From left: Los Angeles City Councilmembers Nithya Raman, Monica Rodriguez and Hugo Soto-Martínez (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
NITHYA RAMAN HAS SPENT six years — her entire career as an elected official — as a member of the Los Angeles City Council. And yet, her race for mayor is notable for the absence of council support.
To the contrary, her fellow-council members are lined up against her: Some oppose her fiercely, others less vigorously, but not one of her 14 colleagues is backing her campaign for mayor.
Councilwoman Traci Park faults Raman for not showing up in the Palisades after the fires there. Councilwoman Imelda Padilla says serving on Raman’s committee was the “most unproductive time I’ve had on council.” Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Mayor Karen Bass’s closest ally on the council, says Raman fails to do the political work to turn her ideas into action. Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez, who had been a loud critic of Bass until Raman got into the race, unloads a thesaurus full of criticisms on her colleague, whom she considers arrogant, elitist, obstructionist, phony and a crybaby — for starters.
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