Bass, Raman spar over policing, homelessness in first mayoral debate since June primary

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Set us as preferred Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and City Councilmember Nithya Raman slammed each other Wednesday over their handling of homelessness, public safety and many other issues during the first face-to-face debate of the Nov.3 election campaign.During a series of sharp-edged exchanges before the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn., Bass said Raman struggled to work collaboratively with her colleagues, treating city business as a series of academic exercises.

She also accused Raman of missing thousands of votes.Raman, in turn, chided Bass over her track record on homelessness, saying she achieved big reductions in her Hollywood Hills district even as the numbers worsened citywide.“Guess what that takes? Work,” she said.“That takes action.

That takes leadership.That takes management.

That takes data.That takes oversight.

That’s what’s missing in City Hall right now.”Bass said her Inside Safe program, which has moved more than 6,200 homeless people indoors, is one of the reasons Raman saw success in her district.The mayor also criticized Raman’s leadership on the council’s homelessness committee, saying its meetings were repeatedly canceled — including on Wednesday, after Raman failed to show up.“You have lots of plans and lots of ideas, but have done very little,” Bass said.Bass and Raman were the top vote-getters in the June 2 primary, with the mayor winning 34% and the council member securing 29%.

Reality television star Spencer Pratt failed to make the runoff, coming in third.The most recent campaign finance reports showed Bass with a big financial lead, taking in more than $510,000.Raman raised just over $170,000 in the same reporting period.Wednesday’s debate was acrimonious almost from the beginning, with the two interrupting each other throughout the night.

At one point, Raman told her opp...