The 2028 Olympic Games have emerged as a central flashpoint in the closing weeks of the Los Angeles mayoral race, with allies of incumbent Mayor Karen Bass arguing that progressive challenger Nithya Raman is ill-prepared to lead the city through the mega-event.
Bass and her supporters are framing the Olympics as a key selling point in their closing campaign narrative. They warn that Raman’s historical opposition to hosting the Games and her stance on local leadership could jeopardize preparation efforts. Raman, a progressive councilmember seeking to unseat a sitting Los Angeles mayor for the first time in two decades, opposed the city’s Olympic bid when she first ran for the City Council in 2020. At the time, she told the local Democratic Socialists of America chapter that the bidding process was rushed and lacked public engagement.
More recently, Raman has criticized the city’s oversight of the private nonprofit organizing the Games, voting against organizer contracts and arguing that Los Angeles has not done enough to insulate itself from financial exposure if costs exceed projections. While Raman has stated that she wants the Olympics to succeed, Bass’ allies on the City Council have seized on her record to open a new line of attack in a race that has largely centered on the incumbent’s handling of last year’s wildfires, housing, and affordability.
LA City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson expressed deep concern regarding leadership stability ahead of the global event. “And I think that, frankly, a change in leadership is far more likely to cause a serious setback than it is to improve our situation,” Harris-Dawson said. He contrasted Bass’ decade-plus tenure in the House of Representatives—which he credited with helping secure $1 billion in federal funding for the Olympics—with Raman’s local experience, questioning whether the challenger holds sufficient pull with national leaders.
City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, an ally of Bass who has also pressed the LA28 Organizing Committee for greater financial transparency, criticized Raman for not taking action despite mutual calls for disclosure. Rodriguez also condemned Raman over statements regarding Police Chief Jim McDonnell. In early October, Raman indicated she would replace McDonnell after his term concludes in late 2029 due to concerns over the department’s handling of ICE raids and subsequent protests. She later suggested she might remove him before his term ends, potentially raising the prospect of an ouster prior to the Olympics.
“The bigger concern is: we are so close to these Games. All of these kinds of comments create uncertainty,” Rodriguez said. “People that are going to be coming to Los Angeles want to come to a city with some certainty. We have to have a safe, secure city in preparation for these Games.”
Zev Yaroslavsky, a former city councilmember who served during the 1984 Los Angeles Games, echoed those security concerns, calling the possibility of removing McDonnell before the summer of 2028 “a terrible idea” and describing a potential vacancy in the chief’s office ahead of a major global gathering as “absolutely irresponsible.”
Alex Stack, a spokesperson for Bass, asserted in a statement that Raman would prefer the city walk away from the Olympics entirely, thereby squandering lasting benefits for residents.
Despite Bass’ status as an unashamed booster of the Games, the city’s preparations face ongoing funding hurdles. The Trump administration has not acted on a request from the Los Angeles Metro for $2 billion in federal support to fund traffic management, pedestrian upgrades, and the lease and operation of more than 1,700 additional buses, 700 of which have yet to be acquired. Furthermore, organizers and municipal officials depend on Washington for security financing; an internal police estimate indicates that the cost of compensating local officers and assisting departments will surpass the $1 billion allocated by Congress thus far.
Liz Garcia, a spokesperson for Raman, defended the councilmember’s position, stating that Raman “supports a successful Olympics that showcases the best of Los Angeles and delivers the economic boost Angelenos deserved: more customers for local businesses, opportunities for workers, and lasting improvements in our neighborhoods.” Garcia also criticized the incumbent administration’s economic record, pointing to lower-than-projected hotel revenues during the recent World Cup.
Mike Bonin, a former progressive councilmember and current executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at California State University Los Angeles, argued that relationships in Washington have been complicated by the presence of Donald Trump in the White House. While acknowledging Bass’ ties to congressional Democratic leaders, Bonin noted that Raman belongs to a rising generation of Democratic figures who could command leverage of their own. Dismissing doubts about Raman’s commitment, Bonin added that any candidate capable of winning election as mayor of a major city would naturally serve as an effective advocate for Los Angeles.
