Bass and Raman Split Final Weekend Across L.A. Neighborhoods

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and City Council Member Nithya Raman covered different parts of the city on Sunday, October 25, as the final weekend before the November 3 election approached. Both candidates held multiple events on the same day, targeting voters in distinct communities while the race remained statistically tied.

Bass began her day in South Los Angeles at South L.A. Cafe. She met with alumnae of the Divine Nine, an organization of historically Black fraternities and sororities. She then visited the KBLA-AM radio station. During the event, Bass referenced her background as a community organizer in the area during her early career. Woodrow Bailey, a 63-year-old USC graduate and member of Phi Beta Sigma, told reporters he had known Bass since the 1990s when she worked at the Community Coalition nonprofit. Bailey said he understood her goals for the city. Bass planned to attend services at four churches and one Sikh temple later in the day before casting her ballot.

Raman started her schedule in Boyle Heights at Dolores Mission Catholic Church. The council member has focused attention on the neighborhood following the Lineage fire, which destroyed a large cold food storage facility and filled the area with smoke. She attended a 9 a.m. Mass and spoke with parishioners in English and Spanish. She also ate from a taco stand located in the church courtyard. Raman told reporters she was heading to a canvass in Northridge and a Day of the Dead event in Canoga Park. She noted she would take a midday break to attend an 11th birthday bowling party for her twins. Raman stated she would bring urgency to every block of Los Angeles, citing her work on homelessness and resident issues in her current district.

The two campaigns released their final fundraising figures the previous week. Bass reported total campaign receipts of just over $5.4 million. Raman reported total receipts of $2.7 million. In the specific period between October 18 and October 28, Bass raised $139,737.28. Raman raised $122,498.83 in the same window. A final poll from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, cosponsored by The Los Angeles Times, found that 40 percent of likely voters supported Raman. Another 40 percent supported Bass. The remaining 19 percent of likely voters were undecided at the time of the survey.