Indian-American Los Angeles mayoral candidate Nithya Raman is confronting two significant late-race challenges: a demand by City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto for a full audit of the nonprofit at the centre of an eviction-defence programme Raman championed, and a pointed attack from incumbent Mayor Karen Bass questioning her familiarity with the city's Black community. The twin controversies have landed in the final stretch before the 3 November election.

The Audit Demand and the LAFLA Funds Question

In an October 9 'Supplemental Report in the Public Interest', City Attorney Feldstein Soto stated that 'between $55 million and $87 million in funds provided to LAFLA from the City and County remain unaccounted for in the publicly available information for the period 2021 through 2025.' LAFLA refers to the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, the nonprofit that administers the Stay Housed LA (SHLA) eviction-defence programme.

The report noted that LAFLA's tax returns 'suggest that the money may well have been used for other purposes, most notably to fund litigation against the very City that provided the funds.' It concluded: 'The City's interests requires a complete audit of and accounting from LAFLA of all of these amounts.'

The contract itself began in 2021 as a no-bid $7 million pilot and grew to more than $90 million. The $55 million to $87 million unaccounted-for range first appeared in a 2 July report. Importantly, the October 9 report does not name Raman and does not allege that she mishandled funds. However, the programme has been described as her 'signature' effort; she voted in March for a tenant package that included $106.6 million for LAFLA, according to reports.

LAFLA Rejects the Claims

LAFLA has pushed back firmly. In an August 10 letter to the City Council responding to the City Attorney's earlier reports, the nonprofit's board stated that 'the Reports do not make any specific claims of any financial improprieties or misapplied funds.' The board added it was 'aware of no misspent funds, nor any other impropriety related to LAFLA's administration of SHLA.'

Barbara Schultz, LAFLA's director of housing justice, has described the claims as 'inaccurate and misleading,' according to reports. Raman's campaign did not issue a response to the audit-related coverage.

Notably, Feldstein Soto herself finished third in the 2 June city attorney primary with 17.99% of the vote and is not on the November ballot, a detail critics have flagged when assessing the timing of her reports.

Bass Attacks Raman Over Daryl Gates Remark

A separate flashpoint emerged on 15 October when Mayor Bass, speaking with Black community leaders at her campaign headquarters, criticised Raman over a debate remark in which Raman said the city 'used to be the gold standard in terms of noncooperation with immigration enforcement years ago, under the era of Daryl Gates,' as reported by the Los Angeles Times.

'My opponent is not really familiar with L.A., especially the Black community,' Bass said. 'She doesn't know us.'

Raman clarified that she was referring to Special Order 40, a sanctuary-city policy issued by Gates in 1979, and described Gates himself as 'an abhorrent and racist police chief.' In a statement, Raman said: 'Now Mayor Bass is deliberately twisting my words to distract from the questions she is refusing to answer.'

Where the Race Stands

Despite the dual controversies, Raman held a commanding lead in the most recent polling. A Berkeley IGS/Los Angeles Times survey conducted 15–20 September placed Raman at 39% to Bass's 28%, with roughly a third of voters still undecided. A Raman victory on 3 November would make her the first Indian-American mayor of Los Angeles.

With weeks to go and a large undecided bloc in play, how each candidate navigates these final controversies could yet shape the outcome.