Organizers on Monday canceled a televised forum for Los Angeles mayoral candidates after City Councilwoman Nitya Raman dropped out, meaning all three leading candidates will not attend.
Mayor Karen Bass originally committed to the platform, but dropped out last week, saying she would travel to Sacramento to lobby state officials for funding on a variety of issues, including homelessness and Palisades fire relief. Raman then canceled his campaign on Monday, stating that his main reason for attending the forum was to debate the BAS.
“We are disappointed that Mayor Bass canceled her participation in the debate. We welcome opportunities to debate all candidates in the future,” said Raman campaign spokesman Jeff Millman.
The third leading candidate, former reality TV star Spencer Pratt, had previously declined an invitation to appear, citing scheduling conflicts. That would leave only two candidates, community activist Rae Huang and tech entrepreneur Adam Miller.
“With only two candidates remaining, the event partners have agreed not to move forward,” said an email sent Monday by the Pat Brown Institute of Public Affairs at Cal State Los Angeles, which was co-sponsoring the event with the League of Women Voters. The debate was scheduled to air on Fox 11.
Wednesday’s forum was expected to be the last forum to feature the leading candidates for mayor before the June 2 primary.
Raman and Bais spent two nights last week arguing with each other. First they went against each other Tuesday in front of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association.
They engaged again the next evening in a debate broadcast by NBC at the Skirball Cultural Center, this time joined by Pratt.
