Karen Bass

Incumbent Mayor Karen Bass and City Councilmember Nithya Raman are locked in a close race for Los Angeles mayor, with a recent Berkeley IGS/L.A. Times poll showing both candidates tied. Both campaigned in Raman's own Encino-area district days before the vote, where residents are split over her record on homelessness and public safety. Bass credited her citywide Inside Safe program for improvements in Raman's district and criticized Raman's affordable housing record, while Raman countered that local gains reflect her own office's work, not the mayor's. The dispute over housing policy and encampment reductions has become central to the final days of campaigning.

With polls showing a tight contest days before the Nov. 3 election, LA City Councilmember Nithya Raman has detailed plans to challenge incumbent Mayor Karen Bass. Her platform includes moving the city's homelessness budget away from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, giving the city controller broad audit power, and cutting encampments by half before the 2028 Olympics. On housing, she pledges a "shot clock" for permits, self-certification for simple projects, new high-rise zones, and a Office of Tenant Protections. On public safety, Raman would expand unarmed crisis response teams and has signaled she would replace LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell.

Bass, in office since 2022, has faced scrutiny over wildfire response, federal immigration enforcement, and homelessness policy, issues likely to shape how voters weigh the race's outcome.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass faces City Councilmember Nithya Raman in Tuesday's election, with housing affordability as the central issue. Bass touts more than 10,000 income-restricted apartments built during her term, driven largely by her Executive Directive One permitting reform, though analysts note much of that progress stems from pre-existing Proposition HHH funding and that overall housing production has lagged. Raman, running as a pro-development YIMBY candidate, criticizes Bass for rolling back ED 1 near single-family zones and opposing a state density law, while Bass warns that looser rules risk displacing low-income residents.

Both candidates back lower rent-control caps and reforming the city's "mansion tax," but diverge sharply on zoning and development approach heading into the vote.

Los Angeles is in confidential mediation with attorneys monitoring a nearly $1.4 billion, 30-year settlement requiring the city to repair sidewalks and build curb ramps for residents with mobility disabilities. The settlement, from a class-action lawsuit, is in its 10th year. Monitoring lawyers say the city has repeatedly breached its terms, citing a backlog of nearly 5,000 repair requests and slow curb-ramp installation during street resurfacing. The city has completed about 1,750 repairs since 2016 and says it meets the required $31 million annual funding level (now about $36 million with inflation adjustments), though officials acknowledge that funding is insufficient to clear the citywide backlog. If mediation fails, lawyers may ask a federal court to intervene.

Federal prosecutors announced charges against 28 green-card holders as part of "Operation Protect the Vote," alleging they registered or voted as citizens in California; 11 were arrested. Prosecutors say defendants claimed citizenship on registration forms, in some cases voted, then denied citizenship on naturalization paperwork—felony conduct carrying up to five years, with noncitizen voting in a federal election carrying one year. All defendants are presumed innocent. The case follows separate, unrelated Los Angeles prosecutions over paid registrations and forged petitions. Separately, the Department of Justice is seeking a federal court order blocking ballots tied to more than 20,000 flagged "likely" noncitizen registrants, a figure state officials dispute, with California's attorney general questioning discrepancies in Homeland Security's broader estimates.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass faces a tough reelection fight against city council member Nithya Raman, backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, ahead of the Nov. 3 election. Bass, who won just 34% in the June primary, is seeking a second term after a rough first stint marked by the Palisades Fire and rising homelessness. Raman, 45, represents a generational and ideological shift, echoing New York's election of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, though she lacks major local endorsements compared to Bass's establishment backing from Newsom, Harris, and Pelosi. The candidates differ sharply on policing and homelessness, with turnout so far low amid broad voter disillusionment.

Boyle Heights and Arts District residents are uniting to push Los Angeles officials to designate an anti-camping zone around Sixth Street PARC, the park under construction beneath the 6th Street Bridge that is slated to open next year. The Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council voted 13-1 to back a petition started by Arts District residents, joining the Arts District Little Tokyo Neighborhood Council and the downtown LA Residents Association in urging Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, Mayor Karen Bass, and city staff to establish the zone and a security plan.

Anti-camping zones, created under Los Angeles Municipal Code 41.18, prohibit sitting, lying, or sleeping in designated public areas and require council approval. Supporters note the city already approved a 41.18 zone for the bridge itself in 2024 and want it extended to the park below. Jurado said her office is reviewing the boundaries and called for broader dialogue on homelessness and safety. The push contrasts with recent moves elsewhere in LA, including Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez's repeal of 12 anti-camping zones in his district over concerns the ordinance hampers housing efforts.

President Donald Trump, speaking at a rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, said higher gas prices from the Iran conflict were "a small price to pay for keeping the world safe," adding that Iran could "take out" Los Angeles or San Diego and calling it "a very small price to pay" that would be "over with very soon." The crowd cheered. The remark came roughly a month before the midterm elections.

California officials responded swiftly. Governor Gavin Newsom called the comment "dangerous -- if not treasonous," directed the State Threat Assessment Center to monitor for threats against California, and later escalated by calling Trump "mentally ill" and demanding invocation of the 25th Amendment. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told Trump to "keep LA out of your damn mouth," and gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra accused him of treating Californians' lives as "a punchline." San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and other mayors, along with Rep. Derek Tran, condemned the remarks. The White House and allies countered that Trump's full remarks were being taken out of context, arguing he meant Iran could strike those cities only if it obtained nuclear weapons, not that the U.S. should allow such an attack.