Los Angeles Is at a Crossroads: Bass Has Fallen Short, but Raman Is the Riskier Gamble

THE BOTTOM LINE - Los Angeles voters should not have to choose between disappointment and uncertainty. Yet that is essentially where the 2026 mayoral election has left us.

Mayor Karen Bass has given Angelenos plenty of reasons to question her leadership. Her administration has faced criticism over the Palisades fire, homelessness remains a crisis, City Hall faces serious financial pressures, and residents have every right to demand better results.

Bass should be held accountable for that record.

But elections are not simply referendums on incumbents. They are choices between alternatives. And before Los Angeles replaces Bass with Councilmember Nithya Raman, voters should carefully examine what that alternative would mean.

Public Safety Is Not an Experiment

Start with policing.

When Raman first ran for City Council in 2020, she supported “Defund the Police” and advocated dramatically changing the role and size of the LAPD. She has since moderated portions of that position.

Public officials are entitled to change their minds. But voters are equally entitled to ask what changed and what Raman actually believes today.

That matters because Los Angeles faces real police staffing challenges. The LAPD has roughly 8,500 officers, down from approximately 9,200 when Bass entered office.

A mayor cannot govern through slogans. The mayor must work with the police chief, rank-and-file officers, communities distrustful of law enforcement, crime victims and neighborhoods demanding faster response times.

Raman's recent controversy involving a since-removed social-media video added to those concerns. Her campaign disputes interpretations that she called LAPD officers, Chief Jim McDonnell or Bass “fascist liars,” saying the phrase referred to federal immigration enforcement and the Trump administration.

That distinction should be acknowledged. But the episode still raises an important question about judgment.

The mayor of America's second-largest city must exercise discipline when dealing with policing, protests, immigration enforcement and public safety.

Words matter. Judgment matters even more.

Homelessness Requires Results

Bass deserves criticism on homelessness as well. She declared homelessness an emergency and launched Inside Safe. Thousands of people have been moved indoors, but Los Angeles remains far from solving the crisis.

Raman, however, cannot present herself simply as an outsider arriving to clean up somebody else's mess.

She has spent years on the City Council and led its Housing and Homelessness Committee. She voted against the city's prohibition on homeless encampments within 500 feet of schools and daycare centers and opposed numerous efforts to establish additional anticamping zones.

There are legitimate arguments over whether encampment restrictions solve homelessness or merely move people elsewhere.

But compassion for people experiencing homelessness and protection of public spaces are not mutually exclusive.

Children should be able to walk to school safely. Residents should be able to use parks and sidewalks. Businesses should not be expected to operate indefinitely beside sprawling encampments. And people living on the streets deserve something better than politicians accepting tents as permanent housing.

Los Angeles needs compassion and order.

Governing Is Different From Campaigning

This is ultimately where the mayoral race should be judged.

Los Angeles is a city of nearly four million people with a multibillion-dollar budget, enormous infrastructure needs, a homelessness emergency, police staffing challenges and the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games approaching.

The next mayor must negotiate with Sacramento and Washington, labor unions and businesses, neighborhood leaders and developers, police officers and activists.

That requires pragmatism.

Bass' greatest liability is her record. Raman's greatest liability is the uncertainty surrounding what her governing philosophy would look like when applied citywide.

Bass has decades of government experience in Sacramento, Congress, and City Hall. Experience does not excuse failure. In fact, it makes failure harder to defend.

But experience still matters when voters are considering a significant change in the direction of City Hall.

Los Angeles Needs Competence

Bass should not receive a free pass. She should explain what went wrong during her first term, what she learned and what would be different during another four years.

Raman deserves the same scrutiny. She should explain how she would maintain public safety while reconciling her earlier positions on policing, how she would address dangerous encampments, and how she would manage one of America's largest municipal governments.

Los Angeles has spent too many years confusing intentions with results.

Residents want streets that work. They want police and firefighters properly supported. They want usable sidewalks and parks. They want housing they can afford, businesses willing to invest and homelessness programs measured by results rather than dollars spent.

Above all, they want competence.

Karen Bass has fallen short of the standard Los Angeles deserves. Nithya Raman is entitled to argue that she represents change.

But change alone is not a governing philosophy, and frustration with an incumbent is not by itself an argument for handing City Hall to her opponent.

Los Angeles needs leadership capable of fixing what is broken without breaking what still works.

Because this election is bigger than Karen Bass or Nithya Raman. It is about whether Los Angeles can finally replace ideology, excuses, and political theater with something far less glamorous - and far more desperately needed:

Competent government.

(Mihran Kalaydjian is a seasoned public affairs and government relations professional with more than twenty years of experience in legislative affairs, public policy, community relations, and strategic communications. A respected civic leader and education advocate, he has spearheaded numerous academic and community initiatives, shaping dialogue and driving reform in local and regional political forums. His career reflects a steadfast commitment to transparency, accountability, and public service across Los Angeles and beyond.)