Bass Accuses Raman of Not Knowing LA in 'Gold Standard' Blowup

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Los Angeles' mayoral race has spent a week consumed by a single name from the city's past, after challenger Nithya Raman referred to former police Chief Daryl Gates as the "gold standard" during a televised debate, drawing a public demand for an apology from Mayor Karen Bass and a walk-back that is still unfolding days before in-person voting opens, according to campaign coverage.

Gates served as chief of the Los Angeles Police Department from 1978 to 1992, a tenure that included the beating of Rodney King in 1991 and the 1992 riots, according to the Los Angeles Times.

In-person voting for the November 3, 2026 election opens Saturday, October 24, 2026, at 123 vote centers across Los Angeles County, according to the county registrar.

A Debate Remark, a Press Conference, and a Demand

Raman made the remark during an hourlong televised debate with Bass earlier this month, while criticizing the department's transparency and its alleged cooperation with federal immigration officers, according to City News Service.

Raman said she hoped to return the department to the standard of the Gates era on one issue: the city's longstanding prohibition on using local police to enforce federal immigration law, according to her later statements.

On Thursday, October 15, 2026, Bass stood alongside Black community leaders and urged Raman to retract the statement and apologize, according to MyNewsLA.

"Daryl Gates inflicted serious harm to African Americans," Bass said, according to MyNewsLA. "I know that she has only lived in Los Angeles for 13 years."

An Abhorrent Record, a Twisted Words Claim, and an Apology

Raman responded in a video rejecting Gates' record outright, according to City News Service.

"Let me be clear: Daryl Gates was an abhorrent and racist police chief, and I reject his record of racism, police brutality, militarization and resistance to civilian oversight," Raman said, according to City News Service.

Raman said her point concerned the immigration noncooperation policy that began under Mayor Tom Bradley nearly 50 years ago, which she described as the foundation for the sanctuary city ordinance she authored, and she accused Bass of twisting her words, according to City News Service.

Raman has since apologized privately to a South Los Angeles community group and discussed the remark on a podcast, according to Politico's California Playbook as reported October 21, 2026.

A Viral Pause, a Key Endorsement, and Twelve Days to Go

In an interview broadcast this week, CNN's Elex Michaelson asked Raman to name a police chief she admires, according to the New York Post.

"I don't know…I don't know," Raman answered, according to the Post's October 21, 2026 report.

Raman has also said she would fire current LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, while declining to name a replacement publicly, according to the coverage.

On October 20, 2026, county Supervisor Lindsey Horvath endorsed Raman, the only member of the Board of Supervisors backing her, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Businessman Rick Caruso, who lost the 2022 mayoral race to Bass, praised the mayor but endorsed neither candidate, according to NBC Los Angeles.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026.

Sources

MyNewsLA, Bass presses Raman over former LAPD chief comment, October 15, 2026; Los Angeles Times, coverage of the Gates remark controversy, October 16, 2026, and of the Horvath endorsement, October 20, 2026; New York Post, Raman interview report, October 21, 2026, and voter interviews, October 22, 2026; Politico California Playbook, via BizzBuzz, October 22, 2026.