Spencer Pratt blasts Nithya Raman as her homeless and housing committee stalls

Nithya Raman may be campaigning hard on homelessness – but her actions on the issue inside City Hall are completely off the mark … and her opponent, Spencer Pratt is criticizing her for it.

For months, Raman has built his mayoral bid on Los Angeles’ biggest crisis, pledging to end unsafe homelessness by at least 50% before the 2028 Olympics and shake up a “broken” system.

But Raman’s ambition in his campaign has not matched what has happened on the House Committee on Homelessness and Housing, which he chairs, where he has canceled four of the last eight meetings since he announced his run in February.

Worse still, every meeting in the past five weeks has been canceled, leading to a growing number of homeless people and housing proposals costing hundreds of millions.

Independent challenger Spencer Pratt criticized Raman on Friday, saying he has lost focus in his pursuit of higher office.

“Of course he’s not doing his job. He’s checked out,” Pratt told the California Post.

“He has no roots in LA. He didn’t set foot here until 2013, a long time ago, so he doesn’t know how, and he doesn’t care about fixing the city,” Pratt said.

“Nithya’s reason is that the problem of homelessness has become worse.”

Records reviewed by the California Post show the backlog extends beyond normal city business.

Items that remain include proposals for more scrutiny of homeless spending, restructuring of the City’s management system, greater scrutiny of Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority contracts, and reports of safety concerns at shelters related to mental health and substance abuse issues.

Updates to Mayor Karen Bass’ signature Inside Safe program, including participant data, locations and activities, are also on hold.

Raman’s office has denied that homelessness work has stalled, saying disruptions in recent programs have been due to budget season, rather than unemployment.

“Under Councilman Raman’s leadership, the Housing and Homeless Committee has worked with urgency, meeting more often than any other Council committee on a weekly and biweekly basis to continue action on the city’s homelessness problem,” Raman’s office told the California Post.

His office said conflicts with the Budget Committee, where three of the five committee members serve, meant he did not have enough to meet a quorum.

The backlog means that many of the changes he proposed in the campaign are being put on hold.

The decline of the committee has become the new ammunition in the mayoral race.

Raman has promised to halve the homeless housing shortage ahead of the Olympics even though he’s getting funding for rent, tighter policing and a move away from Bass’ Inside Safe strategy, which uses hotels.

But critics say there is a growing gap between campaign promises and committee action.

That tension was also on public display during city budget discussions this week when Council Member Monica Rodriguez introduced a budget allocation that requires the Mayor’s Office to report on whether resources from Inside Safe, Mayor Karen Bass’ signature and costly homelessness program, are being distributed equitably across Los Angeles.

Rodriguez said the proposal would create taxpayer protections and accountability mechanisms if the city misses performance targets.

“One of my concerns has always been how Inside Safe has been distributed throughout the city,” Rodriguez told the Post after the budget vote. “I have never seen such an equal distribution in all council districts.”

Rodriguez said that this proposal could redirect up to 25% of the money if the benches are missed and said that those discussions should have continued through the committee.

“Sadly, Nithya Raman has continued to focus on any changes to homelessness and our spending,” Rodriguez said.

“We are still sitting in many discussions that have not progressed.”

When asked about the canceled meetings, Rodriguez did not hold back.

“It’s a shame,” she said. “Anyone who can be big and has a sense of urgency to address homelessness will be canceling meetings that help advance a plan to reform homeless spending and how we deal with it in the city of Los Angeles.”

“There are a lot of plans and proposals that are floundering without any considered movement,” he added.

“It’s embarrassing and clearly contradictory.”

A request for comment from Raman’s office was not immediately returned.