In strug­gling LA, Mayor Karen Bass fights for 2nd term against de­mo­c­ratic socialist-backed Raman – Spectrum News

In strug­gling LA, Mayor Karen Bass fights for 2nd term against de­mo­c­ratic socialist-backed Raman  Spectrum News

Nearly three weeks into mail voting, only 5% of ballots have been returned, according to ballot tracking firm Political Data Inc. LOS ANGELES — To voter Roy Lyons, Los Angeles has been losing luster for years. A homeless crisis endures despite billions of dollars of spending. City Hall’s budget keeps swelling — as do the taxes needed to support it. As the retired insurance broker from the Sherman Oaks neighborhood ponders his pick in the upcoming mayoral election, he’s leaning toward the unpopular incumbent, Mayor Karen Bass, over her fellow progressive Democrat Nithya Raman, a little-known city council member who is backed by the Democratic Socialists of America. She endorsed Bass before changing her mind and entering the race.

“Is this the best we can do?” asked Lyons, a Democrat, who attended a recent candidate forum. “I don’t think either one shines.” If Bass wins the Nov. 3 election, it will be because she was able to persuade voters like Lyons to give her a second chance after a rough first term that included the deadly Palisades Fire, which ignited when she was out of the country and caught the fire department unprepared. On a recent sunny afternoon as he dropped off his ballot in the Studio City neighborhood, Kim Hansen said that his vote for Raman represented what he