With Los Angeles’ eyes on mayor-elect Nithya Raman, the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) has raised concerns regarding Karen Bass’s loss.
According to LAist, the union was one of the largest spenders for Bass’s campaign, spending $1.2 million on ads against Raman.
The LAPPL released a statement in light of the new mayor-elect.
“First, we congratulate Mayor-elect Nithya Raman on running a successful campaign,” the statement said. “We fully accept the results. She will now have the awesome responsibility of leading the 2nd largest city in the nation. All Angelenos have a vested interest in her success. That is why early this morning LAPPL President Ricky Mendoza reached out to Mayor-elect Raman to establish a dialogue and congratulate her.”
The statement also addressed concerns over possible changes to the LAPD under the new mayor.
“Los Angeles police officers and others are filled with uncertainty and angst at the prospect of major cuts to the LAPD that will reverse the progress made in reducing crime. Mayor-elect Raman said that she does not want staffing levels to decrease from current levels, we share that goal and are committed to ensuring enough officers remain to keep our residents, the Olympics, and our officers safe.”
Before the announcement of Raman’s official win, LAPD detective and union director Jamie McBride voiced his concerns about the potential new mayor.
“If Nithya Raman becomes the mayor, the city needs to prepare for Armageddon,” McBride said to NBC4. “She won’t have to defund the police; police officers will just leave the department.”
Raman has made it clear during the mayoral candidacy of her disapproval of LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell. Her main criticism of the LAPD is its response to federal immigration forces during President Donald Trump’s administration.
The accusation comes from a database investigation in June 2025 by anti-surveillance group Oakland Privacy that found evidence that Southern California departments, including the LAPD and other police and sheriff departments, shared vital information with ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents. Findings include police officers sharing license plate information from Flock Safety automated cameras. Under Senate Bill 34, sharing license plate readings with out-of-state entities is prohibited.
While speaking with ABC7 last week, McDonnell said that while cooperation between local and federal enforcement is necessary, he denied Raman’s claims.
“Not at all. In fact, we’re prohibited by state law in sharing information like that,” said McDonnell, regarding sharing license plate information with federal immigration enforcement.
Since then, the LAPD paused its contract with Flock Safety due to data security concerns, but under a recent contract with Axon Enterprise, the police department will once again be provided with this technology.
During the increase in ICE raids last year, McDonnell and the LAPD faced major backlash after a viral video shared in June 2025 displayed police officers blocking people from protecting a woman from being taken by masked ICE agents. The LAPD officers arrived at the scene after receiving a call from people saying a woman was being kidnapped by masked agents.
LAPD Media Relations later said in a statement, “The LAPD is not involved in civil immigration enforcement.”
McDonnell has also faced criticisms over alleged collaboration with immigration enforcement, according to Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez.
After Bass nominated him as the new LAPD chief in late 2024, Soto-Martinez said in a statement, “When Chief McDonnell was Los Angeles County Sheriff, he worked with ICE to deport undocumented Angelenos, and opposed a sanctuary policy at the state level.”
During the mayoral race, Bass said Raman’s plan to replace him would disrupt the LAPD if done before the 2028 Olympics.
“I think four years under Nithya Raman would present a tremendous amount of chaos,” Bass said. “It would be chaos from day one.”
Raman has not said whether she plans to replace the police chief before or after the Olympics.
The police are not the only ones grappling with the change in mayor.
All of Raman’s 14 co-workers on the L.A. City Council backed Bass for her re-election. Now, L.A. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez said she is setting aside “personal feelings.”
“Everyone is like, ‘How is it going to work?’ I just know how to show up and be me,” Rodriguez said, who represents the San Fernando Valley area.
“It’s my commitment and my responsibility to make sure that we are being thoughtful in the decisions that we are making, that we are making good fiscal decisions so I’m not here to do what is fun or popular, I’m here to do what’s right.”
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