A New Generation Has Arrived in LA Politics. Is Nithya Raman Ready to Lead It?

June 28, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman entered the 2026 mayoral race hours before the filing deadline, challenging incumbent Karen Bass—a candidate she had previously endorsed. In her first long-form interview since edging out reality star Spencer Pratt in the June primary, Raman explains why she made that last-minute decision, where she believes Bass has fallen short, and what she would do differently as mayor. The conversation, recorded for Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso, covers housing policy, homelessness response, the aftermath of the 2025 wildfires, and the personal history that shaped her approach to governance.

The Decision to Run and the Break with Bass

Raman’s decision to enter the race was not the result of a single inflection point but a slow accumulation of frustration. She had endorsed Bass in 2025 because, as an incumbent councilmember, she needed the mayor’s cooperation to deliver for her district. But over three years of working with the Bass administration, Raman says she pushed for changes on homelessness, housing production, and basic city services—and received commitments but no real progress. “It was a troubled relationship because I was pushing for changes that weren't happening,” she says. As the filing deadline approached, Raman realized the likely runoff would be between Bass and Spencer Pratt, whom she describes as a “MAGA Republican” and con

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What you'll learn

1 (00:47) **Introducing Nithya Raman** - Host Sam Fragoso frames Raman's rapid rise from political newcomer and housing activist to LA City Council member, and her eleventh-hour decision to challenge incumbent Mayor Karen Bass in the 2026 race.
2 (02:09) **The Decision to Run** - Raman explains she jumped in at the filing deadline, driven by a feeling of "rudderlessness" in the city and the prospect of a runoff between a status-quo incumbent and a conspiracy theorist (Spencer Pratt).
3 (03:16) **The Break with Karen Bass** - Raman details the troubled relationship: she pushed for changes on homelessness, housing, and services, receiving only "commitments to address, but no progress." She describes the relationship as "troubled" before she decided to run.
4 (08:22) **The Central Issue: Housing & Affordability** - Raman argues housing cost is the single driver of LA's population loss and homelessness crisis, criticizing Bass for not having a Deputy Mayor of Housing for two years.
5 (11:00) **Day One Policy: A "Shot Clock" for Permits** - Raman proposes a 60-120 day deadline for the city to respond to building permits, contrasting the current unpredictable process that takes over 18 months and drives up costs.
6 (14:57) **Why Want the Job? Love for LA and Frustration with Inaction** - Raman states she is driven by love for Los Angeles and a belief that the mayor’s office is not using its powers to push departments and demand change with enough urgency.
7 (16:11) **Hitting the Ceiling on Homelessness** - Raman explains the city’s homelessness response is funded but disorganized, with the mayor’s "Inside Safe" program being only one piece of a system that isn’t being forced to work in lockstep.

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Guests on this episode

Nithya Raman Sam Fragoso

Show Notes

Councilmember Nithya Raman says she’s running for mayor “to make LA affordable for everyone.” She joins us this week in her first extended sit-down since edging out Spencer Pratt in the recent mayoral primary.

We begin with Raman’s decision to challenge an incumbent mayor she once endorsed in Karen Bass (2:47), the state of Los Angeles after years of overlapping crises (6:50), and why she believes the city needs a greater sense of urgency in addressing housing affordability (9:47) and homelessness (16:11) in order to restore public trust in local government (25:00). Then, she reflects on immigrating to the United States from India as a child (29:44), the unique opportunities this country afforded her (33:08), and a formative experience that led to a life of activism and politics (41:28).

To close, Nithya explains how she would have handled the LA fires of 2025 (45:43), what she believes the city needs to do to safeguard against future climate disasters (46:12), her evolving views on the LAPD and their role in addressing homelessness (53:54), and why she believes this sprawling city is still worth fighting for (1:07:33).

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