Bass, Raman square off in mayoral debate: City leaders weigh in

Three weeks until the mayoral election. Tonight, one of the last chances for Nithya Raman and Karen Bass to debate each other. Fox 11's Matthew Suter, live in Universal City. Go ahead, Matthew. Because at the time, she was benefiting from it. And so the fact that she exploited these things and is now crying foul is really disingenuous. And I think tonight was an example and exposure of all of her failures. She's talked about, for example, tax credits. She's done nothing on tax credits. And so, you know, with Assemblymember Rick Sabur, who's been working on that in the state capital, Nithya Raman was never present. Councilmember, we're live on Fox 11 Plus right now. Clearly you're supporting Mayor Bass in this race, sorry to interrupt, but what is her biggest accomplishment? Why are you supporting Mayor Bass? I support Mayor Bass because, and I've been a very outspoken critic when there are policies that I disagree with, but I also recognize her ability to pull individuals together to help lead this city forward and that level of collaboration is something that i've been able to enjoy even when i've been an outspoken critic there has been a recalibration of areas where we in fact disagreed on issues to create uh new initiatives to for sidewalk repair for example those things are now expanding my rv to home pilot that has now been funded for expansion as the protocol that we will now do and implement citywide. She's recognized the ability to work with individuals, whereas Nithya Raman, in my experience, has been one to obstruct many of the reforms that she talks about but has never implemented. So it sounds like you're making your decision on a lot of personal levels. Personal experience, yes, because that's what people should do. People should make decisions based on what their experience is, and having been on the city council, I'm now going to be entering my third term. I've had a front row seat at a variety of leadership styles of individuals. I've seen people that show up or not show up the way Nithya Raman has, who's missed 3,000 votes, who canceled multiple committee meetings, who actually has advocated to eliminate. There's video of her in a council meeting saying that she wanted less council meetings because she wanted to spend more time with her children and that she asked the council president to cancel council meetings. That isn't someone who wants to show up for the public That is someone who wants the title But not the work And so what we don't need is a show horse We need a work horse And one thing I know about Karen Bass Is every day she gets up to do this work And you feel like LA is headed in the right direction? I know that we still have a lot of work to do To change course We are being assaulted by the federal government We need to continue to be aggressive In protecting as many Angelenos as possible While concurrently preparing for the world stage With the Olympics coming in 2028 No, thank you so much all right so you just heard from councilmember monica rodriguez and she is essentially endorsing mayor bass in this race for mayor basically saying it was because of her personal experiences with the councilmember as well as the mayor we're hoping we can hear from councilmember nithya raman herself she's in an interview right now and we'll have that to you momentarily we're also going to see if mayor bass herself comes out here so far we're just seeing representatives for the mayor. I'll go ahead and send it back to you. Well, why don't we keep you there for a moment to see if Nithya Raman does come over to you. So let's go ahead and break down. Again, apologies. I didn't set that up ahead of time and introduce the speaker there. That was Monica Rodriguez, as you said, a longtime city council member who, as you've mentioned, is endorsing Mayor Karen Bass. I'm wondering, Matthew, do you know, were you inside for the debate? Do you know if many other members of the council showed up? Sorry, sorry, we're We're getting word that we can actually jump in on this interview with a council member. Go ahead. No, we're not. No, we're not. All right. We have to wait a couple more minutes here. All right. So, yeah. What was your question, Christine? Were there other city council members there in attendance at this debate? Not that we've seen as they've been exiting, anyway. We were actually, the press was in a separate room than when the debate was taking place in a separate building. So we're just seeing people as they walk out, and so far we're just seeing Monica Rodriguez. well matthew it's is it significant to you I think the answer is obviously yes I think that over right now Councilwoman Raman, now we're going to a gaggle and but we're going to a gaggle, all right so we're going to a gaggle with a councilwoman, okay yeah so Matthew what can you hear me? yeah I got you right yeah sort of right here with our in front of our beautiful decision. Where do you want Nithya? Right here. Nithya Raman, who just wrapped up that debate with Mayor Karen Bass, gearing up to address members of the press, they're getting in position there. Outside where that debate happened there, she is challenging the mayor of Los Angeles, who we are possibly going to hear from tonight as well. I would imagine, yeah. So, you know, the aftermath of these debates is sometimes a little hectic. You can see that's one of her campaign advisors there. I figured out how to do it and here we go. You know, it was an hour that went by faster than any hour that I've ever experienced in my life, but also slower than any hour I've ever experienced in my life. But really what I hope is that I made the case that we can demand better from our city. I really believe in Los Angeles. I really believe in LA City Hall. This is a city that can dream big. It can deliver for its residents. It can deliver for its constituents. It can be affordable. It can be a place where people can come and build their dreams here again. And I hope I made the case that I can deliver that version of the city for residents of Los Angeles. A third of voters are estimated to be undecided at this point. What do you think is your biggest accomplishment that you want them to know? And what separates you from Mayor Bass? You know, in my district, we have reduced homelessness significantly. It is still the biggest issue that's facing Los Angeles. It is still the issue that every council office gets the most calls about. It's the top issue in every survey. And in my district, I've reduced tents, encampments, and RVs by 70% over the past three years. We had a 49% reduction in the number of people living on the street last year, even as homelessness rose citywide because of the way in which I've organized the work in my district. We look at results and we invest in what works. That is what is needed for the entire city. We need to make sure that every dollar is being held accountable and that we're getting as many people indoors as possible. The crisis on our streets does not have to be this way. And I know we can do better than the city before us. Thank you so much. These are the two questions that we have. Thank you so much. Thanks. Thank you so much. We have surrogates here. You have controller care for me here. Yeah, she was asked. Two questions. Can we have one more? No, we didn't. Yeah. So, Matthew, it just. There's some frustration there, obviously. We don't really understand why they have to hustle them off like that, but that's what they seem to do, right? Yeah, it's frustrating because obviously you have a list of questions and you hear the debate and you hear these controversial topics and then going head-to-head and throwing jabs, and you want to get to those points as well. I know. We'll keep an eye out for Mayor Bass. What struck me, and I'm sure you too, is that they basically accuse each other of lying about each other. And it's tough for the viewers because we're not able to, you know, we're not sitting in front of a computer necessarily on, you know, researching the percentages of homeless declines or increases. They both present like sort of alternate realities of what's happened, especially when it comes to issues like homelessness on ICE. They both seem to portray themselves as the one with the true answers and whatever the other one says is not true, which is frustrating to listen to. Well said, and Phil, you've moderated some of these debates including with these two candidates so you've seen it firsthand uh but it does seem like there's a lot of you know it's it's good in my district it's good in the city but you know like you said it's a lot of finger pointing and and maybe there's a section of those undecided voters that aren't really sure who to go with right now and they just hear this and it's just noise for them yeah you know i watched here on tv you were there in the press room, I'm wondering... Hold on one second. Yeah, go ahead. First of all, what is her exact view on the police chief, and how is she expecting to work with the police chief? I don't know her, I don't know her personal views on the police chief yet. But she answered it, she said she's going to get a team, she's going to analyze... She gave a four-year window in which she'd replace him. How is she supposed to work with a police chief that she gives no clarity as to his job situation? Well, you know, like the council Councilmember Rahman said this police chief has failed on, you know, several fronts when it comes to responding to ICE. When it comes to protesters, people protesting against ICE who have been tear gassed. We have to actually get an injunction from a judge. And Councilmember Rahman wants to see a police chief who will protect Angelenos, right? Now, do we know when that police chief replacement will take place? Like she said, she's going to get a team and she's going to find out because that decision needs to be made in consultation with everyone who's close to that issue, right? But what we know, and what we've all seen last year, and what we've seen with the growing liability payments, with the growing police budget going over budget, you know, protesters, people getting beat up, you know, at Echo Park, people getting hit on the head after a Dodgers game with no accountability, that is something that needs to be held accountable by a police chief. And as the mayor, we need to have a mayor who's going to protect Angelenos, not only from ICE, but also from our own city, right? And so, you know, we don't know when the replacement is going to be. But, you know, I know that I hear and I feel the frustration from Angelenos, too, about wanting to be protected by your LAPD. The mayor paints this picture of the councilwoman as being anti-police. She talks about the encampments in front of schools. Lots of talk tonight about fascism. How do you respond to that? Yeah, you know, let's start with the encampments, right? Like, no one wants encampments near schools. It's a soundbite. It's a huge soundbite. Nithya Raman is about finding solutions to root causes. Literally, I am in City Hall. 41-18 just puts one encampment from one block to the next. But there are some blocks where those constituents don't want those encampments. No one wants encampments. Even Nithya doesn't. But it's very expensive. That's why she was saying it's scarce resources. That's why we need to use our dollars wisely. She was able to reduce street homelessness in her district without relying on criminalization over 41.18. So I understand. No one wants encampments. let's get that straight when it comes to the police she's talking about greater greater greater accountability we pay close to four hundred thousand dollars to support one police officer and under this mayor we've given them more money and yet we've seen police officer headcount shrink meaning we're paying more for fewer and yet we're still paying massive liabilities going over budget overtime we're getting injunctions by judges through LAPD police misconduct we need a mayor who's going to be like hey LAPD we need protection but we also need to make sure we're not you know breaking the budget and we're also gaining the trust of our Angelenos when we respond to public safety calls and issues like that so yeah and the response to the word fascism there's this concern among some voters about DSA and influence on Nithya Ramachandran sure sure yeah I mean like like what I just said and what I told the other reporter right what we saw last year you know it's not just last year it was literally when the Dodgers celebrated it's literally you know the the videos of press getting shot it's it's it's you know seeing ice come in to this city right and and then seeing how the city responded to to Angelenos out there protesting right and we haven't seen that accountability and that is sort of like why you know people are so fed up with with whether it's the federal government or how our own government reacts to responding to crises right in this case it was the immigration it was the ICE crisis right how the city responded through LAPD through that crisis and so you know i understand why i understand how should LAPD have responded then because and this is what i this is what i there was a lot of cases this is what i spoke to you know you know i don't know if i'll say this i spoke to the police chief and i you know i even spoke to the mayor during the time when these uh when ice was here and i said look i understand that if someone throws a bottle you're going to arrest that person do it like that's your job but when you're shooting at people indiscriminately in the face you're shooting press that is not what we can do here because now i don't know if anyone knows but we're about to get hit with a ton of lawsuits from last year we got in a federal injunction we use tear gas on our own protesters which is banned across you know other countries like that is wild for a city of los angeles and so my my response is well what should have go after those people but don't indiscriminately then go after everyone else who are so under fear of this administration and the feds or whatnot because you know we need to gain trust and that's why I'm so excited for Nithya because she's inspiring a new vision for this city you know I've been in here for four years I'm an accountant I'm a CPA I see where the money goes and man like we could do so much better yeah thank you city controller thank you so much we appreciate it so that was the city controller how's it going can we speak with you as well yes of course hi so tell us uh how are you feeling tonight so i think it was very clear who won the debate and who is the right choice for angelinos to lead continue to lead our city um you know with uh Councilwoman Rahman we saw with our mayor we saw solutions and results uh with Councilwoman Rahman we saw a lot of complaints and slogans i didn't hear a single solution uh come out of her mouth on any of the issues that Angelinos care about nothing on public safety. Her record takes the city in the wrong direction. She wants to have fewer police officers and has voted to have fewer officers rather than more. She has been someone whose policies have resulted in keeping people on the street rather than bringing them inside, as the Mayor Bass's policies have. So I think it's really clear who we need to be electing as our mayor, and that's to have experience and someone who understands how complex these issues and are taking our city in the right direction, not in the wrong direction. One of the biggest, I guess you could say, shots that was taken at Mayor Bass tonight from Nithya Raman was that she wasn't here for the Palisades fire. I believe she was also out of town during the fire at Boyle Heights. And basically, Raman was saying that she's not here and she's not speaking with us tonight. So how do you respond to those concerns? Well, my district overlaps that of Councilwoman Raman's office. And what I can tell you is that even when Councilwoman Raman is in Los Angeles, she's MIA on most things. She talked a lot about the film tax credit, obviously. I led the efforts in Sacramento to reform the film tax credit and expand it. Mayor Bass was with us. She was advocating in Sacramento for that program. Nithya Raman, the first time she ever talked about it was after she was running for mayor. We actually had a big effort in Sacramento this year. Mayor Bass was there helping with the governor, helping with the speaker. So voters hear all this, and they don't know what to think. I mean, you've got one candidate saying one thing. You've got another candidate saying another. What do they do right now? I think they look at sort of who actually has real policies in place and which direction the two candidates are going to take this in. And do you believe L.A. is going in the right direction right now? I think under Mayor Bass's leadership, we have a lot more work to do, but she's taking us in the right direction. We actually need safer streets. Mayor Bass's policies will result in safer streets. if we want to tackle homelessness. Mayor Bass's policy is to tackle homelessness. Nithya Raman, she speaks in platitudes, but she did not have a single solution on any of the issues that she claims to want to work on. Not one. Can you think of one thing that she said? She talks a lot about data. She talks a lot about platitudes. She has a lot of slogans. She has a lot of complaints, but she hasn't offered any solutions. Mayor Bass wants to make sure that we are actually expanding our police force to make sure that our streets are safer. She wants to do it in a compassionate way and make sure that we're actually creating more beds for people that are homeless. Our Inside Safe program is something that's worked. She's built affordable housing. Nithya Raman's district has created the second fewest number of affordable housing units in the city since she's been in office. So, you know, if you want to look at results, look at the results of Nithya Raman's service in the city, and it's been a failure. And I, you know, I represent an overlapping area. I can't tell you the number of calls that my office gets because they're not getting results. From the State Assembly, just so people know. Yeah, I represent the State Assembly, and it overlaps that city council district. And so many of her constituents are calling my office because they can't get results from Nithya Raman. Well, thank you so much for your time. Voters have, I guess, three weeks from today until Election Day. So, Phil and Christine, it is decision time for a lot of voters. And tonight might have been the last night where we see these candidates sharing the same stage. I'll go ahead and send it back to you. Yeah, right there you had Rick Zuber, an assembly member who is in support of Mayor Karen Bass. We heard before that the city controller, Kenneth Mejia, in support of Nithya Raman. And then before that, you had Councilmember Monica Rodriguez in support of Karen Bass. So clearly, supporters on both sides are turning out. Matthew? Yeah, we are seeing supporters on both sides turning up and speaking with the media. We did hear from Councilmember Raman briefly. I think she took about a question and a half. But to her credit, we have not seen Mayor Bass out here, so we are hearing her support. Did Mayor Bass's people say as to why she left without speaking to the reporters? Is that a strategic decision on her part, do you think? No, it might have been strategic. We haven't gotten a response to that. So we did see a staff member here, but we haven't gotten an explanation. What would you have asked her? I mean, there's a list of questions. I think when you hear these debates, right, you want to get to some of the gist of what they were talking about, some of the back and the forth and also honestly some of the same questions i was going to ask Nithya Raman, what is your biggest achievement and what do you want others to know about your your opponent i mean because this is this decision time for so many voters and the latest poll out a third of voters undecided well i know the debate is over sort of seven o'clock so probably people are drifting out i don't know if you're expecting to speak to anybody else Phil Schumann we should know as matthew's noted you have done your own debate with these candidates i'm wondering if You noticed a change, and Matthew, comment on that, too. I think it was similar. We did a debate earlier in the summer with the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association, and a takeaway from that debate was that Mayor Bass was on the offensive and that Nithya Raman was more pleading her case for change. And I think we saw much of the same tonight. And I don't think, if you're undecided going in, I don't think anything happened tonight that's going to definitely change your mind. Matthew, final thought there. Totally agree with what Phil was saying. I felt like maybe more so tonight than in that first debate. I felt like both candidates were probably a little more offensive this time. But for the undecided voter, I'm not sure if tonight's going to swing it either way. I actually just sent a message to Spencer Pratt to see if he had some sort of response that I could share on his behalf tonight. And so far, I haven't heard back. Yeah, still wondering how the Spencer Pratt voters are going to vote on this one if they do vote. All right, Matthew, thank you.