Karen Bass

Why Thrive LA endorses Karen

The goal of this dual endorsement is clear: block Nithya Raman from advancing to the November general election. Raman, a DSA-aligned candidate, would expand rent control, pile new regulations onto housing providers, and double down on a services-only approach to homelessness. A Raman mayoralty would mean higher taxes, more regulation, less housing production, and an ideological approach to governance that prioritizes activist demands over results. Under Los Angeles's election rules, the top two candidates from the primary advance to the November runoff. Our goal is to ensure those two candidates are Karen Bass and Spencer Pratt, not Raman. By consolidating support behind both, voters can keep Raman off the general election ballot entirely and guarantee Angelenos a real choice in November. Karen Bass is the incumbent Mayor of Los Angeles, the first woman to hold the office, and a former U.S. Representative and California Assembly Speaker who has led the city through one of its most turbulent periods. Mayor Bass has delivered some measurable results on public safety. Homicides dropped 19% citywide in 2025, reaching the lowest level since 1966, and Gang Reduction and Youth Development zones saw a 27% decline. Her Executive Directive 1 streamlined affordable housing permitting, signaling an understanding that bureaucratic delay kills housing production. Spencer Pratt is a cultural figure and Palisades Fire survivor who has channeled personal loss into community advocacy. His outsider status means he carries no obligations to entrenched interests or the activist class, and his presence in the race draws attention to the city's failures in disaster preparedness, permitting, and rebuilding, issues that directly affect every Angeleno's safety and property.