Los Angeles Mayoral Candidates Spar Over Response To Rise In Homelessness

Authored by City News Service via The Epoch Times,

Mayor Karen Bass and her challenger in the Nov. 3 election, Councilmember Nithya Raman, criticized one another on July 24 over the increase in homelessness in Los Angeles.

Homelessness increased by 3.4 percent in the city to an estimated 45,194 people, and unsheltered homelessness also rose by nearly 8 percent, according to figures from the 2026 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count. The data showed the first increase in the unhoused population following two consecutive years of decreases.

Raman, who represents the Fourth Council District, held a news conference in Studio City to discuss the results of the count released on the afternoon of July 24.

"By now you've probably seen the reports: despite hundreds of millions of dollars spent - and repeated assurances that Los Angeles had turned a corner - unsheltered homelessness increased by nearly 8% in this city," Raman said in a statement.

"That is a moral outrage. And it is a failure of leadership," Raman added.

The councilwoman noted her district experienced a 49 percent decrease in unsheltered homelessness.

"We track every case, break through the barriers holding up placements, connect people with housing and care, and stay involved until they are housed," Raman said in her statement.

Raman said, if elected, she would bring that approach and results ci