Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath is throwing her support behind City Councilmember Nithya Raman in the November 3 mayoral runoff, breaking with Mayor Karen Bass just two weeks before voters decide the race. Horvath plans to formally discuss the endorsement during a Tuesday appearance alongside Raman, and it hands the councilmember a significant ally across the Westside and San Fernando Valley as she works to close an endorsement gap with the incumbent.
The split marks a dramatic reversal for two officials who were once allies. Horvath introduced Bass at the mayor's 2024 State of the City address and had supported Bass's initial responses to the homelessness crisis, according to the Los Angeles Times. That relationship curdled into antagonism after the January 2025 Palisades Fire, which killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes across Horvath's district, the paper reports. Horvath, whose district covers the entire Palisades burn area representing roughly 2 million people, reportedly sent Bass multiple text messages expressing frustration over communications breakdowns during the disaster, per the same account.
The fire's aftermath exposed deeper fractures in how city and county government handle homelessness and emergency response. Horvath has called the city's homelessness record indefensible, the Los Angeles Times reports, while Bass has criticized county officials for pulling more than $300 million annually from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority and shifting it into a new county department. In April 2025, the county Board of Supervisors voted to strip that funding and transition more than 700 employees out of LAHSA, according to CalMatters, a move Bass warned would create a bureaucracy that, in her words to the Times, “never goes away.”
Raman Pushed Back on the County Pullout
Bass and Raman had actually found rare common ground on this issue, co-signing a letter in 2025 warning county supervisors that the LAHSA pullout would create what they called a monumental disruption in the city's fight against homelessness, per the Los Angeles Times. Raman and four other council members asked supervisors to hold off, but the board approved the withdrawal anyway. Raman has voiced frustration with the county's handling of mental health services for homeless residents and what she describes as a lack of data, the Times notes, while Horvath says she and her colleagues are working to improve the system in response to those critiques.
The institutional turmoil around homeless services has only deepened since. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development suspended all federal funding to LAHSA in June over allegations of financial mismanagement, prompting the agency to file a federal lawsuit against HUD that same month, according to Courthouse News. The dispute arrived after local audits had already found LAHSA failed to spend $513 million in budgeted public funds during fiscal year 2024, per the same report.
Bass Still Holds the Institutional Edge
Despite Horvath's defection, Bass retains what the Los Angeles Times describes as the lion's share of political endorsements, including backing from four other county supervisors and Sheriff Robert Luna. Thirteen of Raman's own council colleagues have endorsed Bass for re-election, though Councilmember Traci Park told constituents at an October town hall that she plans to vote for Bass without formally endorsing her, citing concerns over Raman's record on public safety and homelessness, Hoodline previously reported. The Los Angeles Police Protective League, which represents over 8,900 sworn LAPD officers, launched a $620,000 television ad campaign in September attacking Raman over her City Council votes against Municipal Code 41.18, the city's anti-camping ordinance.
Bass has asserted that Raman struggles to work well with other political leaders, an argument Horvath's endorsement directly undercuts. “Nithya and I don't agree on everything,” Horvath said, according to the Los Angeles Times, adding that she and Raman respect one another and are committed to making sure the county and city overcome past mistakes and failures. Horvath said Raman will shake up the status quo and bring a new approach to homelessness, housing affordability, emergency preparedness and other issues, telling the Times, “I think that's the kind of leadership people are clamoring for in Los Angeles right now.”
Why the Westside and Valley Matter
Horvath's backing could also give Raman inroads into areas that were strongholds for Spencer Pratt, who placed third in the June 2 primary. The reality-television personality took roughly 26% of the primary vote, and an August 2026 Median Strategies poll found 85.2% of his supporters planned to back Bass in the runoff compared to just 6.8% for Raman, Hoodline reported. Pratt's surprising strength in Westside and Valley neighborhoods makes Horvath's regional clout there especially consequential heading into the final stretch.
Other Raman endorsers include City Controller Kenneth Mejia, school board member Rocio Rivas, former Police Commission president Bernard C. Parks, and former City Controller Laura Chick, according to the Los Angeles Times. Horvath herself was first elected to District 3 in November 2022 as the youngest woman, first millennial, and only renter on the Board of Supervisors, and she won re-election outright in the June primary by clearing 50% of the vote, per Wikipedia. In the mayoral primary that same day, Bass finished first with 34.3% to Raman's 28.5%, sending both to the November runoff after neither cleared a majority, Hoodline reported.
Financially, the race remains tight. Campaign disclosures through September 19 showed Raman raising $2.53 million in contributions and city matching funds compared to $2.51 million for Bass, according to Hoodline's earlier reporting, meaning Raman has matched the incumbent in resources even while trailing badly in endorsements from fellow elected officials. Whether Horvath's validation can translate into votes across the Westside and Valley by November 3 may determine whether that financial parity is enough to overcome Bass's institutional advantage.
