Raman to Overhaul City Management

Los Angeles residents will see changes in city management when Nithya Raman takes office. The mayor-elect intends to hire a new police chief and alter how the city tracks spending on homelessness. She also plans to push for more apartment construction in single-family neighborhoods.

Raman described her approach as a hands-on management style. She aims to improve coordination between city departments and use data to measure program effectiveness. Rick Cole, a former deputy mayor who advised Raman, said the city has flown blind in tracking the impact of its spending. He stated that this practice would end under her leadership.

As mayor, Raman can hire and fire managers in dozens of agencies. She will also appoint or remove hundreds of citizen commissioners who serve as volunteers. Cole is expected to lead the transition team alongside Andrea Conant, Raman's former chief of staff. City Controller Kenneth Mejia, the only elected official at City Hall to endorse Raman, will also work closely with her.

Raman has promised to let Mejia audit all city spending on homelessness. His teams would monitor encampment cleanups and operations to move residents indoors. She called the current use of hotel and motel rooms for temporary housing expensive and ineffective. Raman said she would cut homelessness in half by the 2028 Olympics Games and eliminate it by the end of her first four-year term.

The transition for the Los Angeles Police Department remains uncertain. Raman promised to replace Chief Jim McDonnell, citing a loss of public trust. She gave conflicting timelines for this change, telling one outlet she would keep him until 2030 and another that the process would start on day one. The LAPD had 8,700 officers when she launched her campaign in February. The force has lost 200 officers since then.

Raman opposed the last police union contract, arguing that raises and retention bonuses bankrupted the city. She will face immediate salary negotiations with the Los Angeles Police Protective League. Political science professor Fernando Guerra noted that Raman uses fiscal arguments to support her positions. He pointed to her vote against the 2.6 billion dollar upgrade of the Los Angeles Convention Center, where she cited future costs to the budget.

On housing, Raman promised a 60-day shot clock for approving new apartment projects that follow zoning laws. She vowed to bring duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes to single-family neighborhoods near public transit. Scott Epstein, policy director at Abundant Housing LA, said his group sees more energy in Raman's approach to housing than in previous administrations.

Raman is also expected to champion transportation policies. She criticized the previous administration for blocking bicycle lanes in Griffith Park. Hedge fund manager Aaron Sosnick donated 8 million dollars to outside campaigns supporting Raman. Michael Schneider, head of the advocacy group Streets For All, predicted Raman would consolidate street maintenance departments. He also expects her to pursue a 2028 ballot measure for infrastructure repairs.