Raman Accuses Bass Of Declining Mayoral Debates

LOS ANGELES, CA — City Councilwoman Nithya Raman Tuesday criticized Mayor Karen Bass for declining to participate in more mayoral debates ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

Last month, Bass and Raman faced off during a debate hosted by the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council and Sherman Oaks/Encino Chamber of Commerce. The debate was limited to in-person attendees and those watching online via Zoom, though it was also broadcast live on LAist radio.

Subscribe

Raman's campaign said the councilwoman has accepted invitations to participate in debates hosted by NBC4 and Telemundo 52, CBS2 and KNX, ABC7 and Univision 34, KTLA5 and CNN. Bass has agreed to one televised debate -- hosted by NBC4 and Telemundo 52 on Oct. 12 -- and has declined the others, according to Raman's campaign.

"Los Angeles residents are confronting enormous challenges: homelessness, housing costs, public safety, affordability, deteriorating infrastructure and basic city services that too often fail to deliver. They deserve a serious, substantive and transparent conversation about the candidates' records, their competing ideas and the choices facing this city," according to a statement from Raman's campaign.

"We hope Mayor Bass will reconsider and join Nithya for more televised debates across different networks and before different communities," the statement continued.

In response, Alex Stack, a spokesman for Bass' campaign, said Raman does not show up for the job taxpayers are paying her to do and is using her position to campaign instead of helping solve Los Angeles' biggest challenges.

"Mayor Bass is running the city to make LA safer and more affordable," Stack said in a statement. "The mayor has already agreed to a dozen forums and debates that are being livestreamed on radio and TV, including the televised NBC4/Telemundo 52 debate."

Bass and Raman shared their views on the environment and climate during a forum Sept. 3. The event was organized by a coalition of environmental justice, climate, public health and community organizations, including the Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters, SCOPE LA, Sierra Club, Los Angeles Neighborhood Sustainability Alliance, Communities for a Better Environment and Clean and Healthy California.

Bass and Raman spoke separately during the forum, fielding questions about issues such as environmental justice, extreme heat, air pollution, oil drilling, rising energy costs, housing affordability, public safety, emergency response and community health.

The forum came amid an increasingly active mayoral race, with both candidates picking up endorsements and sharpening their attacks on each other's records.

Unite Here Local 11, which represents more than 32,000 hospitality workers in Southern California and Arizona, endorsed Raman last week.

"We need a mayor who will stand with the working people who keep this city running and who isn't afraid to take on powerful corporate interests when they threaten our communities," Unite Here Local 11 co-president Ada Briceño said in a statement.

Bass announced that she had received the endorsement of Spanish- language publication La Opinión.

"La Opinión is an institution in our city, and I'm proud to receive their endorsement for the work we have been doing to make LA safer and more affordable," Bass said in a statement.

The endorsements had followed an attack by the Bass campaign accusing Raman of missing nearly 3,000 votes during her time on the City Council. Bass' campaign launched a website, NoShowNithya.com, highlighting the absences and criticizing Raman's attendance record.

Raman's campaign called the allegations a "desperate" attack and said it was "ironic coming from a mayor who was missing during our city's most devastating emergencies."

Meanwhile, Bass announced she would step down from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority Commission after serving a three-year term that concluded June 30.

Bass had faced criticism after LAist reported that she skipped more than half of LAHSA Commission meetings since appointing herself to the board in 2023.

Bass missed 13 of 21 LAHSA Commission meetings held between mid-August 2025 and August, exceeding the four absences that can trigger removal under LAHSA's bylaws, according to LAist. The mayor cited time constraints for her decision to step down.

Copyright 2026, City News Service,