LA mayoral candidates face off on housing record

Voters in Los Angeles will decide on Tuesday whether Mayor Karen Bass has done enough to lower rents or if Councilmember Nithya Raman offers a better path forward.

Bass recently stood outside a six-story apartment building above the Vermont/Santa Monica Metro station to announce that the city has facilitated the construction of more than 10,000 new income-restricted apartments during her first term.

"Today marks an important milestone in our work to make Los Angeles more affordable for the people who call this city home," Bass said. She described affordability as the city's number one issue.

The building behind her was funded by Proposition HHH, a $1.2 billion measure passed by voters in 2016, a decade before Bass took office in late 2022. An analysis by LAist found that approximately 40% of the affordable units completed during Bass's tenure were part of projects funded by that earlier ballot measure.

Jason Ward, an economist at the RAND Housing Center, noted that those units are largely for formerly unhoused individuals or those earning under 50% of the area median income. He stated that the conditions enabling the construction of these projects preceded the current mayor's term.

Bass's campaign responded to the timing of the announcement by stating that the city had underbuilt housing for decades and that Bass changed that trajectory. A spokesperson said the mayor is continuing to take action to address the housing crisis.

One of Bass's key policy moves was Executive Directive One, signed during her first week in office, which speeds up permitting for projects with rents capped for low and moderate-income tenants. Developers have submitted plans for more than 47,000 income-restricted apartments under this program.

Shane Phillips, a housing initiative manager at UCLA, called the directive an effective policy, though he noted it is not sufficient. Bass's campaign reports that 7,728 units in ED 1 projects are currently under construction, with 418 units ready for occupancy.

Raman has positioned herself as a pro-development candidate, contrasting her approach with the skepticism often shown by elected leaders. She voted against the council's opposition to SB 79, a state law allowing more density near transit lines, which Bass opposed, citing concerns about the impact on low-resource neighborhoods.

After some homeowner backlash, Bass rolled back ED 1 near single-family zones and historic districts. Courts later found the city illegally blocked some of these projects. Raman was the only councilmember to favor allowing those controversial projects to proceed.

"Working Angelenos are leaving the city every single day because they can’t afford to pay the rent," Raman said at a recent forum. She argued that current policies make Los Angeles one of the slowest and most expensive places to build.

Bass argues that a more permissive approach to market-rate development can lead to gentrification and displace existing Black and Brown residents. Her administration points to data showing that Raman's district, which stretches from Encino to Los Feliz, has seen only 130 affordable units completed in the last four years, the second-lowest total among council districts. The Raman campaign attributes this to the district's recent redrawing and strict single-family zoning rules, noting that her platform focuses on bureaucratic reforms within the mayor's direct authority.