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Nithya Raman recall, Los Angeles, California (2021)
| Los Angeles City Council recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2021 Recalls in California California recall laws City council recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Councilwoman Nithya Raman in Los Angeles, California, did not make it to the ballot. Organizers called off the recall effort, saying that they would not be able to collect the required 27,405 signatures by the deadline of November 4, 2021.[1][2]
Organizers said they opposed Raman's response to homelessness in the district, her affiliation with the Democratic Socialists of America, and her support for cutting LAPD staff. They also cited her opposition to building height limits in Los Feliz. Raman responded by highlighting her support for renters, small businesses, and unhoused people in the district.[2]
Recall supporters
Allison Cohen, publisher of the Los Feliz Ledger, helped initiate the recall effort, in addition to the group CD4 for CD4.[2]
The recall notice gave the following grounds for recall:[3]
| “ |
TO THE HONORABLE NITHYA RAMAN: Pursuant to Los Angeles Election Code §719, we five proponents of this petition intend to seek your recall and removal from the office of Los Angeles City Council District Four and demand an election of a successor. The grounds for this recall are: You repeatedly put your PERSONAL HOMELESSNESS IDEOLOGY over constituent safety. You have enabled gang members to commit crimes–including drug trafficking, robbery, brandishing and firing of guns and prostitutional extortion, often in full view of families and children—while ignoring months of pleas for safety from the citizens you were elected to serve. CHAOS AND LAWLESSNESS EVERYWHERE: You refuse to acknowledge addiction and mental illness as root causes of homelessness and wrongly insist the city can build its way out of the crisis. You and your staff are hostile and disruptive to LAW ENFORCEMENT, advocating for LAPD defunding despite an increase in dangerous crime and fires—often stemming from homeless encampments—in your district. ABSENT: You claim to encourage dialogue and transparency, yet you and your staff have only superficially availed yourself to constituents, abruptly abandoning meetings, refusing to answer questions and chronically ignoring constituent meeting requests, calls and emails. You also routinely skirt the topic of PROTECTION OF SINGLE-FAMILY ZONE NEIGHBORHOODS. We conclude you favor their destruction. You up-ended a decade of constituents’ work when you unilaterally, with no input from the citizens you purportedly represent, requested the City Planning Commission increase building heights in district neighborhoods such as Los Feliz. Finally, you refuse to disavow your alliance with the DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS OF LOS ANGELES (DSA-LA), WHICH CLAIMS TO "CO-GOVERN" WITH YOU, a group that proudly brandishes the hammer and sickle, whose goals are to end capitalism and abolish prisons and police. Your actions appear scripted by the DSA-LA and its affiliates.[4] |
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Recall opponents
In a response to the recall effort, Raman said, "I love the people and the neighborhoods of this district. That's why I ran to represent it. ... I invite the organizers of this recall to work with me on making it an even better place to live, work, and raise our children."[2]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in California
The Los Angeles city clerk announced on July 9, 2021, that the recall petition had been approved for circulation.[5] Organizers needed to collect signatures from 15% of registered voters in Los Angeles City Council District 4, or over 27,000 signatures.[2] Organizers called off the signature-gathering process in September 2021, saying that they would not be able to collect the required number of signatures by the deadline of November 4.[5]
See also
- Recall campaigns in California
- Political recall efforts, 2021
- City council recalls
- City elections in Los Angeles in 2019 & 2020
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Larchmont Buzz, "Nithya Raman Recall Effort Ends," September 18, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Los Angeles Times, "She’s been at City Hall six months. Now Nithya Raman is being targeted for recall," June 9, 2021
- ↑ Recall Raman, "Notice of Intent to Recall Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman Statement of Reasons," accessed June 11, 2021
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 CBS Los Angeles, "LA City Clerk Approves Petition To Recall Councilwoman Nithya Raman," July 9, 2021
