{"id":718,"date":"2026-05-16T15:30:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T15:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=718"},"modified":"2026-05-16T15:30:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T15:30:11","slug":"l-a-police-union-targets-leftist-mayoral-candidate-rae-huang-whos-running-in-fifth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=718","title":{"rendered":"L.A. police union targets leftist mayoral candidate Rae Huang, who\u2019s running in fifth"},"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 Connor Sheets and Sandra McDonald, giving you the latest on city and county government.<\/i><\/p>\n

Read more L.A.\u2019s cracked sidewalks are a symptom of a bigger breakdown. Does new plan offer real hope?<\/a><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve reached the point in L.A.\u2019s city election season where a juicy piece of news is popping off every day.<\/p>\n

With a little over two weeks until the June 2 election, the campaigns\u2019 remarks are getting more scathing, the spending more expensive and the scramble by supporters to get their chosen candidates into the top two more intense.<\/p>\n

Like everyone else, we\u2019re struggling to keep track of it all. In the meantime, here are a few of the more unusual moments from the past week:<\/p>\n

The police union targets fifth-place candidate Rae Huang<\/h3>\n

You\u2019ve probably heard about the digital attack ads put out by the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor warning voters that reality TV personality Spencer Pratt <\/b>is \u201cthe LAST thing Los Angeles needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Savvy political players said it wasn\u2019t an attack ad at all, but rather a thinly veiled bid by the County Fed, a group that supports Mayor Karen Bass<\/b>, to boost Pratt\u2019s chances of making the Nov. 3 runoff election. Those observers say the mayor and her allies would rather run against Pratt, a Republican in a heavily Democratic city, than Raman during the campaign\u2019s second round.<\/p>\n

Now, another ad is up. But this time it\u2019s from the Los Angeles Police Protective League, another union that is backing Bass\u2019 reelection.<\/p>\n

The league reported Wednesday that it\u2019s spending about $100,000 on digital ads against mayoral candiate Rae Huang<\/b>, who has been polling in the single digits.<\/p>\n

Like the County Fed ad focused on Pratt, it\u2019s not so much a lacerating attack as it is a list of the candidate\u2019s beliefs.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe supports the anti-business Green New Deal to increase taxes on corporations to provide free public transportation,\u201d the digital ad says.<\/p>\n

Once again, political sophisticates see a ruse, saying the police union is trying to lift Huang\u2019s profile among voters, helping her pull support away from one of Bass\u2019 top rivals, Councilmember Nithya Raman<\/b>. Such a scheme, if successful, would ensure that Pratt ends up in the top two.<\/p>\n

Asked about its new ad, league spokesperson Tom Saggau <\/b>said the union is alerting voters that Huang \u201chates cops, corporations and real estate developers and voters should be aware.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s extremely important for voters to know about Rae Huang\u2019s reckless plans to dismantle the police department and blow the city budget with free public transportation and other giveaways,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Huang said on social media that the police union is going after her because \u201cthey know change is possible.\u201d At the same time, she acknowledged the ads were somewhat flattering.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think LAPD\u2019s a little scared of me because they just spent over $100,000 in attack ads against me,\u201d she said in a campaign video. \u201cBut they\u2019re making me look good, so … thank you!\u201d<\/p>\n

Rob Quan<\/b>, who is part of the advocacy group Unrig LA, replied to Huang at one point on X.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey aren\u2019t trying to stop you they are trying to boost you,\u201d he wrote. <\/p>\n

Raman backers really want Huang to drop out<\/h3>\n

With the primary campaign nearly over, impatient Raman supporters have been taking matters into their own hands, calling on Huang to drop out and ensure that Bass faces an opponent to her left.<\/p>\n

Evan Goodrich<\/b>, a Raman voter who lives in Echo Park, said he wants Raman in the top two. Voters shouldn\u2019t squander their chance at getting a progressive mayor and creating change at City Hall, he told The Times.<\/p>\n

Goodrich, 31, was more blunt on social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour campaign is broke, you have a snowball\u2019s chance in hell of winning, and you\u2019re costing us the most progressive viable candidate we have. It\u2019s time to drop out!!!\u201d he wrote, in a response to a Huang post.<\/p>\n

Huang, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, said she\u2019s not going anywhere.<\/p>\n

During a Q-and-A posted on Reddit, she pushed back at the idea that her campaign is splintering the progressive vote, arguing that she views Raman as \u201cneoliberal,\u201d not progressive.<\/p>\n

Raman has shifted her positions on police hiring, anti-encampment laws and Measure ULA, the tax on high-end real estate sales, Huang\u2019s campaign said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would not consider Nithya to be a progressive candidate, full stop. I do see her as being continuing to be a part of the establishment,\u201d Huang said.<\/p>\n

Huang did acknowledge that she sees Raman as being to the left of Bass.<\/p>\n

Raman accuses Bass of \u2018pay-to-play\u2019 politics<\/h3>\n

As she battles to get into the top two, Raman launched a broadside against Bass this week, accusing her of engaging in multiple \u201cpay-to-play\u201d deals.<\/p>\n

Read more Was the mayor a spy? L.A. suburb left wondering about China\u2019s effort to influence<\/a><\/p>\n

In a burst of social media posts, she accused Bass of negotiating \u201ca sweetheart LAPD Union contract that bankrupted the city and a convention center expansion that will cost us over $4 billion after debt payments.\u201d Special interests that supported those deals are now reciprocating, Raman said, by campaigning for the mayor.<\/p>\n

Raman offered what she said is a fresh example of pay-to-play politics: the mayor\u2019s push to allow owners of second homes to rent those places out on Airbnb or other short-term platforms, a practice currently prohibited by city law.<\/p>\n

The Central City Assn., which supports the move, announced plans this week to spend $1 million on a campaign supporting Bass. A large part of its funding is coming from Airbnb, which also favors the idea. The downtown-based business group also supported Bass on the Convention Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what pay-to-play politics looks like,\u201d Raman said.<\/p>\n

Bass has been defending her policy moves, saying the police raises were needed to keep officers from taking more lucrative jobs in other cities. The Convention Center expansion will boost tourism and a struggling downtown, Bass said.<\/p>\n

The mayor also reiterated her support for the vacation rental policy, saying it would only be temporary, generating additional taxes for the city while ensuring more beds are available for the 2028 Olympic Games.<\/p>\n

Bass campaign spokesperson Alex Stack<\/b> called the allegations \u201canother conspiracy theory from a failing candidate who is grasping at straws after her debate disasters and polling showing she won\u2019t make the runoff.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe City should absolutely be exploring every way to maximize the economic benefit from the Olympics and to generate revenues paid by visitors, not Angelenos,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Nella McOsker<\/b>, who heads the CCA, struck a similar note, praising Bass for supporting pro-business policies and calling Raman\u2019s assertions \u201cridiculous.\u201d <\/p>\n

Wait, there\u2019s a sheriff\u2019s race?<\/h3>\n

If the mayor\u2019s race has been blowing up, the contest for Los Angeles County Sheriff has been downright sleepy.<\/p>\n

Sheriff Robert Luna<\/b>, now seeking a second 4-year term, holds a substantial financial edge over the rest of the field, according to the most recent batch of fundraising reports.<\/p>\n

In mid-April, Luna had more than $738,000 cash on hand, compared to about $114,000 for former Sheriff Alex Villanueva<\/b>, who is attempting a comeback. Each of the other challengers had less than $50,000, spending reports show.<\/p>\n

Sheriff\u2019s Capt. Mike Bornman<\/b>, one of the eight candidates running to unseat Luna, said the campaign had a single candidate forum in Compton, and that neither Luna nor Villanueva took part.<\/p>\n

State of play<\/h2>\n

\u2014 BERN NOTICE: <\/b>U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders <\/b>announced Friday he is endorsing a handful of council candidates: Eunisses Hernandez <\/b>on the Eastside, Hugo Soto<\/b>–Mart\u00ednez <\/b>in Hollywood, Faizah Malik <\/b>on the Westside and Estuardo Mazariegos <\/b>in South L.A. Sanders is also backing Deputy Atty. Gen. Marissa Roy <\/b>in her bid for city attorney.<\/p>\n

\u2014 HITTING THE MOTHERLODE: <\/b>You can\u2019t put a price on a mother\u2019s love. Or can you? The independent expenditure committee working to elect city controller candidate Zach Sokoloff<\/b>, bankrolled by his mother Sheryl Sokoloff, <\/b>continued its campaign spending spree this week, reporting it had paid out nearly $4.8 million by Thursday. The latest tranche of money went toward attack ads against City Controller Kenneth Mejia<\/b>.<\/p>\n

\u2014 WAGE WARS: <\/b>The City Council took the first step Wednesday toward scaling back a planned $30 hourly minimum wage for hotel and airport workers, in the hope of persuading business leaders to drop a planned ballot measure to repeal the city\u2019s business tax. Under the plan, the hourly wage would reach $30 in 2030, instead of summer 2028. The move is not final and more deliberations are planned next week.<\/p>\n

\u2014 OLYMPIC ANGST: <\/b>State lawmakers pressed organizers of the 2028 Olympic Games about the effort to secure federal funding, pointing to Trump\u2019s animosity toward California. Joey Freeman<\/b>, vice president of state affairs for the LA28 Organizing Committee, assured legislators that his committee has a \u201cwonderful working relationship\u201d with the Trump administration. L.A. is on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars if the games lose serious money.<\/p>\n

\u2014 POLL POSITION: <\/b>A new voter survey showed Bass continuing to lead the pack of candidates in the mayor\u2019s race, with Pratt in second and Raman third. Paul Mitchell<\/b>, vice president of voter data firm Political Data Inc., questioned the poll\u2019s accuracy, saying it oversampled Latinos and undersampled people over 50.<\/p>\n

\u2014 DUMPING THE DEBATE: <\/b>The FOX11 mayoral debate that had been planned for this week was canceled after Bass and Raman pulled out. Pratt had already declined to attend the event. <\/p>\n

\u2014 TARGETING TAXES: <\/b>L.A. County voters historically have been generous about sales tax hikes, signing off on increases to pay for public transit and homeless servcies. But with the public reeling from soaring gas prices<\/u> and other rising costs, some are wondering if they will get behind Measure ER, a half-cent sales tax hike to pay for healthcare programs.<\/p>\n

\u2014 DIGITAL FIRST: <\/b>TV ads used to dominate in L.A. mayoral campaigns. But this year, candidates have been relying heavily on social media, posting snappy, off-the-cuff videos in the hope of going viral.<\/p>\n

\u2014 REALITY, STARS: <\/b>Songwriter\/producer David Foster<\/b> and his wife Katharine McPhee<\/b> held a star-studded fundraiser for Pratt at their home, one that featured McPhee singing a parodied version of Tina Turner\u2019s \u201cThe Best,\u201d according to a video posted on X. Pratt has been scooping up donations from a number of Hollywood players, including Universal Music Group chief executive Lucian Grainge <\/b>and Sandra Rebish<\/b>, also known as TLC\u2019s Dr. Pimple Popper.<\/p>\n

QUICK HITS<\/h2>\n