LOS ANGELES, CA – Los Angeles mayoral candidate and City Councilmember Nithya Raman, who said in 2020 that she did not support bringing the 2028 Summer Olympics to the city, is pressing the organizing committee LA28 for more financial transparency less than three weeks before the Nov. 3 election.
Raman is challenging Mayor Karen Bass, who supports the Games. On Aug. 12, the Los Angeles City Council approved the Enhanced City Resources Master Agreement with LA28 by a vote of 10-4, with one absence, and Raman was one of the four councilmembers who voted no.
On Friday, Oct. 16, City Controller Kenneth Mejia, a Raman supporter, subpoenaed LA28 for financial records and gave the committee 15 days to respond. The dispute has put the cost of the Games, and who bears the risk, at the center of the final weeks of the mayor’s race.
The winner of the election will be mayor as the city prepares for the Games.
Raman’s 2020 answer on the Olympics
When Raman ran for City Council in 2020, she answered a candidate questionnaire from the Democratic Socialists of America. Asked whether she supported hosting the 2028 Games, she answered no, citing a lack of vetting of the process, rushed budget outreach and the absence of any say for residents.
After she was elected, Raman was one of two councilmembers who voted against the primary contract outlining the partnership between the city and LA28. She also opposed the expansion and remodeling of the Los Angeles Convention Center, which will host five Olympic sports.
Raman has since said she accepts that the Games are coming. In her public comments after the August vote, she framed her goal as protecting the city financially rather than stopping the event.
Council approves the master agreement 10-4
The Aug. 12 vote concerned Council File 15-0989-S68, the Enhanced City Resources Master Agreement, often shortened to ECRMA. Raman, Councilmembers Eunisses Hernandez, Ysabel Jurado and Monica Rodriguez voted against it.
The agreement sets how LA28 reimburses the city for policing, trash collection and other expanded services that will be needed during the Games. According to a joint report from the City Administrative Officer and the Chief Legislative Analyst, the joint CAO and CLA report on the proposal, LA28 is to reimburse the city for the cost of the enhanced city resources provided under venue services agreements in direct support of the Games.
The Mayor’s Office and LA28 had earlier said in a joint statement that all parties were working to finalize the agreement, which ensures reimbursement of the city’s costs required by the Games.
Amendment requires an audit after the Games
The Council adopted the agreement together with an amending motion introduced by Rodriguez and Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson. The amendment requires an audit paid for by LA28 after the Games before city funds can cover costs that exceed revenues.
The agreement is separate from the larger financial structure of the Games. According to initial reports, under the Games Agreement the city covers the first $270 million of any losses, the state covers the next $270 million, and the city is responsible for anything above $540 million.
Raman’s objections to the deal
After voting no, Raman wrote in a public post that she wants the Olympics to succeed. “But that cannot mean giving LA28 a blank check while Angelenos carry the risk,” she wrote.
She also called the deal fiscally irresponsible. Raman said the city should have the right to fully audit LA28 spending before the Games, not only afterward.
Bass defends the agreement
Bass, who is seeking re-election, said after the Council vote that the agreement sets a framework for repayment of city expenses and includes $270 million in additional protection to ensure those reimbursements will be made.
In a statement to reporters this month, Bass said LA28 is “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase Los Angeles to the world.” She said it is also a chance to make sure the families, workers and small businesses who make the city great share in the benefits.
Bass contends that Raman’s stance threatens to “squander a chance to deliver real, lasting benefits to our city and the people who call it home.”
The mayor’s own plans for the Games were outlined 1,000 days before the opening, on Oct. 17, 2025. Bass announced a “Games for All” vision that day and signed an executive directive creating the Office of Major Events, led by Paul Krekorian.
Council colleagues split on Raman’s role
Harris-Dawson said in an interview this month that Raman did nothing constructive to strengthen the city’s financial protections in the most recent LA28 contract.
Rodriguez, who also voted no on the agreement, explained her position in a statement from her office. She said the agreement failed to establish a clear baseline of city services, financial protections for taxpayers and accountability.
Supporters of Raman argue she would press LA28 harder. David Levitus, executive director of the progressive organization L.A. Forward, said she is more willing to call things out publicly and to put pressure on the committee to meet its commitments to the city.
Controller subpoenas LA28 records
Mejia said on Oct. 16 that LA28’s refusal to comply with his office’s request, after years of withholding information it is contractually obligated to provide, is unacceptable. He said he will use his full authority under the City Charter to assess the city’s exposure.
According to initial reports, Mejia first sent a request to LA28 on Aug. 26 with a Sept. 28 deadline, and his review found the committee compliant with only two of nine subsections of the Games Agreement. The missing information includes forecasts versus actuals, bank statements, venue budgets and schedules, contractor identities and the value and purpose of contracts over $1 million.
Bass and City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto have both said they support the Controller’s effort. Feldstein Soto’s office said in a statement to reporters that she backs his work to obtain the financial information needed to understand the full scope of LA28’s finances and the city’s potential fiscal exposure.
Mejia has said that if Raman is elected, she will support his demands for greater financial transparency from LA28 and push for the Olympics to benefit Angelenos, including through transit projects and infrastructure improvements.
LA28 says it remains focused on the Games
LA28 spokesperson Jacie Prieto Lopez said in a statement to reporters on Oct. 16 that the committee was disappointed to see the city pulling away time, resources and attention from the work that matters most. She said LA28 remains focused on delivering a safe, fiscally responsible Games.
The committee had not publicly said how it would respond to the subpoena in the information available Sunday.
Election is Nov. 3
Voters will decide the mayor’s race on Nov. 3. LA28 has 15 days from the Oct. 16 subpoena to respond to the Controller, and the audit paid for by LA28 is to follow the Games under the amendment the Council adopted in August.
