"All Politics Is Local"

We explore the unexpected electoral challenge  to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass by Councilmember Nithya Raman.  Are the Democratic Socialists a new force in Los Angeles politics?

Transcript

host-4ha0_2_03-18-2026_151240 0:05

Welcome to another episode of Inside Golden State Politics. I'm Bill Bosky, former city editor and columnist for the Los Angeles Times. And with me is Nancy Bosky, our producer director.

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 0:21

And I am Sherry Bebitch, Jeffy political analyst and self-styled medium Maven. Coming to you from binge watching cable News. I, I've given up and finally forced myself to sit still and tune back into reality. I can't take refuge in Season four Bridge Richardson anymore done, but reality remains a brutal horror show. Where's my phone? It's time to plunge back into intense solitaire. Over to you, bill.

host-4ha0_2_03-18-2026_151240 1:02

Well, Sherry, that got us off to a good and depressing start. So what I think I'll do is run outside and dash into traffic on Olympic Boulevard.

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 1:15

No, not until we're finished.

host-4ha0_2_03-18-2026_151240 1:17

But anyway, we've gotta keep our mind on business here and our guest today is a good person. We're lucky to have him, John Ti. He's a journalist, columnist, and editor who covers politics and power plays in la. He regularly contributes to outlets including the West Side current, the East Sider, Crosstown, Los Angeles magazine, and more. And I would like to just put in a little plug for Crosstown, which is the excellent USC, statistical compilation, which if you read it all the time, you really know what's going on. Hats off to John and,, all the good people there. So John, we've had a lot of complaints, from our many, many,, readers that, you guys are very heavy on Trump. Is there any relief? Doesn't Los Angeles elect a mayor? Aren't there council members of for grabs? isn't something else going on? Now, you of course chatted us for, the same thing, our Trump fixation and pointed out that you have been. Following the mayor's race and the council races very closely, and I must say very interestingly, so John tell us, how's it look for mayor right now?, I like the way you're a horse player. I like the way you broke down the candidates for mayor, handicap'em.

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 3:09

Yeah, and why don't you start

host-4ha0_2_03-18-2026_151240 3:11

Does.

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 3:11

a good idea.

jon-regardie_2_03-18-2026_151240 3:12

Well first off, bill and Sherry, thank you so much, for having me on inside Golden State Politics. Certainly one of my favorite podcasts. And I'm gonna first gonna turn it right back to you and say Bravo to you guys for keeping the focus on these things and for referencing in last week's episode that we have these local elections coming up. you guys talked about how important they are. Fortunately, our views. Align on that and yeah, I mean we can start right off, as you just referenced with the mayor's race. I wrote a piece for the West side current that was called, basically sizing up the mayor's race odds and horse names for bass ramina and more. And my basic premise was, you know, let's treat the mayor's race this 2026 contested contest like the horse race. It is. And let's start to figure out. Who, you know, what would odds be and what would the horse's names be if they had horse names? And that's the kind of geeky pursuit that, that I like to go to. So, you know, a, a gimmick I've used in the past, but not for a while. So I did start to break things down. I declared that Mayor Karen Bass, she's the front runner right now. She's got odds of five to two. Her horse name, however, would be Wounded Warrior.

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 4:21

Which I think is bad for a horse.

jon-regardie_2_03-18-2026_151240 4:24

It is absolutely terrible for a horse, but she's still at the top of the field. you know, I, the person who I have with the second odds at this time is council member Niha Ramen from the fourth district, the late entry into the race, given her political leanings, I've given her the horse name of, here comes Lefty and we've got, We've got, here comes lefty starting off at, at, at at six to one. if you're looking for a, I was gonna say, if you're looking for a, for a third candidate, you know, a third person at the starting gate, I would say we'd look at Adam Miller. the horse name I've got for him is the Owl Odds, 25 to One. And as I wrote, why is he the owl? Because if you ask most Angelinos what they think of Adam Miller, the response will be, who? Who? But he is running forward. We've got a couple others. We've got, Reverend Ray Wang, one of the one, one of the, left-leaning candidates. I'm calling her Ray of light, odd 70 to one. And then our fifth main candidate, Spencer Pratt, the Republican. Reality TV star running. you know, out of the Palisades, often we see him wearing gear for his wife, Heidi Montag. He's selling merchandise on his website, so at 95 to one, he is the merchant of Heidi Wood. So that's how I break down the race

host-4ha0_2_03-18-2026_151240 5:43

so, tell me, why would, Raman, who was a great supporter of the mayor, Karen Bass, right up to the very end. Then as the horses were, being bundled out into the paddock, decided she's gonna run. And what is it within her? I mean, that is, to me, that's the most interesting. Development so far, because usually these candidates go through this terrible soul searching and groups of supporters and advisors and hire many, many consultants whose advice is usually terrible and why would she do it? I mean, I admire her for doing that. But hey, that's great. You're breaking the mold. What, what's your take?

jon-regardie_2_03-18-2026_151240 6:44

It is a great question, bill. And then, by the way, you forgot to mention the other part. What about the listening tour before we, before we decide to run the Citywide Listening

host-4ha0_2_03-18-2026_151240 6:52

The citywide. Right? And if I, and if they asked me, I could write a book.

jon-regardie_2_03-18-2026_151240 6:58

Exactly. So, I'm gonna answer your question Bill, which is absolutely the right on question with a little bit of context. And when we talk about who's running, we have to think about who's not running. And if we recall, there was a lot of speculation for a long time over who would challenge Karen Bass. Austin Butner, the former superintendent of L-A-U-S-D, former publisher of the LA Times. He was running in the race, but he had the. Terrible tragedy of his young daughter passing away. He pulled out of the contest. He was someone who I think could have been a threat to Karen Bass, you know, had he run. we had, as we kept knowing, supervisor Lindsay Horvath was flirting with running almost until the last moment, and she opted not to run. And then I think most notably we had. Rick Caruso, the billionaire developer, civic leader, he seemed to sort of waffle for three years. Am I gonna run? Am I not gonna run? And then decided not to run. By contrast, after three years of Rick Wavering, I think Niha Raman spent about three days determining and going, oh, no one else is running. There's an opportunity. I'm disappointed in what's happening in Los Angeles. I think I could do better three days. Sure, why not? very important to note that naaman's campaign team is the campaign team that had been working with Austin Butner, a campaign team that's worked a lot in Los Angeles before, and she saw Elaine. Now look, certainly there are a number of people who are saying, oh, well this is just political opportunism and maybe it is. I'm not criticizing it as I wrote in that West. As I wrote in that West Side current column, many of those people who choose to wait their turn, they're still working as political aide years down the line. So Nithy Raman had an opportunity. Very importantly. Very importantly, she had, yeah, she had just won a seat two years ago, so she, even if she loses, she still has her city council seat. So she jumped in and yeah, bill, as you reference, complete surprise to many people, but gives us a lot of content.

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 8:59

Yeah. And it's been that way in politics forever. And you know, it, I mean, boss Tweed of Tammany Hall, his, saying was, I've seen my opportunities and I took them. what politics is all about. That's the streetcar theory of politics. So you really can't, knock her too hard on that basis. Everybody who has an opportunity in politics

host-4ha0_2_03-18-2026_151240 9:24

You certainly can't criticize somebody in politics for being ambitious. I mean, one of the qualifications for running for office. Especially a high office like Mayor of Los Angeles is your desire to win and your belief that you can, that as you said, John, so see a lane open and get in that lane and run. and those are,

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 9:50

And it

host-4ha0_2_03-18-2026_151240 9:51

those are admirable qualities I think what is this, like playground and where you give out good sportsmanship. They don't play that game in politics. Maybe they don't play it on the playground either, but still.

jon-regardie_2_03-18-2026_151240 10:06

And, and let you know. I was just gonna say quickly and, and let me, you know, and let's be honest here, this lane wouldn't be open if there were not widespread dissatisfaction with Karen Bass, as we've seen from some recent polls and, and other places.

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 10:20

And that leads right into the question on want you two to answer, which is, if Ramen couldn't do this without her city council seat, she have done it? She's not up for reelection this year. She's safe. The worst that can happen to her now is that she loses, but maintains a very significant as city councilwoman.

jon-regardie_2_03-18-2026_151240 10:49

I, Sherry, it's a great question and I 100% think that she would not be running for mayor if that seat were not safe. If she had to make a choice between her fourth district council. Running for another term in fourth district council and running for mayor. I'm very convinced she would stick with the fourth council district, as you know. And as another indicator of that, we just referenced Lindsay Horvath, the, very powerful county supervisor who had flirted with running for mayor. She opted not to run for mayor. She's instead running to keep her third district, county supervisorial seat.

host-4ha0_2_03-18-2026_151240 11:24

And once she, goes for that, she could go for an entirely new position that, the voters are gonna create. County Mayor, that's a pretty good sounding name. She'd be a pioneer and all of that. And she also has a taste for and an ability to work in regional government. I mean, she is, one of the few, members of the board of supervisors, who can see the big picture that. The, this is the place of the board of supervisors tremendously powerful job. And who can kind of put it together. It's a regional job and I know regional government and I'm an expert at it. It's a good job for me. And mayor of the county. I like that. What about the mayor of, la What's, what's her problem?

jon-regardie_2_03-18-2026_151240 12:21

look, I mean, you know, if we go back and we look at the scope of, you know, of Karen Bass, you know, I'm one of those people who, I mean, I wrote after her first year, I thought she did actually an excellent job in her first year. She had run initially in 2022, built around the idea of addressing homelessness, and she focused very specifically on homelessness. She made the city of Los Angeles recognize and see that someone was. Laser focused on this issue. There was an adult in the room trying new things, trying to alleviate it. And indeed we've seen homelessness, you know, come down a little bit, but that has been dwarfed by, you know, I mean the, the elephant not just in the room, but the elephant in, you know, in the city. The Palisades fire. We know that there has been significant, you know, ever since January 7th, 2025. when that ignited and Mayor Bass was in Ghana, there's been significant criticism of her taking that trip and then of her leadership. In the wake of that trip, there has been, we've all heard the dissatisfaction with a, with the pace of rebuilding people. You know, her office says, Hey, things are going faster than ever. Many people in Los Angeles look and say. It's not fast enough at all. and I think that she has really, you know, taken a big hit in that. I think that's what's reflected in those poll numbers. you know, I know certainly that, you know, there's many people who will point to what then occurred six months later when the ice raid started and Mayor Best did to great credit step up and emerge as the face of the resistance, the defender of her city. Many people would say that's been one of her most significant accomplishments. Immediately when that started, she was doing tv. She was on broadcast across the country. She was saying to people, look what's happening here in Los Angeles. We will be a test case for the entire country. Indeed, Los Angeles has been a test case for the entire country, but even now, seven to eight months, we move from when that first started. We look back and what sucks up the air in the room. more the response to the Palisades fires than it is the ice raids. And I think that's what you know. Sorry, it's a long-winded way there, bill, of answering your question. But I think that that's what, dominates and reflects most on the mayor her team's job, is to say, let's make it more about how we responded to the ICE raids.

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 14:38

That's one of my questions. Can I ask a question, please? you know, that's one of my questions about how she's handled and how her staff has handled. The communications dynamic of that office. I think that's part of her problem, which she is trying to correct now, but for a very long time. she, it's not only that she didn't answer criticism, she didn't come forward, she didn't talk directly to people. She didn't use the media as she might have, and I think that's part of the reason she's in a bit of a problem right now. What do you think?

jon-regardie_2_03-18-2026_151240 15:16

yeah, I mean, look, you're, you're referencing and we've all used the term many times, the bully pulpit, the mayor's office affords, and we've certainly, you know, you've referenced some people, plenty of them in the past, who have been incredibly skilled at the, bully pulpit. You know, again, I think she sought to use that in those, weeks after the ice raid started, and she's occasionally tried to.

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 15:36

a good job on that.

jon-regardie_2_03-18-2026_151240 15:37

Yep. And, you know, and she's tried to sustain it. And she had, you know, she had her, you know, she's doing an odd sort of two-pronged state of the city. She did one the other month and has the one coming up next month. So she's seeking to reset the narrative. She's seeking to, you know, set herself apart as this election approaches. but per, I mean, you, you know, you hit it right on the head there, Sherry, with, you know. Communication and spreading the message as he referenced as well, bill and she needs to be laser focused on this message and on convincing Los Angeles that her achievements supersede her shortfalls.

host-4ha0_2_03-18-2026_151240 16:14

Her, moment, during the ice raid was really a memorable mayor's moment. she was, as I understand it, she was out. Campaigning around the city when she heard about the ice raid on MacArthur Park, which was hosting daycare for children. And the ice came in there on horseback and on foot, to arrest people, and she turned her motorcade around. Went over there, got on the phone with that, man, whose name I never can remember, and I don't have to now because he was fired. The guy who was head of the operation, who wore those odd looking, coats, that I hadn't seen since, world War II and the other side, Wore those coats and she got on the phone with him and she took charge. That's a moment that will go down and she can refer to,

jon-regardie_2_03-18-2026_151240 17:21

no, I, I was, I was just gonna say, you know what, what you were saying, bill, I mean, and, and we all saw the video and her fury was authentic. She was. You know, you know, I mean we saw her, you know, defending her city furious at how her beloved city was being treated when very clearly that whole thing was the biggest dog and pony show that you could have. There was, you know, if you wanna do a bust of MacArthur Park. Go there at five or six o'clock on a weekday evening, not 10 30 in the morning. There's no one there at 10 30 in the morning except kids at daycare. so, you know, it was, it was done for television cameras and she was angry and we saw her anger there. So Bill, yeah, you're right on. Again, a strong point of, of her tenure.

host-4ha0_2_03-18-2026_151240 18:15

You know, there's a really complicated, aspect to this election for mayor. the top two, finishers will go into a runoff

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 18:28

Unless one candidate gets 50% plus one of the vote.

host-4ha0_2_03-18-2026_151240 18:34

right now. this could end up, and I can't explain it to you because I really hate the complexities of election law when it gets this complicated, but it could end up with a Republican mayor of Los Angeles. That's the bottom line. And, that's what all of the pundits who are looking for something to write or writing about right now, that's the gossip. We could end up, having a Republican mayor of Los Angeles. Now, why is that?

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 19:09

Republican voters in the county. I don't think so.

jon-regardie_2_03-18-2026_151240 19:14

I will answer that with a, you know, with a, with a reference to an absolutely terrible movie that almost no one will remember. There was once a movie called King Ralph, in which, John Candy, who I think was about the 18th in line to be the King of England, suddenly became the king of England because the other 17 people in front of him were all electrocuted during a photo shoot. And King Ralph. Became the King of England. I think that's about the only way that we actually wind up with a Republican mayor of Los Angeles. If we have a King Ralph moment, which in this case would be King Spencer. Now, goofiness aside, bill, your point is actually crucial and I think it's something that we really need to be thinking about. Widespread, in Los Angeles, we should not be thinking about who's going to win the mayor's race of Los Angeles. We should at for in June. We should be thinking about who is going to finish within the top two because, and Sherry, as you just referenced, you need 50%, but I don't see a world where anyone eclipses 50%. So

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 20:17

I

jon-regardie_2_03-18-2026_151240 20:17

have these five main candidates. Then we have nine other people on the ballot. so, you know, very, you know, it's very unlikely that someone gets to 50%. So who's gonna finish within the top two? And with so many people there, the voting, the, you know, could be, you know, spread in, in unexpected ways. There's a lot of people who do think that it will be Mayor Bass and Niha Ramen, who will finish one, two and will continue on to, you know, to the November general election. That could happen, but there's also other things that could happen. Niha Ramen is expected to, you know, siphon a number of votes from Karen Bass, but there is another left-leaning candidate, as we just referenced. Ray Wang, the reverend ray of light who could as well siphon votes from Nithya Ramen. perhaps that holds down Naaman's ability to get to second place. There is. I think certainly a lane for Adam Miller, who you know is a successful, businessman. Turn philanthropist. We have to remember in 2022, the runoff Rick Caruso got 45%, so there's a lane there, but will he actually. Go and spend the money and boost his name id, we don't know. Or will everyone just divide it up so much that it does leave space for Spencer Pratt, that reality TV star who will appeal to a lot of Republicans. I've heard different people speculate that maybe he gets 7%, maybe he gets 15. Maybe he gets as much as 20% or even slightly more. And if he gets there, does he advance to a runoff against Karen Bass or someone else? If he gets into that runoff, then again, we have, as you just referenced at the beginning, bill, that possibility of a Republican, mayor. I don't think it's likely, I think it's more likely we have a Republican governor, but that's a whole other story. given where those polls are, but yeah, it, you know, again, sorry if I'm being long-winded, but it is really important for us to think about the fact that what matters is not, you know, if you come in first in the June primary, what matters is that you do not come in third or worse in the June primary,

host-4ha0_2_03-18-2026_151240 22:27

You know, this is,

jon-regardie_2_03-18-2026_151240 22:28

that's what candidates are trying to do. They're trying to figure out how do I get enough just to squeak into the top two. If I get there, I'll worry about November later.

host-4ha0_2_03-18-2026_151240 22:36

Well, you know, this is, really, making our race for mayor a part of the national dialogue over the future of the, democratic Party. Roman is a Democratic socialist, representing the far left, Wing of the party, but not quite all told because, she's not the most liberal candidate. Ray Huang is the most liberal candidate there. In the background is the amazing victory in New York City of their new mayor. And, and that has really kind of changed the dialogue, of. A about the feature of the Democratic party. I mean, what was considered too far left is now considered acceptable

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 23:24

By whom

host-4ha0_2_03-18-2026_151240 23:25

by pundits like us.

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 23:28

not. Aye. I don't think that's axiomatic my dear, but, you know, it is what you said is true in that what we're seeing here on the local level is a reflection of what is going on at every level of democratic party politics and electoral strategy. There's a split. Between the progressives and the establishment, or the progressives and the moderates, and it's being fought out. It was fought out in New York for other reasons why Madani became mayor of New York. I mean, you know, Karen Bass as an Andrew Cuomo or Eric Adams, and that says a lot about it, but nonetheless, it, it, it will determine whether or not. Not only the Democratic socialists, but the whole wide progressive wing of the Democratic party will be wagging the dog when this is over.

jon-regardie_2_03-18-2026_151240 24:28

And, and if, and if I could just add, you know, add to, you know, to that a a little bit more context'cause you're, you're right on. And just something to build on that, you know, nithy Raman absolutely elected in the past with support from the, you know, from the Democratic socialists, local chapter. But she has certainly drifted. You know, towards the middle, compared with some of her other council colleagues, who continue to hue, sort of very hard left. you know, it, you know, when, one of the ways that we see that most significantly is within housing, amongst many of the super progressives or whatever you want to call them when it comes to housing. Their focus will be, let's build affordable housing. It's gotta be affordable housing. Every product's gotta be. Either all or mostly, or have a significant chunk of affordable housing. I've spoken with NI Raman in the past and she, you know, and I've had conversations with her where she's like, yes, we need to build affordable housing, but we also need to build market rate housing. We need housing at all levels in Los Angeles. There's a number of developers, you know, people who wanna build, who are now backing her because she has been forward thinking in trying to take steps to get housing construction going in Los Angeles. After the fires she got, she was pushing some strategies that have been utilized in other cities to speed up housing production. So she's been looking at a lot of these. Levels and steps that are embraced by the development community, which may be, ironic to, to some people. so she, she, so I don't think it's fair to just put her any longer into the shoebox of left-leaning only DSA part. also recently she had talked about being more open to, certain funding for. Policing for LAPD, which, many of the DSA, affiliated to candidates, have opposed. But yeah, housing has definitely been, you know, been, been an interesting statement and evolution and stands for health.

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 26:16

Where is Mayor Bass on that issue? Is it all affordable housing or is it development for her

jon-regardie_2_03-18-2026_151240 26:24

Look, it's both. I mean, one of her first things very famously, her first executive directive one, was to speed up and foment, the building of affordable housing. Recognize, recognizing the need. But mayor masses certainly as well advocated for overall, you know, housing construction at all levels. where I think you find the. Pushback for whatever term you want to use has been from people who look at Los Angeles and go, okay, it's been three years. And where are, where are the results from? your desire to create a lot more housing at all levels? we know that there is a shortage in Los Angeles for housing. It's always been difficult to build here for. Too many reasons and too many difficulties in permitting. but I think people could look at her and say, okay, you've had three years. We should be seeing a lot more from systematic changes. Then again, you could also say that about any of the recent mayors of LA as well.

host-4ha0_2_03-18-2026_151240 27:16

It's all about zoning, isn't it? It's all about, changing the zoning on the house down the street from you. And, it's all about you and your neighbors getting together to stop this zoning. And then finally, it's all about the developers. Like, you, you said the developer community that's sort of putting a nice face on the, men and women who. Run City Hall. When I was a reporter there, if I wanted to, know what was really going on, I would put in a phone call to a person whose friendship I developed because we were both University of California football fans, Randy Stoke. And he would tell me what's really going on and what's really gonna be the vote in the next day or two. And, I thought to myself, now here's somebody who really knows what's going on. And, I, I think that's true. I think the people who, the development community, there's a lot of people who are gonna make a lot of money,

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 28:23

Shocked. I am shocked. Shocked.

host-4ha0_2_03-18-2026_151240 28:26

Right.

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 28:27

I did. That has forever been the case in City Hall.

host-4ha0_2_03-18-2026_151240 28:31

Well, that's right.

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 28:32

a new development.

host-4ha0_2_03-18-2026_151240 28:34

It's the case in, in any city hall around the country.

jon-regardie_2_03-18-2026_151240 28:37

But, but when you're talking money, it also is the case, in, in these elections. And that's another key component. And that's another thing that makes it very, that is a cha a significant challenge for Niha. Raman. When you get in the race on February 7th and the election is on June 2nd, you have very little time to raise the millions of dollars that you need to raise to run viably, for the seat. Now again, she's. AB betted by a generally weak field and criticism against the mayor, but it's a monumental challenge for her. And we can't dismiss, we can't dismiss that. I think there's a lot of people who are unaware of who NAA Ramen is, and she needs to introduce herself to a lot of people in a short time period. And I'm looking right now. This is March 18th in less than two months, the mail-in ballots are already going to be in your homes. The election will be underway.

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 29:34

And she can have, she doesn't have the kind of name recognition, and as you say, you're gonna need some money to get it, and it's gonna be difficult. That's one of the, the perks of an incumbency, as

jon-regardie_2_03-18-2026_151240 29:48

Absolutely.

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 29:49

hasn't just blown everything up, at least.

jon-regardie_2_03-18-2026_151240 29:52

Absolutely.

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 29:53

That way she would get probably more name recognition, ramen. But no, no.

host-4ha0_2_03-18-2026_151240 30:01

She's got some things going for her. You know, she's a very attractive person in her, presentation. the way she looks on television, I mean, this is the person who, LA is gonna meet. and, it's somebody who's, interesting looking, attractive, candidate. That's the person LA will meet in the next few weeks. She's got a

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 30:26

If she has the

host-4ha0_2_03-18-2026_151240 30:26

Really good campaign team. they've been through some real battles and they know this turf pretty well. Okay.

jon-regardie_2_03-18-2026_151240 30:34

But you know.

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 30:35

doesn't know the turf all that well. I mean, this is really her first electoral office, so if you wanna argue for experience, there are others in particular, the incumbent who have the experience that she doesn't have.

jon-regardie_2_03-18-2026_151240 30:50

And you know, and as she's introducing herself, let, let's remember, and Bill, you have referred to this early on that she had been an ally of, of Karen Bass very recently had endorsed Karen Bass shortly before, shortly before entering this race. And I mean, I remember reading the LA Times a while ago, and there were references where Nithya Raman referred to Mayor Bass as an icon. And the most progressive mayor Los Angeles has ever had. So, I mean, we can almost envision the mailers that you'll get in your home that you look at for one second before you throw away where it says, mayor Karen Bass is an icon by Niha Ramin. So, it, you know, if this race gets, gets contested, we've all been there, we've all seen this. If it gets contested, this race will also get ugly.

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 31:36

I think it has to, I thought it was interesting that, I get. Karen Basses, I'm sure you do too. John. press releases. They're emails now, but they're press releases and one of the most recent was an attack on Spencer Pratt naming him as the, biggest challenger to Karen Bass. And I thought, that's very interesting. What do you think that.

jon-regardie_2_03-18-2026_151240 32:04

Let, answer that., With a question. Remember Steve Garvey.

host-4ha0_2_03-18-2026_151240 32:09

That's a good question.

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 32:11

It's only because I was a

host-4ha0_2_03-18-2026_151240 32:12

Even, even now.

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 32:13

to play baseball.

jon-regardie_2_03-18-2026_151240 32:16

Well, I'm, I'm moving along from Baseball Hero Steve Garvey to Steve Garvey running, for governor against Adam Schiff. and Katie Porter and Adam Schiff. Brilliantly maneuvering Steve Garvey, into second place and into the runoff against him because once it was Adam Schiff versus Steve Garvey, that race was over. The single best thing for Karen Bass would be if she moves into a runoff against Spencer Pratt and.

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 32:49

Exactly.

jon-regardie_2_03-18-2026_151240 32:50

Yeah. Now, and look, let me just say for all of the things that, whatever we say about Spencer Prat, if you watch his videos, you, you, you actually see and recognize the pain that he has felt. He, his wife, his children, they lost their home and they feel that the city of Los Angeles did not protect them, has not stepped up for them. The pain he feels. Is absolutely real and should not be dismissed because it's emblematic of the pain that so many people feel. and many people who are in the Palisades believe that the city is not taking care of them in that way. Now, all that said, if he does make it into the runoff, as we just referenced before, he's running as a Republican. He's running as someone who has no experience running a 15 billion.

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 33:38

party identification on the ballot.

jon-regardie_2_03-18-2026_151240 33:40

There will be no party identification on the ballot, but it's not gonna be hard to, to spread, to spread the message. And so, again, for all of those reasons, it would be absolutely what Karen Bass would want. And so if they can start identifying and building up the role of Sprinter pat for voters who might go for him, good thing for her. If he starts I, if she starts by saying that he's a threat, and that helps with fundraising. Good thing for her politics. One, you know, elect political electoral politics 1 0 1. We're seeing it.

host-4ha0_2_03-18-2026_151240 34:13

Hey, John, before, before we go, what's your analysis of the mayor? I mean, as, as a political person, a person who's been in Congress, she's been the speaker of the state assembly. She's had a lot of high, high jobs. but, her detractors say she doesn't have the ability to stand out. What's your take? You've been watching her for quite a while.

jon-regardie_2_03-18-2026_151240 34:38

I thought her first year. Was very strong. Her second year, she went down a little bit and then she stumbled significantly, from the fires and has never recovered to, you know, to, to the level that, that she's, know, hoped to. now, like all politicians, you have highs, you have lows. I certainly don't think there's almost anyone who's a. Rational observer who looks at Los Angeles and says She's done a great job. We're on board with, with everything she's done. There's a lot of criticism that's reflected, you know, in a lot of polls. But again, as we look at the lows, we also again have to recognize that she has. to focus on homelessness. Even if there's questions about the cost and the effectiveness that she's done, she has sought to ready the city, for Olympics for other major events. She has definitely sought to be a conscience of the city as it has dealt and wrestled with this Republican federal Administration. And let's be honest. Almost no local politician is going to shine or have a lot of daylight in that. so look, she's had a difficult path. I certainly think probably she and many other people will hope that if she is successful, that she can do better in the next term. But again, that's next term and we've got a choice in Los Angeles about who gets that next term. And choice is a great thing. Come election time.

host-4ha0_2_03-18-2026_151240 36:11

John, thanks a lot for being our guest. This has been really good, really enlightening.

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 36:17

you have to come back closer to the election

jon-regardie_2_03-18-2026_151240 36:20

You guys.

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 36:21

or another will set the

host-4ha0_2_03-18-2026_151240 36:22

Well, that's right. And you know, we've got some council races we wanna talk over too and, and, and I think we, we ought to put a little, light on the supervisor situation too, so,

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 36:35

and charter reform at some point,

host-4ha0_2_03-18-2026_151240 36:37

Right.

jon-regardie_2_03-18-2026_151240 36:38

bill and Sherry, you guys do a great job with this show and I'm grateful, to you for having me.

host-4ha0_2_03-18-2026_151240 36:43

Thanks a lot.

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 36:45

we're glad we know you, John. Cheers everybody.

host-4ha0_2_03-18-2026_151240 36:49

everybody.

squadcaster-a815_2_03-18-2026_151240 36:50

Bye.