you know, we all saw them. The the >> the the weather service was warning us about how severe the fire risk was. Uh, it was something that hadn't been in place for many, many years. Uh, and it was something that necessitated us sending emails to our constituents warning people to, you know, uh, be careful, especially in in in our highest fire risk neighborhoods.

[00:33:07]My hope is that if I were mayor, I would have never left in advance of a situation like that. But if I had left, I would have understood that my role as mayor necessitated me bringing um bringing people together, informing the public about what was going on and that I would have been in touch with agencies on the ground a as well as the press the entire time um the entire time and not waited until that tarmac moment um to to to speak to somebody. But uh to me, I think having been in in the city now, having been at the emergency operations center multiple times uh for flooding, for fires um that have led to evacuations in my district, both um during the Palisades fire uh um and and and at other other moments of risk. The mayor's role is to be the kind of anchor. The mayor's office has to be the anchor during an emergency situation. bringing people together, ensuring that the that that um emergency response of the city is moving forward and I understand that role deeply and I take it very seriously and it's one that um one that I think is absolutely essential for us even at the smallest level you know when we have to respond to um a a period of heavy rains when we have to move people out of the river channels and high flooding areas if there's if there's people experiencing homelessness in there. All of that requires the emergency response systems of the system of the city to kick in.

[00:34:50]And again, that's something I've been engaged in and something I know that the mayor's office has to be central to doing. Uh and it's an operational function that, you know, I'm I I want to take on.

[00:35:02]>> It's a challenging city, isn't it? I mean, aside from earthquakes, which we haven't really been tested fully on yet, but but you mentioned the flooding and and the rains and how, you know, everything you see cans flying down the road like a weird kind of wheelie bin apocalypse and and and then you, as you say, the the fire risk is is so significant with the with the brush fires and everything else. I mean, does do you feel that your experience and your your your training and your education kind of helps you understand the the scale of this type of thing and how to mitigate going forward.

[00:35:41]>> Yes, to some extent. I mean, I think the biggest source of experience that I have is actually being a council member for a hillside district. You know, I have a significant portion of of of the hillsides in my in council district 4. I also represent Griffith Park. So, in terms of being able to prepare for high fire risk moments, in terms of being able to prepare for um threats of flooding, this is part of the work that we've been engaged with as an office, work that we need to do more of citywide. We need to be able to do evacuation exercises, tabletop exercises, you know, have pro very clear protocols in place that update our existing protocols because, as you said, of climate change, intensifying these moments for Los Angeles moving forward, we are seeing now drier periods, uh, hotter periods bookended by periods of more intense rain coming in shorter um time time frames, which means that not only is the risk of fire higher, but it also the risk of flooding is much higher. And actually in my district, we've seen multiple homes getting washed off of their foundations and getting redtagged, streets becoming unusable permanently as a result of these kinds of conditions in ways that the city has not had to engage with before. and we have to prepare for going forward. That requires planning. That requires applying for funding from the state and federal government. That requires a concerted effort in partnership with other jurisdictions to prepare for the inevitable here in LA and to give homeowners and residents the tools they need to stay safe. That is work that the city absolutely must engage in and and and work that I'm excited to lead the city to be doing.

[00:37:42]Let's talk about your opponents for a moment. Spencer Pratt, the MAGA Republican who denies being a MAGA Republican, although Donald Trump has kind of all but endorsed him. And uh he is a registered Republican. We know that much. And he certainly speaks the language of MAGA Republicanism. Uh he lost his home in the in in the Palisades uh in the in the fires and and that's what kind of spurned him to get into it.

[00:38:08]but he does not come with any experience or or or training as as you do. Um we kind of mentioned at the beginning of this conversation that that people are and have been drawn to these very charismatic figures from television who claim to have all the answers and make it sound so simple. But the the job is actually really difficult, isn't it?

[00:38:33]which is why I'm kind of so impressed that you were prepared to step up because you you know you really are very much in the firing line of people's criticism trying to navigate a system that needs to evolve and and maybe doesn't move as fast as people would like. So, so what you know do you see him as a as a threat because he says all the right things and he does he's a very good performer but the substance I is you know we would learn that the substance is actually really missing.

[00:39:06]>> Yeah. Yeah, I mean I think he is he is absolutely a real threat and in recent polls we are pulling neck andneck in in this race and I think it is a real question about who will end up in this runoff. Will it be uh you know the very broken status quo versus me, someone who is trying to challenge her with plans and and and and to have a a real adult conversation about the future of LA? or is it going to be our broken status quo versus a MAGA Republican whose ideas about the city appear designed to generate Twitter likes as opposed to actually solving the problems that we have on our streets and that which seem truly completely divorced from from many of the realities that we're seeing on the ground. But I don't I don't take that, you know, I I take that threat very seriously. I think Spencer Pratt is giving voice to a very real frustration that Angelinos are facing.

[00:40:10]I feel incredible empathy for him that he lost his home. Uh, and I think a lot of people who lost their home in the Palisades are feeling that same anger that he is feeling. A lot of us who watched what happened in the Palisades feel frustration and anger that we weren't more prepared, that we didn't have trucks pre-eployed to the Palisades even though there had been a fire there the week prior. That the recovery has been so stilted and slow in response.

[00:40:39]That the city feels like it is failing the residents there. The mayor does not have a recovery officer appointed. So residents of the Palisades don't know who to hold accountable for the slow pace of recovery. I mean, I think these are very real things that the rest of the city is watching and also feeling a sense of frustration with. And overall, things in Los Angeles feel challenging right now. We've had immense job loss.

[00:41:03]We've had an incredibly uh high cost of living that has sustained even through a period of economic turmoil. We are seeing our homelessness crisis have marginal improvements with incredible expenditure. This is a tough moment for LA. A lot of people feel like it is moving in the wrong direction. And so I think the complaints that Spencer Pratt is giving voice to have more fertile ground because that frustration is more widely shared.

[00:41:34]That's part of why I wanted to run.

[00:41:36]Let's have a positive conversation about what can change. Let's identify the very real challenges that Los Angeles is facing. I don't think that we have to accept our broken status quo. I think we can do better. We can really deliver for Angelinos. We can fight for a city that works for working people. We can fight for a city that is more affordable. We can fight for a city that delivers on homelessness with real solutions and moving thousands of people off the streets. That is completely possible and we should expect that of our city government. And if we don't get that, I don't think that means that we have to turn to, you know, a Republican who is essentially telling us lies about what what the solutions would be >> and who he is as well. It it seems because I mean we, you know, I don't think Donald Trump knew he was going to win the election in 2016. He was just trying to build his media empire and then he won and then he was like, "Oh, I now have to kind of work out how to how to president." And it and it and it does feel the same with with Spencer Pratt.

[00:42:39]But, you know, the elephant in the room is that he is a white male and there is an awful lot of racism that that is around in in in this city. And when things are tough and when the national economy and the global economy is tough, people do like to kind of take that out on people. And I and I've read an awful lot of racist abuse towards you personally for for not just your the your pigmentation, but also for being female as well. and the and the I mean how do you cope with that and and what do you say to those critics?

[00:43:12]>> Well, I did ask for it. I you know I stepped forward and and put myself in the limelight knowing that knowing that I would invite criticism and um and feedback. So, you know, it is what it is. It's part of being a public servant. But I will say that overall this kind of culture of politics which is much more widespread now than it has been in the past. The name calling, the negativity, the racism, it's it's the reason why normal people don't want to be in politics, you know.

[00:43:56]>> Yeah. And and I I still feel like I'm pretty pretty normal, maybe a little weird for having run in the first place, >> right?

[00:44:04]>> But a relatively normal person. And it is very challenging for me to to to do this. I mean, I I'm not asking for any sympathy, but um but I if someone were to ask me, should I get into public service? Should I run for office? Should I put myself in the limelight? You know it. I would be honest with them about how hard it is. I would be honest with them.

[00:44:28]>> Let's talk about immigration just for a moment because you and I are both immigrants. We we we we share this and I do think that immigrants h have to work extra hard to to assimilate and and and arguably don't take the city for granted.

[00:44:46]But we unfortunately are living under a what feels like a fascist dictatorship out of the federal government where immigrants are being snatched off of the streets, not least of the streets of Los Angeles. Abductions by ICE agents, masked. I mean, it it feels like a a completely different time.

[00:45:09]Karen Bass tried to take that head on when she was trying to recover from her tarmac incident as you described it. Um, in Hanok Park, I think it was when they they sent the >> MacArthur Park.

[00:45:20]>> MacArthur Park. I apologize. Uh, where they kind of sent mounted agents in and it all got it all got very messy and it was basically a publicity stunt. But, you know, she she handled that certainly better. But on a day-to-day level, ICE agents are out in force. And I do get a sense that that the Trump regime would like to take California >> both from the the governorship as well as the mayoral ship and win the state as well in general election because it is so prosperous. It's also so populous. I mean, more people voted for Donald Trump in California than any other state. I don't think people realize that. and and and so, you know, h how how do you feel at this really difficult and delicate time when we know that these ICE agents are are are doing some of the darkest things that that history could imagine.

[00:46:15]>> I I mean uh yes, I am an immigrant to America. I'm a naturalized citizen and I feel that I feel that identity so keenly at this moment here in this country. Um, and it has been a horrifying thing to watch this play out on our on our city streets.

[00:46:35]I think our city has stood up against it. You know, every elected official has been fairly vocal about, you know, that we want ICE out, that this is not this is not us. This is not of our city. But I think we can do more. I think we should be doing more. Um, I think we should be suing the federal administration more frequently for the unconstitutional actions of federal law enforcement on our streets and I would want to partner with the city attorney to do that and to take on the federal administration headon more frequently than our city has been. Other cities have done that and have made progress in the fight against the Trump administration, not just on ICE, but on other issues as well more effectively, have stood up for their residents. And that is work that I want the city to be doing, that work I want to do as mayor.

[00:47:28]We should be funding immigrant defense at a much higher level. We were actually uh although we've increased some funding for it in this last budget cycle, we had actually been funding it less because of fiscal mismanagement at the very top at the city. We were funding immigration defense at a lower level than we were at the in the last Trump administration despite the fact that the Trump administration was doing so much more harm on our city streets. And it was, you know, a again a a a painful moment where we are not able to stand with our immigrant residents because we are not making good decisions for the city because this mayor was not making good decisions for the city. And that was that's something that I want to change.

[00:48:11]If I'm mayor, I want to make sure that we're funding immigrant defense. I want to make sure we're proactive and pushing back against the federal administration.

[00:48:18]I want to make sure the mayor's office is a place where we can really be a backbone of community organizing as well around these issues. Often community organizations have led in the efforts to fight back against ICE and the mayor's office should be an organizing vehicle for that work. connecting philanthropic entities with organizations that need funding, ensuring that places that have less resources and that are impacted still get the resources they need to be able to fight back. That proactive role is one that the mayor's office must play. I also think that we have lost trust and faith of many Angelinos because LAPD has played such a questionable role in some of these raids, including appearing um to collaborate with ICE on on several occasions, protecting ICE agents as they were taking actions on the streets. For me, we have to ensure that our local law enforcement shows that it is here to protect Angelinos.

[00:49:27]And when Angelinos are immigrants, um, so many of us are immigrants, when we support immigrants so wholeheartedly, that relationship between LAPD and our city has to be clarified. And we need leadership at LAPD who is really sticking up for for the people. And that is something that I would absolutely ensure as mayor. If Spencer Pratt was to be successful, you can guarantee that that it wouldn't be a sanctuary city anymore.

[00:49:55]>> Yes, he's already said he's going to collaborate with ICE, that he is going to work with the Trump administration on their immigration policy. I mean, it is disturbing to hear what what he's been saying about these issues.

[00:50:10]Finally, if if you were to win the Meril ship five years from now, what do you think Angelinos would say about the success of of the work that you you've been doing?

[00:50:21]My hope is that Angelinos would be proud of their city. That they would see before them a more joyful, a more affordable, a more functional city. One that that I think brought people together and celebrated this city for what it is. It is really a special place. I'm an immigrant to America, but I also moved to LA as an adult. And I know how special this place is. And the challenges of the last few years, I think, have turned Angelinos away from how special their city is. And I would hope that by the end of end of that first term that people would fall in love with Los Angeles again and and that we would celebrate this city for what it is, which is the greatest city in the world.

[00:51:10]>> Could you just remind people how they can vote and how they can find out more about you?

[00:51:15]>> Yes. So, voting, the last day for voting is June 2nd, Tuesday. Uh, vote centers are open across the entire county, across the entire city. So, please go and vote. You probably also got a mail-in ballot already in the mail. So, if you can't get to a vote center, make sure you submit your mail and ballot.

[00:51:32]And to learn more about me, find me on social media at nitiafortheity or on my website at nityfortheity.com.

[00:51:40]>> Nthia Raman, thank you for joining the weekend show.

[00:51:43]>> Thank you so much for having me. This was such a pleasure.

[00:51:46]>> I'm Anthony Davis. Don't forget to support me and independent journalism on Substack at the Anthony Davis. I'll come back next Sunday with a brand new special guest and more factual news to discuss on the 5-minute news weekend show with Midas Touch.