Commentary: New twist in mayor's race makes election a referendum on L.A.s future

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L.A.Mayor Karen Bass was having a really bad week.But then it turned into a pretty good week, and she must have breathed a sigh of relief.Until the Saturday morning surprise.I had to set fire to my scorecard, and to the column I had just drafted, which touched on all the expected big-name challengers who had bowed out of the mayoral race in the past several days: L.A.

County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, billionaire businessman Rick Caruso (who forced a runoff with Bass the last time around), and former L.A.Unified schools chief Austin Beutner.It was looking as though we wouldn’t get a badly needed, monthslong, toe-to-toe face-off about all that’s right and wrong in the sprawling metropolis of high hopes and low expectations.

In a conversation I had with Loyola Marymount University’s Fernando Guerra, a decades-long observer of the local political scene, he made this observation about the dull political season that was shaping up:“What is interesting to me is that no one from the establishment political class is running against [Bass] when she is clearly vulnerable.” Vulnerable because of her handling of the Palisades fire and its aftermath.Vulnerable because of limited progress on core issues such as homelessness, housing affordability and the shameful condition of streets, sidewalks and parks.But then came Saturday morning, when, in an unexpected move, L.A.City Councilmember Nithya Raman decided to step up, injecting a new element of drama into the race.It was a surprise because Raman and Bass are not political enemies.

In fact, they’ve largely been allies and have endorsed each other’s reelection bids.So what was Raman thinking in signing up for a challenge in which she is clearly the underdog?“I have deep respect for Mayor Bass.We’ve worked closely together on my biggest priorities and her biggest priorities, and there’s significant alignment there,” Ram...