Nithya Raman joins ABC7 Los Angeles mayoral interviews before June 2

Nithya Raman was one of several Los Angeles mayoral candidates interviewed by ABC7 this week as voters headed toward the June 2 primary election. The one-on-one sessions with Josh Haskell put Raman in the same frame as Karen Bass, Rae Chen Huang and Adam Miller.

The interviews gave voters a side-by-side look at how each candidate described the race, from homelessness to public safety and city budgeting. They also created a direct comparison point just days before ballots were cast in the primary.

ABC7 and Josh Haskell

ABC7's Josh Haskell sat down separately with the candidates for interviews about their political platforms and campaigns. That format mattered because it let each candidate answer the same kinds of questions without sharing the stage, giving voters a cleaner read on where they differ.

Karen Bass used her interview to point to homelessness and crime as central issues in her case for another term. She said, "The fact that homelessness is down 17.5% -- two years in a row -- it's the first time we've seen a decline in street homelessness" and added, "Crime is down -- 60-year low in terms of our homicide rate."

Karen Bass on Inside Safe

Bass also addressed questions about people returning to the street from Inside Safe. She said, "Well, first of all, the No. 1 thing that has been lacking is the services. So, once we get the people off the street, making sure we address why they fell on the street to begin with."

She said, "sixty-percent of the people in Inside Safe have remained housed. I think it's really important to build on that success, but what L.A. needs to do in the next four years, that I plan to accomplish, is building out a more cost-effective system to deal with people when they get off the street, and not put them into permanent housing immediately."

Rae Chen Huang and Adam Miller

Rae Chen Huang focused on the city budget and housing policy. She said, "So much of our city budget goes to LAPD" and added, "Housing is a human right, that's what I believe," before saying, "Housing should be for people, not for profit, and so we need to make housing a real reality for most folks because a lot of people can't stay stably housed."

Adam Miller argued the city is not using its resources efficiently. He said, "We're wasting a lot of money," and added, "We waste an inordinate amount of time. We're just not operating efficiently, but it make sense because the people running the government have never operated before. They don't know how to optimize budgets and maximize resources -- and neither do any of the other candidates. I've been doing it for decades."

Miller also tied his message to the fallout from a high-profile housing loss, saying, "Spencer Pratt should have our sympathy. He lost his home," and, "He has very justified outrage, and I think a lot of Angelenos share that anger. The problem is, it's not just about anger, it's about results."

For voters, the practical value of the interviews was simple: they offered a direct way to compare the candidates' answers on the issues most likely to shape the race before June 2. The forum put Nithya Raman inside that comparison rather than off to the side of it.