Los Angeles mayoral hopeful Nithya Raman voted against banning homeless encampments at six Westside areas, despite promising voters she wouldn’t block fellow councilmembers from imposing such restrictions if elected mayor.

The metropolis councilwoman opposed a proposal from Westside Councilwoman Traci Park last week to crack down on tenting at parks, seaside dunes and pedestrian tunnels, days before Raman faces Mayor Karen Bass in the Nov. 3 election.

The measure handed 11–4, with Raman among the 4 councilmembers who voted against it.

Nithya Raman voted against banning homeless encampments at six Westside areas Tuesday, despite promising voters she wouldn’t stand in the method of new tenting restrictions if elected mayor. Pedro Colo for CA Post

“When I’m mayor, if the council wants to create new [no camping] zones, I’m not going to stand in the way,” Raman informed an viewers in May, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Park blasted Raman’s newest vote.

“Once again, Nithya Raman voted against my efforts to protect our kids and public spaces from dangerous encampments,” Park informed The California Post. “Her voting record speaks louder than her campaign promises.”

Former Los Angeles Councilman Joe Buscaino, a former LAPD officer who helped form the metropolis’s anti-camping legislation and fought to develop restrictions close to faculties and libraries, defended the measure as a essential software for defending neighborhoods.

“I helped write 41.18 because parents asked us to keep encampments away from schools, beaches and libraries,” Buscaino informed The Post.

“It works because it lets each councilmember decide what’s right for their community. The best way to govern as mayor is to trust councilmembers and give them real tools to address quality of life concerns, not stand in their way.”

The Los Angeles Police Protective League, which represents rank-and-file LAPD officers, also unloaded on Raman.

“Nithya Raman must love the Britney Spears song, Oops!… I Did It Again, because this week she once again voted to allow dangerous homeless camps near sensitive locations throughout West Los Angeles,” the union informed The Post.

A person walks previous tents at a homeless encampment on third Street in Venice, California. Jonathan Alcorn for California Post

The union said Raman was working a “say-anything-to-get-elected flip-flop campaign,” claiming she was “talking out of both sides of her mouth.”

Park’s proposal focused six areas across her Westside district, including Vista del Mar Park and the Dockweiler Beach sand dunes, Asilomar View Park and Temescal Canyon Park in Pacific Palisades, and two pedestrian tunnels beneath Pacific Coast Highway.

The restrictions fall under the metropolis’s controversial anti-camping ordinance, Municipal Code Section 41.18, which permits officers to prohibit sitting, sleeping and tenting in designated public areas.

Supporters say the legislation helps preserve parks, sidewalks and other public areas secure and accessible. Critics, including Raman, say it merely pushes encampments from one neighborhood to another with out getting individuals off the streets.

“My imagination for how we address homelessness in L.A. goes beyond just thinking about which block an encampment should be on,” Raman has said. “It is about how we actually get encampments indoors.”

Los Angeles mayoral candidate Nithya Raman speaks during a marketing campaign occasion in Sylmar, Calif., Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. AP Photo/William Liang

But for some Venice dad and mom, the struggle over encampments is deeply private.

Venice mom Erin Ashford informed The Post her baby suffered nightmares about “zombies” after repeatedly encountering homeless encampments close to Westminster Elementary School during former Councilman Mike Bonin’s tenure.

Bonin, who represented the Westside, refused to designate anti-camping zones in his district while in workplace.

Ashford said her pleas to Bonin’s workplace were disregarded.

When she heard Raman’s remarks questioning whether shifting tents 500 ft away from faculties would make youngsters safer, she was livid.

Homeless encampments have become a flashpoint in the Los Angeles mayoral race, with Raman repeatedly opposing restrictions aimed at retaining tents away from faculties, parks and other public areas. Andy Johnstone for California Post

“I was livid when I heard this,” Ashford informed The Post. “Have her visit our house and try to explain to our kids that zombies aren’t trying to get them.”

Raman has voted more than 60 occasions against restrictions on homeless encampments since 2021, according to a Los Angeles Times investigation, drawing criticism from residents and fellow councilmembers. ZUMAPRESS.com

“What they saw every day before Traci Park made this a no-camping zone was a nightmare,” she said.

Raman’s feedback came during a 2024 Sherman Oaks discussion board, where she questioned whether banning encampments within 500 ft of faculties would make youngsters safer.

“I don’t think a kid’s gonna be safer because a tent is 500 feet away from a school,” Raman informed the viewers, including, “You know, it’s like, whatever.”

The feedback resurfaced in September when the police union focused Raman in a marketing campaign advert that includes a younger woman strolling previous a homeless encampment.

Raman maintains that banning encampments merely pushes homeless individuals from one neighborhood to another Daniel Cole

Raman pushed back, saying she desires encampments eliminated from metropolis streets altogether rather than merely relocated to another block.

But Nico Ruderman, a Venice Neighborhood Council member and father, questioned why Raman continues voting against the restrictions if she intends to let councilmembers use them as mayor.

Ruderman turned energetic in neighborhood points after youngsters arriving at his son’s college encountered a lifeless physique during morning drop-off. He also informed The Post about RV’s outside the college that caught fires and fights that would break out while dropping off his son.

“Nithya Raman has made campaign promises that she’ll let councilmembers use 41.18 in their own districts as mayor. But she consistently votes against them doing exactly that as a councilmember,” Ruderman informed The Post.

“She has repeatedly spoken against the law, and Traci Park’s proposal to expand it sat unheard in the committee she chaired. Both her votes and her actions contradict what she’s telling voters.”

Westside Councilwoman Traci Park slammed Raman’s newest vote against increasing the metropolis’s anti-camping legislation Rafael Fontoura for CA Post

Ruderman challenged Raman to exhibit her dedication before Election Day.

“Why should anyone trust her? Becoming mayor isn’t going to magically change her political beliefs. If she means what she says, she can demonstrate it now.”

“She has consistently opposed 41.18 protections around schools, and this week she voted against protections around parks where children play,” he added.

“As a parent, I believe she’s a danger to children in Los Angeles, whether she’s a councilmember or mayor. I’m judging her by both her votes and her actions, not what she says to get elected.”

Bass’s marketing campaign also blasted Raman saying she has repeatedly voted against restrictions designed to preserve encampments away from faculties and other delicate areas.

“Nithya Raman says on the campaign trail that she won’t interfere with her colleagues’ work to ban encampments outside of schools and daycares, but she keeps voting to do just that,” a marketing campaign spokesperson informed The Post.

“Raman doesn’t think a kid is safer if a tent is 500 feet away from a school, and she would undo our progress cleaning up encampments throughout the city.”

The Post reached out to Raman’s marketing campaign for remark.