A Sherman Oaks restaurant owner says a council staffer once told her to hire her own contractor and pay out of pocket to fix a curb damaged by street racers outside her business — and even suggested she move to another council district if she wanted more help. That account, from Casa Vega owner Christy Vega, has become a flashpoint in the increasingly personal fight between Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmember Nithya Raman as the two compete for Los Angeles mayor on Nov. 3.
Vega told the Los Angeles Times that she sought help from Raman’s staff on sidewalk and pavement repairs outside the restaurant and on removing a homeless encampment nearby, and that her business has also dealt with car break-ins, street muggings, an employee stabbed at a bus stop and another who fell in an alley pothole. Vega said Raman’s office treated her as a nuisance rather than addressing employee safety, and that she is not supporting Raman because of how those interactions went. She now supports Bass for mayor. Raman spokesperson Stella Stahl told the paper that the council office takes Vega’s concerns seriously but could not accommodate her request at that time, and said the city’s Bureau of Street Services is not funded to repair damaged sidewalks — adding that adjacent property owners are responsible for those repairs. Raman’s office did not comment on Vega’s specific account of the curb exchange.
A Dueling Ceremony Becomes a Symbol
The dispute crystallized in May, when a Ventura Boulevard sign ceremony named the corner outside Casa Vega as Casa Vega Square — a designation Raman had co-presented a motion for back in March. Bass attended the ceremony alongside Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who represents the northeast San Fernando Valley and said her staff spearheaded the Vega Square designation. Raman was absent; her spokesperson said she was unable to attend because of scheduling conflicts, though Raman staffers were present. Monica Rodriguez also told the Times she helped Vega with permitting issues on Casa Vega’s outdoor patio last year, a roughly 3,000-square-foot addition that, according to NBC Los Angeles, occupies two former parking lots and nearly doubled the restaurant’s footprint when it debuted in early March.
The war of words has escalated well beyond one restaurant. During their Oct. 13 televised debate, Bass called Raman “contemptuous of her constituents,” a charge Raman flatly called “a lie.” Stahl countered that the council office has a “proactive constituent service team” and said Raman’s campaign listens to constituents and uses the city tools available to address their problems.
Other Valley Owners Tell a Different Story
Not every small business owner in the district backs Vega’s account. Marissa Rodriguez, who owns Dia Natural Wine in Studio City, said Raman’s council office helped her navigate the licenses and permits that were integral to the wine shop’s 2022 debut. Tyler Simmons, owner of Reunion & Co. coffee and wine bar in Franklin Hills, Los Feliz, said Raman’s office helped get four speed tables installed near his business last year after complaints about speeding traffic.
Other owners land somewhere in the middle. Jessica Lewis, who owns Dragonfly Cycle and Train fitness studio in Sherman Oaks, said emails she sent about feces and encampments near her studio went unanswered, and that getting help from either the council or mayor’s office has been a tougher hurdle than simply keeping her business afloat. Lewis said she plans to reluctantly vote for Bass anyway. Sophia Brodetsky, who co-owns the Valley Inn — a Sherman Oaks restaurant dating back to 1947 — with her husband, said Bass’s office has been more receptive to her needs than Raman’s, even as the restaurant has endured robberies, property damage and homeless encampments.
Bass Points to Her Own Track Record
Bass’s campaign points to a 2023 meeting she held with a group of Sherman Oaks business owners, after which she convened weekly safety meetings involving business owners, district leaders and local law enforcement, per the Times report. Those efforts come against a backdrop flagged by Spectrum News, which notes that the restaurant industry citywide has been shaken by mounting closures and that homelessness in Los Angeles increased in the city’s latest data, released in July.
A Battleground Shaped by Endorsements and Outside Money
The Valley fight is unfolding alongside a broader scramble for political allies and campaign cash. Bass endorsed Raman for her council reelection in 2024, a notable twist given their current rivalry, and fourteen Los Angeles City Council members have now endorsed Bass for mayor, while Councilmember Traci Park has said she’ll vote for Bass without formally endorsing her, according to the Times. Raman, meanwhile, counts City Controller Kenneth Mejia as the only elected official at City Hall publicly backing her mayoral bid.
Outside spending is also shaping the race. Thrive LA, described as an advocacy group backed by business and community leaders, is running ads against Raman in the mayoral contest, and previously ran anti-Raman ads during her 2024 council reelection campaign. The Nation reports the group has launched a seven-figure campaign aimed at unseating Raman.
What the Polling Shows
The Valley’s split sentiment tracks with broader survey data. A Berkeley IGS/Los Angeles Times poll taken in mid-September found Raman favored by 39% of likely L.A. voters compared with 28% for Bass, with 33% undecided citywide. In the San Fernando Valley specifically, Raman led 34% to 26%, with 40% still undecided — numbers that help explain why both campaigns are fighting so hard for Valley business owners’ allegiance. The same poll found Bass carrying a 63% unfavorable rating, against 28% favorable and 9% with no opinion.
Small business concerns were already expected to be central to the race months earlier; small business and economic opportunity were among the topics slated for discussion at an August Sherman Oaks mayoral debate, according to CityWatch LA. With Election Day now less than two weeks away, both campaigns appear to be betting that stories like Vega’s — and the competing accounts from owners like Rodriguez, Simmons, Lewis and Brodetsky — will help decide who wins over a Valley electorate still largely undecided.
