Our columnists analyze L.A.’s mayoral debate
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columnists → analyze → debate
The stakes are high for both contenders, yet I wonder how many Angelenos will be watching.
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Angelenos → wonder → contenders
It’s surprising the number of otherwise politically aware folks who had no idea the debate was taking place tonight until I mentioned it.
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I → ’ → it
Then they were irked to find it airing on network TV: “Who still has cable?!”
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Who → irk → cable
Apparently, venturing onto Telemundo or NBC’s live feed is a bridge too far.
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venturing → venture → Telemundo
Raman is still a mystery to many, even though she’s polling ahead.
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she → poll → many
Tonight, she needs to definitively show who she is beyond The Candidate Who Is Not Karen Bass.
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Who → need → Candidate
Bass has to defend her record, of course, but also contend with the electorate’s insatiable need for change — even if they know very little about what that change may bring.
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change → have → what
The future of L.A. requires your attention.
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future → require → attention
Picking up on Gustavo’s framing of the debate as Round 3, we’re talking about two pugilists who used to fight for the same club, more or less, and now enter the ring looking to take each other out.
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who → pick → other
So it’s personal, and could indeed get nasty.
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it → ’ → ?
Though I don’t put much stock in polls, she’s ahead on points by virtue of Bass’ high negative rating alone.
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she → put → rating
If the challenger doesn’t prevail tonight and go on to win the election next month, she could be setting herself up for a lonely political future, having alienated more than a few former allies in her quest to evict the mayor from City Hall.
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she → prevail → Hall
I hope that along with the punches and counter-punches, we get some inspiration, too, and a workable game plan for making a great but troubled city a better place to call home, even if the Dodgers end up breaking our hearts.
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Dodgers → hope → hearts
Trilogies are hallowed in the worlds of boxing and mixed-martial arts as case studies of evenly matched rivals to wallop each other in the first two matches, creating the setting for a final showdown and chance at eternal bragging rights — and usually, a title.
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Trilogies → match → rights
Will tonight’s bout between L.A. mayoral candidates Karen Bass and Nithya Raman, scheduled to air at 7 p.m. on KNBC, rise to those rarified levels?
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bout → schedule → levels
Bass was the wily incumbent during her primary face-off with Raman who let fellow mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt land most of the attacks against their shared opponent.
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Pratt → let → opponent
That left Raman uttering loopy word salads when she wasn’t crying conspiracy between the two.
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she → leave → two
But the council member nevertheless made it into the general election against Bass, and dominated their second debate, hosted in August by the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn.
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member → make → Assn
All of a sudden, Bass was a staggering champion lunging at a revived Raman, who swung and stung and ducked the way only a hungry up-and-comer can.
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up → lunge → Raman
The two go into their rubber match each promoting polls that they claim show voters back them, while letting proxies launch attack ads that promise to get uglier and more ubiquitous as Election Day nears.
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Day → go → ads
Expect Bass at tonight’s debate to try and assert her dominance early with equal part offense against Raman and defense of her record.
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Bass → expect → record
Expect Raman, whom City Hall opponents have long trashed as conflict-averse, to focus on a message of possibility and positivity while holding her ground and striking back — and hard — when necessary.
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opponents → expect → ground
Will tonight cement the Bass-Raman trilogy as an electoral classic — or end it on a deflating note?
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tonight → cement → note
One thing’s for sure: the two need to leave everything on the debate stage if either wants to win and get that much closer to become L.A.’s Madam Mayor.
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either → ’ → stage
The Aporia
