Nithya Raman aimed to address Los Angeles’ homelessness issue as a mayoral candidate. Her involvement, however, took a controversial turn due to her removal from the City Council committee tasked with solving the crisis.
Mayor Karen Bass leads efforts against homelessness. Until recently, Raman held a key role as chair of the Housing and Homelessness Committee. Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson reshaped the committee, removing Raman as chair as of September 1.
Raman attributes her removal to political motives, describing it as a retribution for challenging Mayor Bass. Harris-Dawson disagrees, criticizing Raman for lacking the urgency required to confront the homelessness crisis in L.A.
“The committee is behind on over 100 issues,” Harris-Dawson stated. “Important decisions need rapid focus and consensus-building.”
Disagreements also exist between Raman and Bass over homelessness solutions. Raman criticizes Bass’ Inside Safe program, which relocates individuals from encampments to motels and temporary housing, as costly and unsustainable.
Raman suggests using time-limited subsidies, or rental vouchers, to house the homeless in private residences. She claims this would cost $30,000 per person, significantly less than Inside Safe’s $82,000 per individual. Raman seeks to expand voucher funding to provide more sustainable relief.
However, the voucher program faces challenges. So far, the $60-million initiative has been slow to start. Aimed at housing 600 households by July 1, it saw only three households secured by then. By August 13, the number grew to 54, but critics point to delays as evidence of Raman’s ineffectiveness.
Raman defends the subsidies as a way to transition people into private housing, thus freeing city shelters. She argues it provides better outcomes, though the program faced contracting delays early on.
Critics and colleagues, including Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, accuse Raman of inefficiency. They say she stalled proposals, like the one to separate from LAHSA, the joint city-county homeless services authority.
Raman’s push for a Bureau of Homelessness Oversight was realized last year, yet some criticize its capacity. Harris-Dawson argued seven positions aren’t enough.
Despite friction, Raman has plans to expand the bureau into a full department. Raman claims she discussed these ideas with Bass, though Bass opted for the bureau initially to avoid expanding bureaucracy.
No council members have endorsed Raman for mayor, partly due to dissatisfaction with her leadership style and decision-making delays.
In her committee chair role, Raman often canceled meetings, allowing unresolved motions to accumulate. Councilmember Imelda Padilla expressed disappointment, stating the committee felt like a seminar rather than a policymaking body.
As Raman leaves her chair position, the council debates its homelessness strategy, discussing potential separation from LAHSA and establishing a new department to centralize efforts.
Though Raman will continue on the new committee, it will be chaired by Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, and the new Housing Committee chaired by Padilla.