Socialist-aligned activists’ blueprint for Los Angeles is drawing renewed scrutiny as City Councilmember Nithya Raman launches a bid for mayor, with critics pointing to a Democratic Socialists of America document that calls for sweeping changes to policing, jails, energy use, and drug policy.
The document, described as a “Program for Los Angeles,” outlines goals that include disarming police, ending fossil fuel use, closing jails, raising taxes, and de-criminalizing drugs. It also opposes the 2028 Olympics and calls for repurposing golf courses for public housing.
Raman, one of three DSA members on the Los Angeles City Council, has been a prominent supporter of defunding police and voted against a 2022 measure banning homeless camps within 500 feet of schools and daycare centers, according to critics.
Announcing a surprise mayoral run Saturday, the 44-year-old argued Los Angeles was “no longer a place of opportunity” and “at breaking point.”
In 2023, Raman was one of three council members to oppose a new four-year contract with the Los Angeles Police Protective League that included a 14% raise for new officers. She cited what she called the “enormous fiscal impact,” saying it would limit the city’s ability to fund alternative responses to homelessness and mental health calls.
The union representing LAPD officers blasted Raman’s agenda, warning that electing her would destabilize public safety and governance.
“Nithya Raman wants to eliminate police officers, depopulate our jails, and allow homeless encampments anywhere the homeless want to set up camps,” the union’s board of directors told The New York Post.
”It’s a recipe for disaster … and danger.”
The union, which has endorsed Karen Bass, said if political backstabbing was a crime ”Nythia Raman would be a wanted fugitive.”
“Raman talks a good game about accountability but refuses to hold criminals, drug addicts and drug dealers accountable. How can anyone trust her?”
Other demands cited from the DSA document include training volunteers to “combat ICE raids,” cutting police numbers, closing Men’s Central Jail, establishing drug injection sites, and making public transportation free.
The document also includes the claim that ”colonial settler violence against Palestinians” is rooted in Los Angeles, which critics described as unsubstantiated.
Raman entered city politics in 2020 as council member for District 4, covering areas from the San Fernando Valley to the Santa Monica Mountains. In a June 2020 social media post, she called for services and housing to be funded by defunding the police.
Susan Collins, a Democrat who ran against Raman, said she sold her home of 17 years in October to leave the district, arguing it has become less safe with fewer officers on the street.
“If Raman were to win, more people would flee Los Angeles, and it would no longer be a livable city.”
More over at The New York Post:
Nithya Raman is a ‘recipe for disaster and danger’ who wants to eliminate cops and empty jails https://t.co/Lj4hqgUrYv pic.twitter.com/4hzH3rnstc
— New York Post (@nypost) February 9, 2026