A pie waited as the Los Angeles City Council returned to work last week following the election of council member Nithya Raman as mayor, an outcome that all 14 of her council colleagues opposed.
The pie, sitting on a table in a room behind the council chambers, had a word written on it in icing, according to two council staff members: Humble.
The dessert was thrown away uneaten, but it was a humble pie that council members ate Tuesday as they congratulated the mayor-elect.
“Full disclosure, you know I did not support you last week,” Councilor Curren Price said. “But you have my full support now.”
A beaming Raman had entered the council chambers, flanked by her council staff and campaign aides, as well as a new security detail befitting her higher profile. A bouquet of flowers, an official proclamation and a (brief) ovation from his council colleagues followed later in the morning.
Raman listened attentively as, one by one, the council members seated around the horseshoe offered their olive branches. Then she offered one.
“We are all here because we love Los Angeles and want to make it better,” Raman said. “This passion sometimes makes us talk about the differences we have on how to achieve this.”
“I’m here to be spicy with you, to get through this and to find the outcome that works for all of us,” she said.
Not only had Raman’s city council colleagues opposed her in favor of incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, but several of them had become increasingly hostile toward her as the campaign progressed.
Council member Imelda Padilla called her tenure on the Housing and Homelessness Committee chaired by Raman “unproductive.” Council member Monica Rodriguez said Raman’s last-minute decision to defy his former ally Bass was “disgusting” and “stabbing.” And council member Traci Park questioned whether Raman “stands for anything.”
Park did not support Bass, but said she would vote for her. Every other council member — including Raman’s Democratic Socialists of America colleagues Eunisses Hernandez, Ysabel Jurado and Hugo Soto-Martínez — was solidly behind Bass.
But the energy in the chambers Tuesday was a forced celebration as council members congratulated Raman and said they looked forward to working with her on issues they were aligned with.
Even Padilla and Rodriguez offered muted congratulations to the mayor-elect.
“Where we align, we will work together and where we do not, I will fiercely oppose,” Rodriguez said.
Sara Sadhwani, a politics professor at Pomona College, said the peace offerings were not a surprise.
“Council members will need the mayor. She is the one who approves the budget and can highlight their priorities,” Sadhwani said. “Politicians are rational actors, so they make a calculated pivot to play nice. Let’s see how long this lasts.”
Mike Bonin, a progressive former council member who now directs the Pat Brown Institute of Public Affairs at Cal State Los Angeles, said he believes the tension within the council has been overblown and that the current drama pales in comparison to the time three council members and a high-ranking union leader were heard on an audio recording secretly having a conversation that included racist and derogatory remarks.
“Nithya will probably start with greater headwinds than other mayors. Usually mayors enjoy a longer honeymoon. But most council members want to do things for their district. In most cases, you don’t want to have a combative relationship with the mayor,” he said.
As Raman becomes mayor, the city council must address other issues as well. The first is whether Marqueece Harris-Dawson will retain his position as board chair.
Harris-Dawson and Raman clashed during the campaign when he removed her as chair of the Housing and Homeless Committee, which she said was political retaliation for her decision to challenge Bass. Harris-Dawson said the decision was not political.
Harris-Dawson, despite supporting Bass and being the mayor’s closest ally on the council, said he plans to retain the role of council president, although rumors have swirled that other council members are potentially interested in the position.
Harris-Dawson has met with Raman over the past week and has spoken positively about the mayor-elect since her victory, and the two spoke jointly to reporters during the council meeting Tuesday.
“This campaign lasted nine months. We’ve been working together for six years,” Harris-Dawson said. “I have no doubt and I don’t think she has any doubt that we’re going to be able to work together.”
The council also must decide how to fill Raman’s seat when she leaves her post after being sworn in next month. Harris-Dawson said that decision likely won’t be made until the council’s winter break.
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