Los Angeles mayoral hopeful Nithya Raman dodged questions and delivered lengthy, word salad answers when pressed over her ties to the Democratic Socialists of America and whether the group’s left-wing agenda would be good for LA.
The councilmember also sidestepped why she rolled out major union endorsements with splashy press conferences but held no press conference for DSA-LA’s endorsement and waited a day before acknowledging the socialist group’s backing on social media.
“Councilwoman, you held press conferences when you were endorsed by the unions, but not the DSA. Are you worried about being linked to the DSA?” The Post asked at a press conference Wednesday.
“And do you really believe their extreme left-wing ideology will help the city?”
Raman did not directly answer, instead launching into a lengthy defense of her political independence.
“I am running for mayor, and I’ve made my positions very clear, and at points, I have broken with any organization that has supported me in the past when I have felt that policies need to be reconsidered or considered differently in order to deliver results for Angelenos,” Raman responded.
“My focus has always been, what are the best results for Angelenos?”
The Post pressed her again.
“The question is, do you believe their extreme left-wing ideology will help the city?”
Raman again avoided directly answering.
“Well, I’m running for mayor, so I believe my policies and my agenda will help the city.”
DSA-LA endorsed Raman, a longtime member of the socialist organization, on Sept. 2 after she secured more than 60% of the vote among participating chapter members.
The group’s platform calls for redirecting police funding toward other services, repealing portions of the city’s anti-camping law and moving housing out of the private market through measures that could include eminent domain.
The grilling came at a press conference Raman called to hammer Mayor Karen Bass over LA’s homelessness crisis and the hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars flowing through the system.
Flanked by LA City Controller Kenneth Mejia, Raman tore into Bass for stepping down from the LAHSA Commission and vowed to bring greater accountability to the city’s sprawling homelessness bureaucracy.
But Raman soon faced questions about her own record.
Asked why the sweeping reforms she is now proposing as a mayoral candidate had not already happened while she chaired the City Council committee overseeing homelessness, Raman did not directly answer.
Instead, she pointed to her record in her council district and the limits of a councilmember’s authority.
“In my district, where I had the most direct operational control over our homelessness response, I delivered real results,” Raman responded.
“Citywide, I’ve also done my best as a chair of this committee and as one of 15 council members to push us in a better direction,” she continued. “But the mayor has ultimate control over our departments.”
Raman was also pressed over why she and Bass had both worked within the now-embattled LAHSA system before pushing to wrest greater control away from the agency.
“That’s not quite true,” Raman responded. “I have been working for years to build City Hall’s ability to manage its own homelessness dollars.”
The questioning ended shortly afterward, with Raman’s team saying she had to leave for a scheduled meeting.
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