Here’s who won the L.A. mayoral debate
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who → ’ → debate
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Click here to listen to this article -
Karen Bass and Nithya Raman faced off Tuesday night in a debate hosted by NBC4 and Telemundo52 in Universal City.
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Bass → click → City
Times columnists Lorraine Ali, Gustavo Arellano and Steve Lopez weigh in on the highlights and lowlights.
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columnists → weigh → highlights
Raman had the line of the night at the very beginning, channeling — of all politicians — Ronald Reagan, one of the last people you’d think of as an Angeleno, even though he absolutely was.
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he → have → Angeleno
“Are you better off than you were four years ago?” she asked while looking directly into the camera.
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she → ask → camera
Up until tonight, Raman has done a good job of communicating a message of hope and change, while Bass, as the incumbent, has repeatedly tripped on her record over the biblically bad four years of her first term.
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Bass → do → term
But I didn’t hear that Raman tonight — partly because Bass made her play defense, from her first answer to her closing statement.
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her → hear → statement
The mayor won the debate, if we’re judging by forensics.
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we → win → forensics
She rarely looked down at her notepad, unlike Raman.
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She → look → Raman
It’s something I’ve never noticed about Raman before — either a new nervous tic, or an indication that the City Council member can’t seem to speak with conviction, which has been a frequent critique against her.
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which → ’ → her
Bass’ barrages got to Raman more than a few times, leading her to talk over the NBC and Telemundo moderators or even shush them.
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barrages → get → them
A whining Raman is not a good Raman, which her advisors need to drill into her sooner rather than later.
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advisors → whine → her
But Raman’s answers never meandered and weren’t too elliptical, even when she was pressed by the able moderators.
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she → meander → moderators
Since she’s ahead in most reputable polls, Raman’s job for the night was not failing — and she cleared that low, low hurdle.
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she → ’ → hurdle
Bass, meanwhile, needed to deliver a knockout punch.
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Bass → need → punch
Instead, as a politico friend who cares for neither candidate texted me after the debate, she won one round.
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she → care → round
There are only so many more rounds before election day for her to catch up — and Bass can’t rely on just winning on points anymore, especially with an opponent who’s now running like she’s ahead.
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she → be → opponent
During closing remarks, Raman hearkened back to her Reagan shout-out, stating, “We cannot afford another four years of decline, of mismanagement, of excuses.”
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We → hearken → excuses
She then pivoted to her positivity message, smiling while proclaiming, “We can be joyful and ambitious again.”
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We → pivot → message
The more she sticks to that upbeat vibe, the better she comes off to a voter base tired of the doom and gloom that has fallen over L.A. under Bass.
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that → stick → Bass
Bass, meanwhile, came off as funereal, beginning with, “It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve in the city that I was born and raised.”
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I → come → that
That’s how you start a retirement announcement, not another four-year term.
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you → ’ → announcement
Let’s see what the voters say on election day.
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voters → see → day
After watching the debate, I don’t think this thing is over.
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thing → watch → debate
Yes, Raman has been ahead in polling, and Bass is saddled with high negativity ratings, the baggage of the Palisades fire and the continued challenge of homelessness.
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Bass → saddle → homelessness
But this debate could have been a knockout punch for Raman, and instead, I think Bass won the night, not just by touting her achievements and responding sharply to criticism but by seeming to have a better command of the moment.
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Bass → think → moment
My colleague Lorraine Ali made a good point — how many people were actually watching this debate?
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people → make → debate
Probably not many, so it’s not like this one-hour back-and-forth tips the scale.
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back → ’ → scale
But as has been noted, a huge percentage of likely voters remain undecided.
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percentage → note → voters
Maybe that’s because they’re not in love with either candidate.
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they → ’ → candidate
Or maybe they’re ready to move on from Bass but aren’t sure about who Raman really is.
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Raman → ’re → Bass
If they watched tonight, looking for an answer, I’m not sure they got one.
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they → watch → one
Raman came into elected office as a darling of the Democratic Socialists of America and was a high-profile member of that wing on the City Council.
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Raman → come → Council
But even the council’s DSA members didn’t endorse her bid for mayor.
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members → endorse → mayor
In fact, Bass has gotten support from 13 of the 15 council members.
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Bass → get → members
So how will Raman build a coalition in a city where mayoral power is shared with the council, and matters like homelessness are the joint responsibility of the city and the county, and any progress is stymied without strong mayoral relationships in Sacramento and D.C.?
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progress → build → Sacramento
It’s possible that the council will come around to her if she’s elected, because just as the mayor needs the council to get much done, the council needs the mayor.
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council → ’ → mayor
But I’d like to know more about who Raman is and why she’s flip-flopped so much (on support for the LAPD, on the mansion tax, on the Inside Safe homeless initiative, etc., etc.), as my colleague David Zahniser reported just the other day.
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colleague → like → initiative
Learning and evolving can be a good thing.
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Learning → learn → ?
But voters need to know who Raman is, what her vision is for the city and how she expects to lead.
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she → need → city
…and 17 more, not listed.
The Aporia
