Los Angeles mayoral challenger Nithya Raman was expected Tuesday to lose her City Council homelessness chairmanship at City Hall because Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson plans to split the panel, a shake-up Raman called political retaliation as critics challenged her record.
“I might be getting punished for running against Mayor Bass, but Angelenos are the ones paying the price for these political games,” Raman said in a video released Monday.
Harris-Dawson, a Bass ally, plans to create separate housing and homelessness committees this week, with Raman leading neither, according to reports. Raman has chaired the combined committee since 2023. The council president, who appoints committee members, declined to comment.
Councilmember Traci Park rejected Raman’s account and said the proposed restructuring reflected the need for a different approach to the city’s homelessness response.
“There’s no political retaliation going on here,” Park said. “She has not taken any substantive or meaningful action.”
The dispute followed LAHSA’s 2026 count, which estimated 45,194 homeless people in Los Angeles, up 3.4% from 2025, although the agency said the change was not statistically significant. Unsheltered homelessness rose 7.9% citywide but fell 49% in Raman’s district.
Councilmember Monica Rodriguez accused Raman of defending LAHSA and blocking changes while controlling the council’s homelessness policy.
“For years, Nithya Raman controlled homelessness policy,” Rodriguez said. “As chair, she misled councilmembers into remaining invested in the failure that is LAHSA, and just last week, defended another $126 million of status quo investments and blocked reform.”
Bass campaign spokesperson Alex Stack also accused Raman of canceling committee meetings, missing votes and failing to produce results on housing and homelessness.
“Nithya Raman canceled committee meetings for weeks, didn’t show up to votes, and failed to deliver on building more housing or getting people off the streets,” Stack said.
Raman’s campaign disputed Stack’s separate assertion that her subsidy program had spent more than $60 million while filling only three apartments, saying funds are released only after participants sign leases. Bass and Raman advanced to the November runoff after placing first and second in the June primary.
