Los Angeles mayoral candidate and City Councilmember Nithya Raman called herself both a capitalist and a democratic socialist in a new interview that aired Friday, as she continued her campaign little more than a week before Angelenos pick their next mayor.
“I think democratic socialism is a big tent,” Raman told CNN’s Elex Michaelson. “The (Democratic Socialists of America) is a big tent organization, and I’m part of that tent. I think a lot of Angelenos are in that tent with me.”
She said in the interview with Michaelson she does not support abolishing the police, prisons or the U.S. Senate.
“I want the city to work and when the government is doing its job it needs to work really effectively, and we need to make sure capitalism works without harm to workers, without worker exploitation, without exploitation of poor people,” Raman said.
NEW: Who is an example of a police chief that Nithya Raman really respects or admires?
“I don’t know…I don’t know.”
Raman is now apologizing for her recent debate remarks that LAPD Chief Daryl Gates was a “gold standard” for his handling of immigration. Critics accuse Gates of racist policies.
“It was a mistake to reference his name at all. I was trying to make a point and I fumbled that point. That point was not to praise Daryl Gates in any shape or form. I sincerely apologize for mentioning his name. I know it causes real pain for so many people across Los Angeles and I shouldn’t have said it.”
Raman has said she wants to dismiss current LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell but has not floated any names of potential replacements.
We’ll have a lot more with Raman coming soon on @CNNTheStoryIs
— Elex Michaelson (@Elex_Michaelson) October 21, 2026
Raman’s statements stand in clear contradiction to the DSA platform. The group noted on its website that it advocates for replacing capitalism with democratic socialism, saying “capitalism is a system designed by the owning class to exploit the rest of us for their own profit.”
The DSA also pushes for defunding the police and “freedom for all incarcerated people,” a position that critics say amounts to prison abolition.
She also could not name a police chief that she respects or admires when asked by Michaelson.
“Oh, I don’t, I don’t know, um, I don’t know, um,” Raman said, appearing to struggle with the question.
The interviewed came to light as Raman has been doing damage control for the comments she made during the October mayoral debate hosted by NBC4 and Telemundo 52 debate. During the event, Raman referenced former Los Angeles Police Department Chief Daryl Gates, calling him “the gold standard in terms of non-cooperation with immigration enforcement.”
Gates, who died in 2010, was chief of police for 14 years under then-Mayor Tom Bradley, the city’s first Black mayor and a former police officer. The two often clashed, and Gates was widely criticized in many Black neighborhoods when the department was often viewed as an occupational force.
After the debate, incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, Raman’s opponent in the race, rallied Black community leaders who demanded an apology in South Los Angeles.
“Darryl Gates inflicted serious harm to the African American community,” Bass said, later adding, “My opponent is not really familiar with LA, especially the Black community. She doesn’t know us.”
At first, Raman said Bass was “trying to twist” her words, but she has since appeared to adopt a more conciliatory tone — first in a private call to the Watts Gang Task Force and then during an interview with radio personality Yesi Ortiz that appeared on Ortiz’s Instagram account Tuesday.
Recent polls suggested Raman is holding a lead over Bass in the race. The September poll by Berkeley IGS/LA Times showed Raman, who placed second to Bass in the June primary, was favored by 39% of likely Los Angeles voters with Bass at 28%.
The poll found that 33% of voters remain undecided ahead of the Nov. 3 general election, which will include races for Congress, several ballot measures, and local, county and state office contests.