Feisty Mayor Bass/Nithya Raman Debate (08/20)

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The California Post. What did I say? I'm sorry, California Post. Yes, Joel Pollock, the California Post. You watched this thing. You got on the pirated feed from India, or you just got in early on Zoom? I was in early on Zoom. I was doing my job. Get there early. First rule of politics, be present. I saw your review today. Talk about what you saw. It was possibly the worst debate in the history of the city of Los Angeles. It was really just terrible. You know, they couldn't get to a point. They were taking pot shots at each other the entire time. And they really didn't outline any new plans, new visions. They didn't inspire anybody. It was really two candidates trying to lose the election. Two candidates, really nobody wants unless you have a vested interest like the city unions do, or you're a DSA member. I mean, I don't know anybody who even wants to talk about this thing. Well, I think you can say fast one because in a race where you're trying to unseat an incumbent, the challenger has to look like he or she is. much better than the incumbent. Because the incumbency comes with a kind of weight of its own. So Bass, in a way, held off the challenge. She also got some really good zingers off. And Rahman was really terrible at responding. I mean, Bass pointed out that Rahman had missed thousands of city council votes. And instead of changing the subject or pushing back, Rahman said, yeah, but I was doing other stuff. She literally missed thousands? Is that true or is that just hyperbole? Well, it's true, according to Nica Rahman. I mean, she didn't dispute it. She just said, yeah, but, you know, I was doing all this stuff that you told me to do outside of the city council. So, you know, what are you complaining about? Karen Bass is a target-rich environment, obviously. Raman has a lot to work with. Pratt showed that. What did she do to go after Bass? Or was she incapable? You know, it's actually a good point. You know, she's had so many failures, starting with the Palisades Fire, which was not mentioned at all. Really? Not once. Wow. But she did land a jab or two around the fact that Niki Rahman's close advisors are also doing PR work for lineage, the company that was involved in the Boyle Heights Fire. So that looked bad for Bass, and she had to admit it looked bad. But that's about as far as it went. I mean, there was very little that Rahman did to damage Bass. It's just that, you know, the overwhelming issue is homelessness, and the two of them have the top two key roles in homeless policy, because Nithio is in charge, was in charge of though. homeless committee uh and and so i mean they're both massive failures here right how did how did each one of them uh handle that very poorly and in fact at one point the moderator said you know the problem is nobody in this room trusts you both of you either of you i mean it was it was kind of a low point in the debate but it would have been funny if it weren't so serious because how often have you seen a debate where a moderator looks at all the candidates and says you know you're all terrible

That's Phil Schumann. Yeah, we're going to have Phil on later. It sounds dreadful. I'm kind of glad I wasn't able to access the video. 90 minutes of this. I've got to give you credit for sticking this out. I know. I'll never get those 90 minutes back. I know. I mean, was there anything you wanted to hear addressed and they just never got around to it or they glazed over it? I mean, was there anything? The Palisades, fire. You know, no mention of the fire. That's obviously a big issue to me. Yes. Since I'm from Pacific Palisades. And just no new ideas at all. I mean, nothing. Nothing about the Olympics, really. Nothing about what the next four years are going to look like. Just nothing. It was, it was. It was just terrible, absolutely terrible. What about the lack of police we have in the city? We're way under. And, you know, we have half a fire department still. Right. So they did bring up the police. They couldn't decide who was to blame for that. They just blamed each other. And, you know, if I had to fact check that, I'd probably say that was correct. They are each to blame. Because Bass has failed to hire police and Rahman failed to vote for the police budget. So, you know, plenty of blame to go around. Rahman came up with all kinds of excuses why she hadn't voted for the budget. It looked pretty bad. And to the room, the members of the homeowners association, was actually a pretty big issue. They raised it multiple times. They talked about public safety. A lot of them work from home in Sherman Oaks and concerns. They don't feel safe in their own homes. So it did come up, and neither candidate really seemed to assuade the other concerns. Does anyone believe that Rahman's homeless numbers actually went down 49 percent? They did. And that's because there were some, if you recall a few years ago, some very, very prominent encampments like Echo Park or Echo Lake, whatever it is. It's a huge issue there. In fact, Raman faced a recall effort when. She was stalling the removal of those encampments. So she did see a lot of those numbers. Oh, that's right. Her district goes into Echo Park, right? Right. Oh, yeah. And they did clean that up against her. Right. Against her will. Exactly. Oh, and now she's claiming credit for the job. Right, right. But she started with a huge number.

I guess we finally lost the connection there. All right. Well, listen. Hey, Joel Pollack, we're coming to the end anyway. Joel, I've got to go. There was not one moment where someone convincingly said, here's what I'm going to be doing for Los Angeles in the next four years. Here's what LA is going to be like by 2030. Not one. Not one moment. Wow. That's terrible. Joel, thank you. I'm sorry you had to sit through it, but thank you for coming on and talking to us about it. Joel Pollack. I just say, it really... Yeah, we got a bad phone line now. Joel Pollock from the California Post, and you could read, he's wrote in an entertaining column, if you're into dark humor. Karen Bass, Nithya Raman improved. They're both awful at L.A.'s mayoral debate. We are going to play some clips from this awful debate. How's that for a tease, huh? That's next. Discover a spectacular island destination with crystal blue seas, endless sunshine, and the cool Bahamian breeze. Bahamara, located in Nassau, Bahamas, offers your choice of three luxury hotels, the richly refined Rosewood, the playfully hip SLS, and the stylishly modern Grand Hyatt. With over 45 restaurants, bars, and lounges, Bahamas serves up delicious dining from world-renowned chefs like Daniel Ballude and Marcus Samuelson, nightlife venues like the new John Batiste Jazz Club, and the Caribbean's most luxurious casino. At Bahamar, you'll find every pleasure under the sun and one-of-a-kind experiences for the entire family, like Baja Bay, our 15-acre lush tropical water park. interactive wildlife experiences, including our daily flamingo parade, world-class golf, tennis, spa, and so much more. Visit bahamar.com today and discover a vacation destination where memories are made for a lifetime. Bahamara, life spectacular. You're listening to John Cobalt, on demand, from KFI, AM 640.

KFI AM 640, more stimulating talk radio, the John Cobalt Show. And Moist Light is 877 Moist 86, 877 Moist 86, so use the talkback feature on the iHeart radio app. Joey Tuchio, who's the animal activist on Skid Row, and he's getting absolutely zero attention from bass and ramen as the dogs every day keep being murdered and tortured and experimented on. He posted today, actually last night, I just left the debate between Karen and Nithya Raman. At the end, I talked to Karen's chief of staff who said, Karen has not met with us because we are, quote, haters and aggressive. Meanwhile, we're rescuing starving dogs off the streets. I didn't think that saving lives was aggressive, but they're going to see a lot more aggression coming up. And yes, the conversation was recorded and I will be posting. That'll be good. So we will be monitoring the social media platforms. The guy is doing the most wonderful thing in the world. We've had them on many times.

All right, back to what this mess was. Like I said, I couldn't see it. It was only open to 100 people. Then the cheap Zoom account they had at the Sherman Homeowners Association, I guess, got filled up. But somebody in India, probably boosting Nithya Raman, right? She would be India's pride and joy. They pirated the meeting and put it out. And we have some segments. So we're going to start with... Cut number one. They're talking about the entertainment industry here. And Bass goes after ramen for missing thousands. of city council votes. Play this. She's going to be the strongest and loudest advocate for something that you have been on the city council for six years. You've been a city hall twice as long as I have. I realize you want to pitch yourself as somebody from the outside. But where were you? You introduced no motions for the entertainment industry. I was in Sacramento advocating. As a matter of fact, I did the first tax credit when I was Speaker of the House. You were nowhere, even when it came time. to vote for the entertainment industry you walked on votes as a matter of fact I believe you have missed several thousand votes because you don't show up to work

I'm sorry. I have to be able to respond to that. I mean, this mayor, I think she knows. Have you missed several thousand votes? Yeah, I mean, we all miss. We all miss. We all miss. We all miss. Stop, stop. Yeah. Several thousand. Several thousand votes. I was Phil Schumann breaking it. All right, back it up just a little bit. I want to hear that whole thing. I didn't expect that. Have you missed several thousand votes? Yeah. I mean, we all miss. Yeah. We all miss days of, we all miss, we all miss days of counsel. We all miss days of counsel. But she knows as well as I do that I have had regular absences because I've been appointed to external boards that lead me to miss regular council meetings because. These bodies that I've been appointed to by the previous mayor, by this mayor, sometimes conflict with our council days. I've also had some absences to take care of my kids or when I get sick, but nothing. She has the second worst attendance record. If you've been to a city council meeting, we can skip something. Other council members have outside appointments too. You are not the only one, but they find their way to work. All right, let's. Well, look. All right, in the next round. I do just want to say if I was such a poor worker. Why did you appoint me to all of these external boards? Why was I the city's voice on these entities? Well, you know what? We really need to look at that. Why was I the Housing and Homeless Committee for so long? I was doing a... Are you getting ready to resign? I said, are you getting ready to resign? We're going to move on. We're going to move on. The next round of... No, actually, don't. Let it go on the whole hour. That's just great. All right. We've got quite a few more that we'll play in the next segment. Karen Bass, really sticking it to Nithya Raman wrong. How is it possible to miss thousands of votes? That's not mathematically possible. And her only defense is, yeah. Oh, man, we are doomed. You're listening to John Cobalt on demand from KFI AM 640. KFI AM 640. Live everywhere on the IHeart Radio app, the John Cobalt show, Ron, from 3 to 6, whatever you missed. You go to the podcast, John Cobalt Show on demand on the IHeart app. And that's shortly after 6 o'clock that gets released. We are live on X, live on YouTube, subscribe and become a member on YouTube. All right, we're playing clips from, boy, this is really a farce now. This mayor's race is an absolute joke. Karen Bass, Nithya Raman, mixed it up in Sherman Oaks. A hundred people on Zoom got to watch. Others watched if they pirated a rebroadcast from India. Now, I just want to play that last little clip again when Bass goes after Ramen for her attendance record.

Have you missed several thousand votes? Yeah. I mean, we all miss. Yeah. We all miss. We all miss. We all miss. We all miss. Have you missed several thousand votes? Yeah. And Bass leveled the charge moment before that. And what she should have done if she had presence of mind, if she had a mind is say, yeah, and you were in Africa when the fire broke out. It's bizarre that the fire did not come up. It was only 19 months ago. It was in the news again this week because Caruso opened at Palisades Village and the arsonist who started it was charged again today. It went to court, didn't he? But now charging him with the first fire, which led to the second fire. None of that got discussed. All right, let's got a cut two here. This is about the 4118 zones. 4118 is the ordinance that allows city council members to issue restrictions in certain geographical areas against homeless setting up encampments. in front of schools, parks, state care centers, and the like. This is Schumann asking about Rahman about the 41-18 zones that are now being removed. The restrictions being removed in Hollywood. Under what scenario, is it not safer for our children for ourselves to move? crazed drug addicts in away from school in a scenario where they're not on the street at all and that's the solution that i've been pushing for this particular resolution right at its most effective uses scarcity resources to move an encampment 500 feet down the block i think we can do better we can use our scarce city resources to actually end homelessness we can end street homelessness in my district last year We reduced street homelessness by 49% over the past few years that I've been in office. We've reduced tents, RVs, and encampments in our district by 70%. This is possible to do, but we have to have a bigger imagination than thinking that the best that we can do in Los Angeles is to think about which block an encampment should be on. We should be removing encampments from our streets completely. We have every tool and every dollar we need to do that. Where did the 49% go? specific they go into shelter they go into we have we have sorry this is my time yeah literally yes you got to let me answer Karen Bass um we have four shelters across the district and we put people in there inside safe has come into our district at because we've begged for it we have begged for it and we have brought people into there we've brought people into permanent supportive housing time limited subsidies We've applied for multiple grants and gotten it from the state government. So you challenge the 49% figure. No, I don't challenge the 49%. The question is, who did it? The 49% was done by Insights safe. No, no, no, no, no, sorry. She had encampments off of the 405 freeway that we removed. We had encampment on the, wait a minute, now it's my turn. But you were interrupting me the whole time, Karen Bass. The one on one, 101 freeway was removed by Insights safe. We've had you.

You have had encampments, you also have no problem with encampments being in front of schools. Absolutely. We don't have any encampments near schools in our district. Well, you don't have encampments near... Hello? Hello? Raman had just said that Inside Safe was responsible. And then... She said it wasn't responsible. And then she said she begged for it. Well, which is it? Was it passes inside safe program that cleared out the homeless or was it you? And what Joel Pollack from the California Post said is that Rahman's district spills over into Echo Park. So when they cleaned up Echo Park Lake, that was a lot of homeless people. that she got credit for because Bass used her inside safe program there. And what she did is she completely deflected. The question was, how do you make a neighborhood safe for children when you don't have the restrictions of 4118 in front of the schools and parks? And she says, well, we can do better than that. Of course you can do better than that. But you got to do that first. First thing you got to do is make the schools and the park safe at 500 feet. Yeah, that's not enough. It should be more. So do that. So get rid of them completely. But never, ever, ever do you have, do people understand how bad these homeless people are? How violent they can be. How drugged up and crazy. How many of them are criminals? How many of them were child molesters, sex molesters? Do you have any idea what's going on? We shouldn't use the scarce resources. Yes, we should. That's what the resources are there for to get the homeless people away from the schools and the parks. First thing. Second thing is get rid of them entirely.

All right, now here's a clip about ramen and bass about those illegal street vendors that ruin legal businesses. Shouldn't LA County require street vendors to meet the same health and safety standards as brick and mortar restaurants? Great. So I really, really value our restaurant community. I love going out to eat. My family loves going out to eat. The food of Los Angeles is incredibly important. Street vendors in Los Angeles are a vibrant part of our community as well. And if regulated appropriately with health and safety standards, if we can go out there and make sure that vendors are operating safely clean. Stop, stop, stop. But they're not. They're not. And they don't pay any of the permit fees. They don't pay the taxes. They don't pay for the system. Legal restaurants have to pay all kinds of fees and taxes to the city, and it funds the system to make sure that they're serving clean food. The vendors are not held to any standard, and they're not paying for anything. Is she stupid? Ramen is really stupid. She got into MIT? That must have been DEI day, huh? Wow. She sounds like an MIT graduate? I want to go back to that one, but we've got to take a break. Discover a spectacular island destination with crystal blue seas, endless sunshine, and the cool Bahamian breeze. Bahamara, located in Nassau, Bahamas, offers your choice of three luxury hotels, the richly refined Rosewood, the playfully hip SLS, and the stylishly modern Grand Hyatt. With over 45 restaurants, bars, and lounges, Bahamas serves up delicious dining from world-renowned chefs like Daniel Ballude and Marcus Samuelson, nightlife venues like the new John Batiste Jazz Club, and the Caribbean's most luxurious casino. At Bahamar, you'll find every pleasure under the sun and one-of-a-kind experiences for the entire family, like Baja Bay, our 15-acre lush tropical water park. interactive wildlife experiences, including our daily flamingo parade, world-class golf, tennis, spa, and so much more. Visit bahamara.com today and discover a vacation destination where memories are made for a lifetime. Bahamara, life spectacular. You're listening to John Cobalt on demand from KFI AM 640.

AM 640 live everywhere on the art radio app. It's the John Cobalt show. And we're on from 3 to 6. But we have an honor for. I lost my sheets here. Royal Oaks. Royal Oaks. That's right. There's two Trump cases coming up at the Supreme Court. There seems to be a couple every week. And one is about Trump has an executive order for Homeland Security to compile a national citizenship list, send it to the states, and then states have to build and share eligible voter lists. And then that stupid ballroom story doesn't go away. The Supreme Court might set... step in because a lower court has stopped the construction. All right, warloaks coming up. We were in the middle of playing ramen and bass yelling at each other last night. Man, they were squealing. We're in the middle of illegal street vendors. Illegal street vendors. Okay? Don't pay any taxes. Don't pay any permit fees. Don't have to abide by any health codes. This is actually a debate. Let's pick it up. And with a license, the city has a licensing program that makes sure that vendors are not blocking sidewalks, that they're not in high-fire risk areas. I believe the two can coexist in L.A. and actually make this city better. Different people go to different places to eat. The market is segmented by customers. People want to go out. Her question is that they're not being regulated. They're not. There is regulation. We need to do that regulation appropriately. And I think that gets out, gets to the question of departmental efficacy. The mayor manages departments. I'm running because I want to make sure our departments are doing their jobs. The mayor is the CEO of the city. and the city needs to function for everyone, including for vendors and for restaurants. There's actually no one out there regulating them. I'm happy to answer that. Yeah. I do not think that you should have a food vendor in front of a restaurant, period. Well, they're all over the place. I also think that we can do better by our street vendors, and I know that there is a pilot program right now. I would like to see street vendors move into brick and mortar facilities so they can be restaurants. I would like to see them. Wait, wait, stop, stop. But it doesn't work that way. They don't have any money. It costs a lot of money.

To move you to a brick and mortar restaurant. I would like to see them. Yes. Everybody would like to see them, and they should have to pay the taxes, and they should have to pay the rent or the mortgage. But they don't. They just show up illegally coming over the border, and they set up, you know, some kind of taco stand, and you don't know where that meat's been. You don't know how it's being refrigerated. You don't know what kind of hygiene procedures they have. That's why you don't just let anybody set up a restaurant on the sidewalk. They're not even supposed to be in the country, and they get to set up a business, and then the guy who came here legally, who pays the taxes, pays the permits, pays the rent, pays the mortgage, pays for the equipment, and he's undercut. Oh, the prices are much cheaper. Well, of course they're much cheaper. Because the guy with the card, all he has to pay for is the food ingredients. And they don't enforce the law. And there's nobody going around putting these vendors out of business. And they should be out of business. If you can't afford to set up the business, you don't get a business. Too bad. Go back to your native country. Come here legally and get some financing. Save some money. It's not easy. It's real hard. But all the people who have restaurants have done it. All right. Let's play. Let's see. This is, uh, uh, how is this about Casa Vega? That's in Sherman Oaks, right? About how Bass had to help the owner with permit problems and some dispute over string lights on Ventura Boulevard. Let's see what this is. Christy Vega of Casa Vega contacted your office several times regarding permits needed to open her new restaurant patio. After being unable to get the issue resolved, she reached out to Karen Bass, whose office was able to help get the matter cleared immediately.

I would also request that we ask some other business owners whether I've been a good partner to them. Because I have Ventura Place businesses where we installed string lights. I just think that, you know, we have been a good partner to businesses here. Wait, wait, stop, stop. We hung up a string of lights. Woo-hoo! There's constituent services. Well, Leah, like Christmas lights, right? Yeah, I hang up string lights every year, too. Wow. Play some more. That, you know, we have been a good partner to businesses here. We've been a strong partner to businesses here. We've addressed homelessness along Ventura Boulevard. We've shown up for our business community, not just in Sherman Oaks, but across the entire district. And we've really, really made a big effort to make sure that businesses who are dealing with bureaucracy that they did not deserve. actually got the responses that they need from the city. And that urgency is felt by every single staff member in my office. Do you want a rebuttal? Let me just say that for the last four years, let me reintroduce myself. I'm your mayor, but I've also been your council member. You called on me four years ago, and you asked me to come here and to help you because your council member was unresponsive. She's talking to crowd. I called you, councilwoman, and I told you that your constituents were calling on me to come out here. You said go right ahead because you didn't particularly want to deal with them. And for the last four years, I have been serving when you have called on me, there are many people here. who have my cell phone. You have called on me when there were problems with your businesses. You have called on me to clear the Supovita Basin. You have called on me when there were encampments. You have called on me any number of times because you were not able to get a response from the councilwoman. You said that no one answers her phones. You said that no one calls back. Listen, I'm just telling you what your constituents have said to me. From everything I've monitored over the years, Bass is telling the truth. Rahman has one of the worst records in responding when constituents call for help. Does not respond to phone calls, emails, in-person requests, nothing. The staff is cold, arrogant, and dismissive. I have heard and read that many, many times. You go online, and there's plenty of testimony to that. All right, when we come back, Royal Oaks on two Supreme Court cases involving Trump, Deborah Mark, live in the KFI 24-hour newsroom.

You've been listening to the John Cobalt Show podcast. You can always hear the show live on KFI AM 640 from 3 to 6 p.m. every Monday through Friday. And of course, anytime on demand on the IHeart Radio app. KFI AM 64. More stimulating talk. Discover a spectacular island destination with crystal blue seas, endless sunshine, and the cool Bahamian breeze. Bahamara, located in Nassau, Bahamas offers your choice of three luxury hotels. Over 45 fine dining and nightlife venues, John Batiste's all-new jazz club, the Caribbean's most luxurious casino, and one-of-a-kind experiences for the entire family, like our 15-acre tropical water park, wildlife sanctuary, world-class golf course, and so much more. Visit Bahamar.com. today.