Los Angeles Councilmember Nithya Raman sat down with KNX News’ Craig Fiegener on Tuesday to discuss her campaign for mayor.
“When I told people that I did actually make the decision on Friday, that is true, and so I am really working now very quickly to put together a campaign,” she said. “I'm not starting from scratch. I have a big public profile, and there was a real outpouring of enthusiasm when I announced, which was really incredible, but it is a lot to do right now.”
Raman also said she’s spoken with Mayor Bass about her decision to run.
“As I've said repeatedly, I have a deep sense of respect for her and for her work, and that remains to that extent,” she said
She added that it was a hard decision for her, not just because of her relationship with Mayor Bass, but also because of the pressure it’s going to put on her family.
“I have two young children, but I also came into this job because I love this city,” she said. “Like it is an incredible place. I would never have run for office had I not lived here and wanted to make this place better, and right now, I do think Angelenos deserve a conversation about their future.”
When asked how she will prepare for the 2028 Olympics if elected, Raman said she feels the city is not as prepared as it should be by now.
“We have, for example, an agreement that we were supposed to sign with LA 28 about how we're going to split costs for extra services that was supposed to be given to the council in October,” she said. “We still don't have it. There are still very much open questions about what kind of infrastructure improvements are we going to prioritize before the games. Where are they going to be? How will we complete them in the short amount of time that we have left? We don't have those details yet either. I mean, there are real important questions, and the biggest one for me is about costs. How are we going to make sure that we control costs so that the city is not on the hook? We are on the hook for cost overruns. That was the deal that was struck before I even got here. “
You can listen to the full interview in the audio above.
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