{"id":378,"date":"2026-05-10T13:30:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T13:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=378"},"modified":"2026-05-10T13:30:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T13:30:20","slug":"l-a-s-back-to-back-mayoral-debates-offered-up-a-few-surprises-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=378","title":{"rendered":"L.A.\u2019s back-to-back mayoral debates offered up a few surprises"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record \u2014 our City Hall newsletter. It\u2019s David Zahniser, with an assist from Noah Goldberg, offering up the latest on city and county government.<\/i><\/p>\n

Read more Big donors backed Harris in 2024. For 2028, they\u2019re not so sure<\/a><\/p>\n

L.A. voters finally got a chance this week to see how the leading candidates for mayor behave onstage with each other, and they didn\u2019t disappoint.<\/p>\n

The back-to-back debates offered plenty of cutting moments as Mayor Karen Bass<\/b>, Councilmember Nithya Raman<\/b> and reality television star Spencer Pratt<\/b> faced off against each other.<\/p>\n

But the two showdowns also served up a few surprises. Here are three that were noteworthy:<\/p>\n

Raman and a campaign pledge<\/h3>\n

Bass went mano-a-mano with Raman on Tuesday for 90 minutes in the drab settings of the Sherman Oaks Adult Center.<\/p>\n

Technically it was Raman\u2019s home turf, since the facility is located in her Hollywood Hills district. But the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn., the event\u2019s host, wasn\u2019t an especially friendly audience \u2014 in part because of their diverging views on real estate development.<\/p>\n

Raman soldiered on, telling the audience about her big promise of the day: If elected, she would cut the number of homeless encampments across the city in half by the 2028 Olympic Games.<\/p>\n

Then she went further, saying she would remove every encampment by the end of 2030, the conclusion of her hoped-for first term as mayor.<\/p>\n

Raman has spent much of the campaign talking up her record on homelessness in her district, which stretches from Silver Lake to Reseda, pointing to a 54% reduction in the number of tents and encampments over three years. She\u2019s been contrasting that work with Bass\u2019 Inside Safe program, which secured a 17.5% reduction over two years citywide.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think anybody in Los Angeles right now can say that we are satisfied with spending extraordinary amounts of money and getting only incremental progress,\u201d Raman said the following night, at a debate sponsored by NBC4 and Telemundo 52 at the Skirball Cultural Center.<\/p>\n

As part of her pitch, Raman unveiled a four-part strategy to get the city\u2019s nearly 27,000 \u201cunsheltered\u201d homeless residents indoors. <\/p>\n

Still, her pledge drew criticism from Councilmember Monica Rodriguez<\/b>, who has emerged as a Bass supporter in recent days. Rodriguez said Raman has been in office since 2020, spending half that time in charge of the committee that oversees homelessness, and is only offering a comprehensive encampment strategy weeks before the election.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s stopped her for the last six years?\u201d Rodriguez asked in a text message.<\/p>\n

Bass and needle exchange<\/h3>\n

On Wednesday, Bass and Raman joined Pratt for the one-hour televised debate at Skirball. Pratt spent much of the night promising to rid the streets of drug addicts, whom he regularly refers to as \u201czombies\u201d on social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you get rid of all the drug addicts on the street, the police won\u2019t be responding to the drug addicts all day long,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Echoing that theme, NBC4\u2019s Colleen Williams <\/b>told the three candidates that Norm Langer<\/b> of Langer\u2019s Delicatessen wants the city to end its needle \u201cgiveaway program.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams asked the three candidates if they would do as Langer requested. Raman said no. Pratt said yes.<\/p>\n

Bass, after a brief pause, also said yes. That was something of a surprise, since the city\u2019s Department on Disability delivers those types of services as part of its HIV\/AIDS prevention services, collecting dirty syringes and offering clean ones to drug users.<\/p>\n

The mayor\u2019s budget calls for nearly $1.2 million in the coming fiscal year for overdose prevention and syringe exchange services, City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo<\/b> said in an email.<\/p>\n

Bass spokesperson Paige Sterling<\/b> said the mayor\u2019s office is now \u201cactively reviewing these programs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNeedle exchange programs like this are not designed to end people\u2019s addictions, and we should be doing everything we can to end drug use in our parks \u2014 especially given the increased use of deadly drugs like Fentanyl,\u201d she said in a text message.<\/p>\n

Langer said needle giveaways should not be in or near \u201csensitive sites\u201d like parks and schools, including MacArthur Park.<\/p>\n

Officials in Los Angeles County\u2019s Department of Public Health said so-called harm reduction programs, including the distribution of Narcan and syringes, help save lives and improve public health, reducing the number of overdose deaths and the transmission of HIV and viral hepatitis.<\/p>\n

Pratt was in fact kinda chummy with Bass<\/h3>\n

He calls Bass trash on social media \u2014 at least in Spanish. He reposted an AI video that portrays her as the Joker. He blasted her as \u201can incredible liar\u201d during Wednesday\u2019s debate.<\/p>\n

Read more This is the most compelling California governor\u2019s race in ages. Really.<\/a><\/p>\n

Yet the evidence is clear: Pratt, the former star of MTV\u2019s \u201cThe Hills,\u201d did get friendly with Bass for a few moments during his hour onstage with her.<\/p>\n

At one point, Pratt praised Bass for working to fund the Los Angeles Police Department, saying her efforts were \u201cimportant, actually.\u201d At another point, he flagged for the moderators that Bass was trying to rebut some of Raman\u2019s remarks.<\/p>\n

\u201cMayor Bass would like to respond,\u201d Pratt nudged them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you,\u201d Bass replied.<\/p>\n

Team Raman has been trying to make the case that Bass has been going easy on Pratt, as part of a larger strategy to ensure that she faces him in the top-two Nov. 3 runoff. During the debate, Raman accused the two of teaming up to attack her, saying they were afraid of facing her in Round 2.<\/p>\n

Pratt pushed back on the idea, saying he considers Bass to be the more formidable opponent. \u201cYou think it\u2019s easier to run against the incumbent mayor with all the unions [endorsing her], or a random council member who\u2019s been a failure for six years?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Halfway through the debate, Bass tried to reply to another Raman remark, and Pratt stepped in again to assist.<\/p>\n

\u201cSee how nice they are being to each other?\u201d Raman said.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead: a double no-show<\/h3>\n

Bass won\u2019t be returning to the debate stage next week, skipping out on a candidate forum scheduled for Wednesday on Fox11. Pratt also is not attending, according to organizers. That leaves Raman, tech entrepreneur Adam Miller <\/b>and community organizer Rae Huang<\/b>. Bass spokesperson Alex Stack<\/b> said the mayor will be in Sacramento that day.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe debated our top two opponents twice this week, and it\u2019s been made clear that neither is up to the job. Mayor Bass will be in Sacramento that day fighting for funding for housing, homelessness, and Palisades recovery,\u201d Stack said.<\/p>\n

The main organizers of the event \u2014 the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs and the League of Women Voters of Greater Los Angeles \u2014 called Bass\u2019 withdrawal from the debate disappointing, saying such events are \u201ca cornerstone of democratic accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former City Councilmember Mike Bonin<\/b>, who heads the Pat Brown Institute, said Bass was the first candidate to confirm her attendance, putting her commitment in writing three weeks ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be very clear, the mayor CHOSE this date and the other candidates adjusted their schedules accordingly,\u201d he said in a text message.<\/p>\n

State of play<\/h2>\n

\u2014 TICKING TIMEBOMB: <\/b>Szabo, the city administrative officer, issued a this week about the heading to the November ballot that would repeal the city\u2019s business tax, depriving the city of about $860 million per year. Szabo said the measure, backed by a coalition of business leaders, would lead to \u201can immediate and lasting contraction of public services\u201d and \u201cfundamentally undermine\u201d the city\u2019s ability to host the 2028 Olympic Games.<\/p>\n

\u2014 THREE MORE STOPS: <\/b>Metro\u2019s D Line subway extension finally opened Friday, offering three additional stations along Wilshire Boulevard. The line\u2019s westernmost point is now the La Cienega Boulevard station.<\/p>\n

\u2014 MAD FOR MCKINNEY: <\/b>L.A. County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman<\/b> and the union that represents rank-and-file police officers endorsed prosecutor John McKinney<\/b>, dealing a fresh setback to the reelection campaign of City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto<\/b>. The police union withdrew its endorsement of Feldstein Soto last month, citing her handling of a data breach dealing in part with police lawsuits.<\/p>\n

\u2014 AIRBNB\u2019S BIG BUCKS: <\/b>Meanwhile, a campaign committee sponsored by Airbnb just put $1.5 million in an independent expenditure committee backing McKinney, according to a new filing with the secretary of state. Michael Trujillo<\/b>, political strategist for Feldstein Soto, responded on X:
\u201cHydee Feldstein Soto SUED AIRBNB for GOUGING LA FIRE SURVIVORS and now they are crying with this IE in support of their hand picked puppet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 ROOTING FOR RAMAN: <\/b>She didn\u2019t get Democratic Socialists of America to reopen its endorsement process for the mayoral primary election. But Raman got something else: a recommendation in DSA\u2019s newly released . <\/p>\n

The group\u2019s L.A. chapter said a vote for Raman would ensure that \u201ca left candidate with a proven track record of delivering for working class Angelenos\u201d makes it into the top two against Bass. The DSA also issued a caveat, saying in boldface that its \u201crecommendation\u201d is \u201cnot an endorsement\u201d \u2014 and therefore will not cause the group to expend any resources on her behalf.<\/p>\n

\u2014 THEN THERE\u2019S THIS: <\/b>The centrist 501(c)4 nonprofit group Thrive LA took a sharply different approach, issuing a voter guide that \u2014 wait for it \u2014 endorses both Bass and Pratt in the primary. Why? The group doesn\u2019t want Raman, arguing she would bring \u201chigher taxes, more regulation, less housing production, and an ideological approach to governance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 STOPPING TRAFFIC STOPS: <\/b>The City Council took a step toward imposing new restrictions on \u201cpretextual\u201d traffic stops this week, asking the Los Angeles Police Commission to adopt new guidelines similar to San Francisco, which bars officers from pulling drivers over for broken taillights and other minor equipment violations, unless there is a safety threat.<\/p>\n

\u2014 NOHO TRAGEDY: <\/b>A jury found Thursday that an LAPD officer was not liable for the death of a 14-year-old girl who was killed by a bullet fired by the officer as he pursued a suspect in a Burlington department store. The family of Valentina Orellana-Peralta<\/b> filed a lawsuit contending that the officer should have slowed down and deferred to other officers at the scene who had already determined that the suspect wasn\u2019t armed with a gun.<\/p>\n

\u2014 MEA CULPA<\/b>: We made a mistake in last week\u2019s newsletter, incorrectly reporting that Councilmember Traci Park <\/b>voted against L.A.\u2019s \u201csanctuary city\u201d ordinance. Although Park was highly critical of the ordinance after it passed, she was absent from the council\u2019s vote.<\/p>\n

\u2014 THEY\u2019RE HERE: <\/b>Our voters guides have arrived, giving you the rundown on who\u2019s running for what in a whole bunch of races. Take a look! <\/p>\n

QUICK HITS<\/h2>\n