David Wagner
covers housing in Southern California, a place where the lack of affordable housing contributes to homelessness.
Published March 6, 2024 11:14 AM
Councilmember Nithya Raman holds onto her seat with an outright primary win.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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Topline:
Incumbent Nithya Raman has successfully won her city council seat with more than 50% of the votes cast, the threshold needed to win outright in the primary.
How we got here: L.A.’s worsening housing and homelessness crisis has been front and center in this district. Raman and Weaver sharply disagree on a city policy that bans encampments near schools, parks and other “sensitive” locations.
The backstory: This district changed more than any other during the city’s most recent redistricting process. Renter-heavy parts of Koreatown were taken out of the district, and parts of the Valley featuring more homeowners were added in.
Keep reading ... for analysis of the race and why Raman came up in those taped conversations that roiled City Hall.
Latest results
Incumbent Nithya Raman has successfully won her city council seat with more than 50% of the votes cast, the threshold needed to win outright in the primary.
Ethan Weaver, a deputy city attorney, and her top challenger said he'd called to concede on Thursday, March 14.
A race that appeared tight on election night now has incumbent Nithya Raman in the clear lead. The big question: Does she stay above 50% to retain the seat outright?
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Erin Hauer
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As of Wednesday, just 12,000 votes remain to be counted in all of L.A. County. How many of those were cast in CD4 won't be known until they're all counted. Keep in mind that many of the remaining votes will take additional time to verify.
A note on the results
OFFICIAL RESULTS
The California Secretary of State's Office certified the final vote tallies on April 12, marking an official end to the March 5, 2024 Primary Election.
Voter Game Plan will be back in the fall to help you prepare for the Nov. 5 General Election.
L.A.’s worsening housing and homelessness crisis was front and center in the race to represent this district. Some voters who showed up to cast their ballot on Election Day in Los Feliz said Raman has championed smart policies on a tough problem. Others said it was time for a change.
Hollywood resident Vahan Saroians voted for former NASA engineer Lev Baronian (who placed a distant third). But Saroians said he would have been happy with anyone but Raman. He thinks her policies have failed to stop the growth of homelessness.
“Nothing is changing, so whoever is in charge is not doing their job,” Saroians said. “Encampments continue. They just move from one street to another street. Normal people who you never thought would be homeless are homeless.”
Vahan Saroians cast his vote in Los Feliz, hoping for a new city council member who will try new policies to stop the growth of homelessness.
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David Wagner/LAist
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Los Feliz resident Brandon Cassadore said encampments have grown so much in his neighborhood that at times he feels unsafe.
“Change is good,” said Cassadore, who voted for Weaver. “We can’t just stick to the old ways if they just haven't been working.”
Tom Kanter, a Los Feliz renter, had seen the criticisms of Raman. But he said he voted for her because he does not support encampment sweeps without offering people help getting housed.
“I think there's some sort of stigma against homeless people where they need to be cast aside or swept under the rug, and that really rubs me the wrong way,” Kanter said.
L.A. City Councilmember Nithya Raman delivers remarks at a press conference to bolster support for a right-to-counsel program in the city.
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Outside spending favored Weaver
Real estate interests, as well as police and firefighters unions, poured more than $1 million into defeating Raman. On election night, she said she was feeling energized, but also worried about the effect all that funding could have on the race.
“It's the kind of spending that splits the city apart at a time when more than anything else, we need to come together and do the hard work to get people into housing,” Raman said.
Early results on election night showed Raman and Weaver practically neck-and-neck. Weaver said the initial tally showed his message had resonated with voters, who wanted more action on the problems they see in their neighborhoods — especially when it comes to encampments.
“We have to manage the problem better on our streets day over day to keep our voters patient and engaged with us to show that we're making progress and that their communities are improving, not falling further behind,” Weaver said.
Supporters of L.A. City Council District 4 candidate Ethan Weaver enter his election night watch party in Sherman Oaks.
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About the district
District 4 stretches from Silver Lake and Los Feliz in the east, into northern sections of Hollywood, before ending in Sherman Oaks, Encino and other parts of the San Fernando Valley.
This district changed more than any other during the city’s most recent redistricting process. Renter-heavy parts of Koreatown were taken out of the district, and parts of the Valley featuring more homeowners were added in.
Raman, who chairs the council’s housing committee, has found herself in the political crosshairs over her advocacy for new tenant rights and expanded eviction protections.
In the leaked tapes recorded at the L.A. County Federation of Labor headquarters in 2021, council members Nury Martinez and Kevin de Leon discussed using the redistricting process to dilute the power of renters in this district.
Maintaining the district’s previous boundaries, Martinez said, “solidifies her renters’ district, and that is not a good thing for any of us.”
De Leon said of all the districts, this was “the one to put in a blender and chop up left and right.”
Compared to the last election for this seat in 2020, about 40% of eligible voters were new to the district.
What's next
The race for this district was widely seen as a test of the staying power of political progressives on the L.A. city council. Raman, backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, became the first candidate to unseat a city council incumbent in 17 years when she first won her seat in 2020.
Those progressive politics manifested in heated campaign debates over how to best confront the city's homelessness crisis. Raman and Weaver sharply disagreed on a city policy that bans encampments near schools, parks and other “sensitive” locations.
Raman said these sweeps don’t get people off the street and into housing, while Weaver said preventing unhoused people from pitching tents near schools is crucial for public safety.
Recent LAist reporting uncovered an internal report that found the city’s policy, known as 41.18, is largely ineffective at housing people.
Raman also came under intense fire from some Sherman Oaks homeowners over her support of an affordable housing project near single-family homes.
If your mail-in ballot is rejected for any reason (like a missing or mismatched signature), your county registrar must contact you to give you a chance to fix it. In Los Angeles County, the registrar will send you a notification by mail and you have until March 27 to reply and "cure" your ballot.
How we're covering this election
Early voters and mail-in ballots have fundamentally reshaped how votes are counted and when election results are known.
Our priority will be sharing outcomes and election calls only when they have been thoroughly checked and vetted. To that end, we will report when candidates concede and otherwiserely on NPR and The Associated Press for race calls. We will not report the calls or projections of other news outlets. You can find more on NPR and The AP's process for counting votes and calling races here, here and here.
Ask us a question
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You ask, and we'll answer: Whether it's about how to interpret the results or track your ballot, we're here to help you understand the 2024 general election on Nov. 5.
Makenna Sievertson
breaks down policies and programs with a focus on the housing and homelessness challenges confronting some of SoCal's most vulnerable residents.
Published February 10, 2026 5:18 PM
A judge and lawyers in a lawsuit who alleged that the Department of Veterans Affairs illegally leased veteran land tour the West L.A. VA campus.
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Brian van der Brug
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Topline:
The Department of Veterans Affairs has ended some commercial leases at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center Campus, which it says helps pave the way to serve more veterans, including those experiencing homelessness.
Why now: As of Monday, the VA ended its leases with the Brentwood School, a private school with a sports complex on the property, and a company that ran a parking lot on the campus. The department also revoked an oil company's drilling license.
The VA described the leases and the license as “wasteful” and “illegal.”
Why it matters: The move follows court rulings that found the leases and license violated federal law.
Last December, a U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling found the agency had “strayed from its mission” by leasing land to commercial interests instead of caring for veterans.
The VA said it also found last year that it has been underpaid by more than $40 million per year based on the fair market value of the properties.
The backstory: Last May, President Donald Trump issued an executive order instructing the VA secretary to designate a national hub for veterans experiencing homelessness, the National Center for Warrior Independence, on the West L.A. VA campus.
What officials say: Doug Collins, the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, said Monday that the groups that had their leases and license terminated have been “fleecing” taxpayers and veterans for far too long. He said, under Trump, the VA is taking action to ensure the West L.A. campus is used only to benefit veterans, as intended.
“By establishing the National Center for Warrior Independence, we will turn the West Los Angeles VAMC campus into a destination where homeless veterans from across the nation can find housing and support on their journey back to self-sufficiency,” Collins said in a statement.
What's next: By 2028, the National Center for Warrior Independence is expected to offer housing and support for up to 6,000 veterans experiencing homelessness, according to the VA.
According to the White House, funding previously spent on housing and services for undocumented immigrants will be redirected to construct and maintain the center on the campus.
The VA said in a statement Monday that it is currently exploring construction options for the project and will share updates as the final decisions are made.
David Wagner
covers housing in Southern California, a place where the lack of affordable housing contributes to homelessness.
Published February 10, 2026 4:41 PM
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detain an immigrant on Oct. 14, 2015, in Los Angeles.
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John Moore
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Getty Images
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Topline:
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has rejected a proposal that would have let tenants across the county fall behind by about three months worth of rent and still have local protections from eviction.
How it died: Supporters said the rules would have helped immigrants stay housed after losing income because of federal immigration raids. Only one of the county’s five Supervisors supported the expanded eviction protections. With none of the other four willing to second the motion in Tuesday’s meeting, the proposal died before it ever came to a vote.
The details: The proposal would have built on an existing protection for renters in unincorporated parts of L.A. County. Under the current rules, renters can fall behind by up to one month’s worth of fair market rent (an amount determined by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department) and still be legally protected from eviction.
Last week, county leaders voted to explore increasing that threshold to two months. But Supervisor Lindsey Horvath wanted to go farther, increasing the limit to three months and making it apply county-wide, not just in unincorporated areas.
Read on… for more information on the dramatic meeting where this proposal failed.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has rejected a proposal that would have let tenants across the county fall behind by about three months' worth of rent and still have local protections from eviction.
Only one of the county’s five supervisors supported the expanded eviction protections. With none of the other four willing to second the motion in Tuesday’s meeting, the proposal died before it ever came to a vote.
The proposal failed after an hour of impassioned public comment from both renters and landlords. Onlookers chanted “cowards” as the board cleared the room for closed session.
Would the rules have been challenged in court?
Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who put forward the proposal, said earlier in the meeting that expanding eviction protections would have been an appropriate way to help the county’s nearly one million undocumented immigrants.
Anticipating potential lawsuits to strike down the proposed ordinance, Horvath said, “I understand there is legal risk. There is in everything we do. Just like the risk undocumented Angelenos take by going outside their homes every day.”
Landlords spoke forcefully against the proposed rules. They said limiting evictions would saddle property owners with the cost of supporting targeted immigrant households.
“This proposed ordinance is legalized theft and will cause financial devastation to small housing providers,” said Julie Markarian with the Apartment Owners Association of California.
Horvath’s proposal would have built on an existing protection for renters in unincorporated parts of L.A. County, such as East L.A., Altadena and City Terrace. Under the current rules, renters can fall behind by up to one month’s worth of “fair market rent” (an amount determined by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department) and still be legally protected from eviction.
Protections won’t go countywide
Last week, county leaders voted to explore increasing that threshold to two months. But Horvath wanted to go further by increasing the limit to three months and making it apply countywide, not just in unincorporated areas.
Tenant advocates said family breadwinners have been detained during federal immigration raids, and other immigrants are afraid to go to their workplaces, causing families to scramble to keep up with the region’s high rents.
“Immigrant tenants are experiencing a profound financial crisis,” said Rose Lenehan, an organizer with the L.A. Tenants Union. “This protection is the bare minimum that we need to keep people housed and keep people from having to choose whether to stay in this county with their families and with their communities or self deport or face homelessness.”
A report published this week by the L.A. Economic Development Corporation found that 82% of surveyed small business owners said they’d been negatively affected by federal immigration actions. About a quarter of those surveyed said they had temporarily closed their businesses because of community concerns.
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Destiny Torres
is LAist's general assignment and digital equity reporter.
Published February 10, 2026 4:18 PM
California officials estimate there are fewer than 50 Sierra Nevada red foxes.
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Courtesy California Department of Fish and Wildlife
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Topline:
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is now tracking the movements of a Sierra Nevada red fox — an endangered species — for the very first time after a decade of tracking efforts.
What we know: The fox was captured in January near Mammoth Lakes, according to the department’s announcement. Officials fitted the animal with a GPS-tracking collar before releasing it.
Why it matters: The Sierra Nevada red foxes are protected by the state as an endangered species. The tracking device will allow scientists to better understand the movements and needs of the red fox. This specific kind of red fox can only be found in parts of California and Oregon but is extremely rare and elusive, according to scientists.
How did the foxes become endangered? The reasons are mostly unknown, but it’s likely that unregulated hunting and trapping played a big role.
A decade-long effort: “This represents the culmination of 10 years of remote camera and scat surveys to determine the range of the fox in the southern Sierra, and three years of intensive trapping efforts,” CDFW Environmental Scientist Julia Lawson said in a statement. “Our goal is to use what we learn from this collared animal to work toward recovering the population in the long term.”
Frank Stoltze
is a veteran reporter who covers local politics and examines how democracy is and, at times, is not working.
Published February 10, 2026 4:01 PM
Los Angeles County Supervisor and Metro Board Member Holly Mitchell co-authored a proposal to place on the June ballot a measure that would increase the sales tax by a half-percent.
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Brian Feinzimer
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Topline:
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday placed on the June ballot a proposed temporary half cent sales tax increase to fund the county’s struggling health care system, which has been hit hard by federal funding cuts.
The details: If passed by voters, the half-cent sales tax increase would bring L.A. County’s tax rate to 10.25%. It is projected to raise one billion dollars annually over five years. The tax would expire in five years.
Potential cuts: County health officials testified that President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” will cut $2.4 billion from county health programs over three years, threatening closure of some of the county’s 24 clinics and an array of public health programs. Supervisor Holly Mitchell, who co-authored the proposal, said the county faced a “federally imposed crisis.”
Dissent: The vote was 4-1, with Supervisor Kathryn Barger the lone dissenter. Barger is the board’s sole Republican. She worried shoppers would go to Orange County, where the sales tax is 7.75%. She also said the state should take the lead on addressing federal funding cuts to county health care systems.
Testimony: More than 700 people showed up to testify for and against the proposal.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday placed on the June ballot a proposed temporary half-cent sales tax increase to fund the county’s struggling health care system, which has been hit hard by federal funding cuts.
If passed by voters, the increase would bring the county’s tax rate to 10.25%. It is projected to raise one billion dollars annually over five years.
The tax would expire in five years.
The background
County health officials said Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” will cut $2.4 billion from county health programs over three years, threatening closure of some of the county’s 24 clinics and an array of public health programs.
Supervisor Holly Mitchell, who co-authored the proposal, said the county faced a “federally imposed crisis” that in the absence of state action, could only be addressed by raising taxes on county residents.
“This motion gives the voters a choice, given the stark realities that our county is facing,” Mitchell said.
The vote was 4-1, with Supervisor Kathryn Barger the lone dissenter. Barger is the board’s sole Republican. She worried shoppers would go to Orange County, where the sales tax is 7.75%. She also said the state should take the lead on addressing federal funding cuts to county health care systems.
Public reaction
More than 700 people showed up Tuesday to speak out on the proposal. Health care providers pleaded with the board to place the measure on the ballot, saying federal funding cuts to Medi-Cal had hit them hard.
“This is a crisis,” said Louise McCarthy, president and CEO of the Community Clinic Association of L.A. County. “Medi-Cal accounts for over half of clinic funding. So these changes will lead to clinic closures, longer wait times, overcrowded E.R.’s and higher costs for the county.”
Others opposed any plan that would increase the sales tax.
“Our city is opposed to the adding of this regressive tax to overtaxed residents and making it even more difficult for cities, especially small cities, to pay for the increasing cost of basic resident services,” said Rolling Hills Mayor Bea Dieringer. “The county needs to tighten its belt further.”
Details on the proposed plan
Under the plan, up to 47% of revenue generated will be used by the Department of Health Services to fund nonprofit health care providers to furnish no-cost or reduced-cost care to low-income residents who do not have health insurance.
Twenty-two percent would provide financial support to the county’s Department of Health Services to safeguard its public hospital and clinic services. Ten percent would be allocated to the Department of Public Health to support core public health functions and the awarding of grants to support health equity.
The rest would be sprinkled across the health care system, including to support nonprofit safety net hospitals and for school-based health needs and programs.
A last-minute amendment by Supervisor Lindsey Horvath set aside 5% of funding for Planned Parenthood.
The spending would be monitored by a nine-member committee but ultimately would be up to the discretion of the Board of Supervisors.
