My plea to Spencer Pratt voters: Dont hand LA to socialists out of spite

In June, I voted for Spencer Pratt for mayor for one reason.I wanted City Hall to hear one message: this city is a mess, and the people running it should be ashamed.Spencer didn’t make it.

But I know enough about politics to understand two things.Things can always get worse.So before any Pratt voter casts a protest ballot for Nithya Raman on November 3 — and most of us still haven’t decided — look at who’s behind her.

The biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now.Please provide a valid email.

By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Never miss a story Start with the carpenters’ union.

The Western States Regional Council of Carpenters backed Karen Bass in 2022.Then Bass made one of the best calls of her term.

Her decision to fast-track affordable housing has moved more than 29,000 units through city approval.Crucially, she refused to load those projects with a union-wage mandate after her advisers warned it could raise costs by as much as 20%.The union wanted that mandate.

A carpenters’ union vice president complained that Bass’s plan “left workers out of the equation.” In August, the union dropped Bass and endorsed Raman.The carpenters’ consultant is Rick Jacobs, Eric Garcetti’s former senior adviser and one of the most powerful operators in this city.When the union couldn’t get what it wanted from Bass, it found a candidate who would comply.

The same day the union endorsed Raman, Bass was in Koreatown cutting the ribbon on 19 apartments for veterans, built under her directive, without the union mandate.That’s the choice in this race: Housing under Bass; union control, and less housing, under Raman.Then there’s Raman’s political home.

She is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, whose LA chapter endorsed her in September.Read DSA-LA’s voter guide to understand what that means.

It praises Raman for joining “th...