Hollywood Week: LA Mayor-Elect Nithya Raman, Mid-Term Elections and Hollywood, Angelenos Oust Bass

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Category: Haute This Issue

Published on Saturday, 07 November 2026 08:57

Written by Janet Walker

Democratic Socialist Nithya Raman, who captured the progressive wave of change, was elected to lead the second largest U.S. city, ousting incumbent democrat Karen Bass, as Angelenos are desperate to stop the hemorrhage of film industry jobs.

Hollywood and the Midterm Elections

The unprecedented rejection of the nation's direction was not lost on Angelenos, who feel especially wounded by what appeared to be a lack of effort by elected officials to stop the hemorrhage of the film industry and its subsidiaries.

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In reflection, the outgoing mayor, like many politicians around the nation and every predictor model, simply could not forecast the great wave of change that swept across the country turning deep red states blue, and in some cases, breaking nearly a century of political strongholds in the minds of the people.

As historians will one day analyze this moment, they will see that this "great political change" began slowly, with one progressive politician Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. His progressive reforms resonated with Californians, who, in jest, are often labeled the land of fruits and nuts, and those policies caught on in other parts of the country.

Sanders and New York House Socialist Democrat Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez were able to see a groundswell of support for the progressive platform and both campaign for the election of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, also a democratic socialist.

After his victory to lead the largest city in the United States, and more importantly after the election, the people of New York, often the most critical of politicians did not see the expected ostracization of certain demographics, which made this new wave of change more palatable to a wider voter appeal. Voters also saw an individual, from a diverse demographic, who for so long has faced discrimination by the establishment, rise to power and not immediately exact revenge cooled the anxiety and concern of voters across the nation.

"When Nithya Raman first announced her bid for mayor, Angelenos began to wonder whether the councilmember representing the city's 4th District could be their ticket to that change. A democratic socialist often compared to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Raman was outspoken about the failures of Los Angeles' existing infrastructure, arguing that bureaucratic red tape was preventing city leaders from making meaningful improvements in their communities. And voters began to take notice," LAMag.com reported.

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The Filmmaking Capital of the World

Angelenos, while enjoying an abundance of sunny days, are confronting many, if not more, of the same general societal issues that the rest of the nation feels. None closer to the population than the loss of film industry employment.

For decades, Los Angeles enjoyed the title of filmmaking capital of the world, and along with it, the industry supported hundreds of thousands of tiered level jobs, many of which have evaporated over the last four years which became a critical factor voters debated when heading to the polls.

Adding insult to injury the recent endorsement of the Paramount-Warner Bros Discovery deal by former Mayor Karen Bass, resulted in industry unions criticizing her.

The Writer's Guild of America issued the following statement before the election, "We are disappointed that Mayor Bass has chosen to join Paramount's pressure campaign on public enforcers, to push through a merger that is being rightfully challenged as illegal and will lead to job losses in the entertainment industry. Her statement comes on the heels of a county report estimating thousands of jobs will be lost if the merger proceeds. Industry workers deserve a mayor who believes in upholding the law and protecting the working people of Los Angeles, not serving the interests of powerful corporations."

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As much of the 2026 industry news was dominated by the Paramount-Skydance deal, and the seismic implications of the mega-merger, the voters in Los Angeles and surrounding communities who see their livelihood daily migrating to other regions of the country where film and television production is substantially lower, were looking for a leader who would protect the rights of the middle class.

Voters also rejected the idea of bowing to the new wave of tech billionaire, who have unlimited resources to buy anyone or anything they desire. With tech being the new oil, the resources are unlimited, and even if payoffs and trade offs were not a part of the Paramount-Warner Bros Discovery deal, the economic impact of the merger is perceived by voters to have placed the industry on life-support.

Pre-merger reports from the Los Angeles Department of Economic Opportunity stated, "Overall, the economic impact of losing these jobs would be $1.26 billion in wages, $2.78 billion in economic value, $4.06 billion in total business output and $547 million in tax revenue, including $78.6 million in local taxes — most of which (63%) comes from property taxes," The Wrap reported.

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LA Fires 2025

Past mistakes can haunt every leader, and while the Los Angeles mayor doesn't govern over other municipalities such as Altadena, Malibu, or Pacific Palisades, at the explosive start of the historic Los Angeles 2025 January fires, then Mayor Bass remained in Ghana at an embassy function.

While the city was in capable hands, it is the visuals, the city needed a whole of government response, and every elected leader needed to be seen to present a unified show of support to the people who had suffered shocking loss. 

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And It Rolls Downhill

For many the juggernaut of the Los Angeles mayoral election was the result of the economic frustration voters are experiencing. And as blame usually rolls downhill, voters closest to the epicenter looked to Mayor Karen Bass, and decided the crippling economy, high cost of living, groceries, gas prices, and the traditional democratic ideals, which while favoring the middle class and providing more services, paled in comparison to the Los Angeles Mayor-elect Nithya Raman's, democratic socialist platform.

Raman ran on a campaign platform that including created more affordable housing across all income brackets, a commitment to cutting homelessness in half by the 2028 Olympics, repairing city infrastructure, and ending "pay-to-play" politics and reform city government ethics.

Her experience on the City Council, and more importantly for Angelenos, her graduate studies in urban planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology will be critical in her efforts to address the urban blights that have come to plague most major cities.

Los Angeles Mayor-elect Nithya Raman will be sworn into office on December 14, 2026.

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Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation's top stories, for more than a decade.  A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category and was persuaded to withdraw the submission. Ms. Walker has completed five award-winning screenplays "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She has also published "Unholy Alliances: A True Crime Story," a non-fiction narrative, "Days, Times, Seasons, and Events: A Collection of Poetry & Prose," and "Songs of Freedom: A Collection of Biblical Teachings," which can be purchased here. She is a member of the Authors Guild, the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and a member of the International Federation of Journalists.