Hyperwoke lawmaker on track to be next LA mayor manages to anger progressives and conservatives by heaping praise on former police chief who was pro-migrant
Los Angeles mayoral candidate Nithya Raman drew criticism from both progressives and conservatives after praising the city’s past approach to limiting police cooperation with immigration enforcement while referring to former police chief Daryl Gates. The reference was contentious because Gates is associated both with a 1979 policy protecting people from immigration-status checks and with the LAPD’s record under his leadership, including its handling of the 1992 Rodney King riots.
Raman later said mentioning Gates was a mistake, apologised and said she had not intended to praise him. Incumbent Mayor Karen Bass called the apology too late and argued Raman was not ready to lead the city, which has 3.8 million residents. Gates’s tenure also drew criticism over racial violence allegations, deaths linked to police chokeholds and his 1990 remark that casual drug users should be shot.
In short
- Raman apologised for invoking former chief Daryl Gates.
- Gates’s legacy includes a 1979 immigration policy and deep controversy.
- Mayor Karen Bass says Raman is not ready to lead Los Angeles.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Supporters could argue Raman was trying to acknowledge a past policy that protected residents from immigration-status checks, and that praising this approach need not amount to endorsing Gates’s wider record. Her quick apology and clarification may show she recognised the reference was misleading, while the episode should be judged alongside her broader record and proposals for the city.
The case against
Critics could argue that invoking Gates was a serious lapse because his name is also tied to the LAPD’s handling of the 1992 riots, deaths linked to chokeholds and inflammatory remarks about drug users. A mayoral candidate should understand that praising a policy associated with such a divisive figure risks seeming to minimise that record, and Bass could reasonably treat the mistake as evidence of poor judgement.
Explained simply
Los Angeles is a large US city whose mayor oversees city services and helps set local policy. Nithya Raman is a city council member running for mayor against incumbent Karen Bass.
Los Angeles has a policy dating to 1979 that limits police involvement in checking people’s immigration status. Daryl Gates, the police chief at the time, is associated with that policy, but his leadership of the LAPD is also remembered for controversies over its treatment of Black residents and its conduct during the 1992 unrest after police officers were acquitted in the beating of Rodney King.
The debate reflects how a public figure’s record can carry conflicting associations. Immigration policy and the history of policing remain significant issues in Los Angeles politics.