Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman has been removed from her position as chair of the City Council’s Housing and Homelessness Committee. Raman contends that the decision is politically motivated and directly tied to her decision to challenge incumbent Mayor Karen Bass in the upcoming November mayoral election.
In a campaign video released on August 10, Raman linked her dismissal to a recent call she made for an official audit of the city’s homelessness initiatives. “I called for an audit of our homelessness programs in Los Angeles, and now I’ve been removed as Chair of the Housing and Homelessness Committee,” Raman stated in the video. She further remarked that while she may be facing political retribution for running against Mayor Bass, local residents are the ones bearing the cost of these political maneuvers. Raman has led the committee since 2023, steering a high-profile role in formulating the city’s policy response to housing and shelter challenges.
Council Leadership Response and Committee Restructuring:
City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson strongly refuted claims that the leadership change was a form of political retaliation. Harris-Dawson, an established political ally of Mayor Bass, explained that the council intends to divide the existing committee into two distinct panels one dedicated exclusively to housing and the other focusing on homelessness with neither panel to be chaired by Raman.
Rejecting the notion that the shuffle was punitive, Harris-Dawson told NBC Los Angeles that the reorganization is designed to streamline council functions and better equip the legislative body to address critical questions regarding homelessness leading up to the election. According to Harris-Dawson, the shift came after months of dialogue with Raman concerning committee leadership and was executed solely for the benefit of the council and city constituents. He expressed disappointment over Raman’s framing of the situation, stating it was regrettable to see her resort to political maneuvering over a transition she knew was coming.
Diverging Records on Homelessness:
The public disagreement highlights intensifying tensions in the mayoral race between Bass and Raman. Homelessness has emerged as a cornerstone of Raman’s platform, with her campaign emphasizing the distinct results achieved in Council District 4 as proof that her strategy can succeed citywide.
Recently published data from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s January point-in-time count, released on July 24, revealed that street homelessness encompassing individuals living outdoors or in vehicles dropped by 49 percent in Raman’s district compared to the previous year. Conversely, street homelessness grew by nearly 8 percent across the broader city, while overall homelessness across Los Angeles, including those in shelters and interim housing, rose by 3.4 percent.
Pointing to these metrics, Raman asserted that the city’s crisis is solvable. She noted that unsheltered numbers in her district fell by nearly half and that tent encampments have decreased by 73 percent since 2022. This issue has widened the political gap between the two contenders; Raman was previously considered a close ally of Mayor Bass, and her late-filing entry into the mayoral contest sent shockwaves through Los Angeles City Hall.
