LA City Clerk Approves Petition To Recall Councilwoman Nithya Raman
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — A petition for the recall of Councilwoman Nithya Raman has been approved for circulation, the Los Angeles Office of the City Clerk announced Friday.
Raman, who represents a number of central neighborhoods including Hollywood and Silver Lake, is facing the recall effort from constituents upset over her handling of the city's homelessness crisis.
Recall petitioners will have until Nov. 4 to collect signatures from at least 27,405 qualified registered voters — 15% of the districts' registered voters.
A similar effort against Councilman Mike Bonin, whose district includes Venice and other westside neighborhoods, requires at least 27,387 signatures.
Both council members have led the effort to replace the city's mandatory encampment cleanups with a more service-based approach. Back in April, they co-sponsored a motion to have the city develop a new method to replace the cleanups that passed unanimously.
Raman, who had been in office for only about six months, was served the recall notice last month. The effort is led by Los Feliz Ledger publisher Allison Cohen, who alleges that Raman has put her "personal homelessness ideology over constituent safety."
Raman responded to the effort last month in a statement that said:
"I love the people and the neighborhoods of this district. That's why I ran to represent it. I invite the organizers of this recall to work with me on making it an even better place to live, work and raise our children."
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)