Commentary: L.A. Mayor Karen Bass lost last night's debate against Nithya Raman. Badly
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Set us as preferred Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad reelection campaign just got worse after Wednesday night’s debate in Sherman Oaks.Bass came in as the clear favorite after toying with City Councilmember Nithya Raman the two times they faced off on the debate stage during the primary, as easily as the Dodgers sweeping the Angels.Her Honor just needed to do more of the same: hail her own accomplishments, deliver well-timed zingers and keep as cool as a cucumber while baiting Raman into self-immolation.Bass did none of that, while Raman stepped up the way she needed to.
This time, the challenger offered concrete answers instead of word salads.She mostly stuck to the allotted time limits while Bass repeatedly whined that she wasn’t given enough time.
Raman effortlessly turned the mayor’s rhetorical traps around like Bugs Bunny twisting Elmer Fudd’s rifle right in his face.California The showdown in Sherman Oaks was the first face-to-face debate since Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmember Nithya Raman emerged as the top vote-getters in the June 2 mayoral primary.Take the moment when Bass pointed out that Raman had missed the second-most votes among councilmembers during her six years in office.
Raman responded that she missed many meetings while representing the city on the South Coast Air Quality Management District and other governmental boards.Bass’ clap-back — that Raman’s colleagues also had other official responsibilities yet “they find their way to work” — drew “ooohs” from the audience at the debate, put on by the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn.If this were still the primary, Raman would have flustered her way to a non-answer.
This time, she calmly said that she must not be such a bad councilmember, since Bass had appointed her to those boards.“Well, we really...