Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and City Councilmember Nithya Raman will make their cases to downtown Los Angeles residents Thursday night during separate, back-to-back mayoral candidate forums, two days after trading sharp criticism over homelessness and public safety during a televised debate.
The forums will begin at 6 p.m. Thursday at Clifton’s Republic, 648 S. Broadway, and are being hosted by the Downtown Los Angeles Residents Association in partnership with the South Park Neighborhood Association, LA River Artists and Business Association and DTLA Proud.
Each candidate will participate in a separate 40-minute session, answering the same questions submitted by downtown residents.
The forums come after Bass and Raman exchanged harsh words Tuesday during a televised debate, criticizing one another’s records on homelessness, public safety and other issues facing the city ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.
During the debate, Bass touted her administration’s efforts to reduce homelessness through her signature Inside Safe initiative and to encourage construction of affordable housing.
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Raman, who represents the 4th Council District, countered that the city has made insufficient progress despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars on homelessness programs.
“Under this mayor’s leadership, we have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into an incredibly expensive program, Inside Safe, which has been unaccountable to the public, for which she (Bass) has refused audits, and which has brought down homelessness a little bit, but at extraordinary cost,” Raman said.
Bass, meanwhile, criticized Raman’s leadership of the City Council’s homelessness committee and her opposition to expanding restrictions on homeless encampments under the city’s anti-camping ordinance, known as 41.18.
“If you cannot manage the work of your committee, how on earth are you going to manage the second largest city in the country?” Bass said.
Raman defended her record, pointing to a nearly 50% reduction in homelessness in her council district and her work on tenant protections.
The candidates also clashed over the leadership of Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell.
Raman said she would seek to replace McDonnell, arguing that he had lost the trust of Angelenos, particularly over the department’s response to federal immigration enforcement operations.
“I believe he’s lost the trust of Angelenos, especially in response to the ICE raids. It is not a unilateral decision by the mayor. It takes agreement with the police commission, even agreement with the council. I will work toward it while keeping the safety of Angelenos paramount,” Raman said.
Bass criticized the prospect of replacing the police chief as Los Angeles prepares to host the 2028 Olympic Games, arguing that a change in leadership could destabilize the department.
The candidates also discussed officer-involved shootings, police transparency, housing and economic development.