*Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and challenger Nithya Raman have until October 23 to tell Black community leaders what they will deliver if elected. The demand comes ahead of the November 3 election, with organizers promising to hold the winner accountable long after voters leave the polls.
The coalition isn’t endorsing either candidate. Instead, it wants written commitments that voters can examine before Election Day and community organizations can revisit throughout the next mayor’s term, The Wave reports.
Najee Ali of Los Angeles Metropolitan Churches explained the initiative’s motivation in an interview with the Los Angeles Wave Newspaper Group.
“The Black vote will no longer be taken for granted,” Ali said.
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The coalition’s eight-page proposal addresses 10 areas affecting Black residents, from housing and employment to public safety, education and neighborhood preservation. Organizers want candidates to identify funding sources, establish deadlines and explain how they will measure success.
The demands reflect concerns about economic inequality and access to city services. Black Angelenos make up 8% of the city’s population but account for about one-third of its unhoused residents, per The Wave.
The debate extends beyond homelessness. Cheryl Branch, CEO of Los Angeles Metropolitan Churches, highlighted obstacles facing Black cannabis entrepreneurs, including costly regulations and competition from unlicensed operators.
Meanwhile, Earl Ofari Hutchinson of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable has challenged City Hall over illegal dumping in South Los Angeles. His concerns underscore the coalition’s push for greater attention to everyday neighborhood conditions.
Organizers want more than campaign assurances. They’re asking each candidate to identify priorities for the first 100 days, the first year and the full four-year term, followed by annual evaluations.
Hutchinson made clear that political support could depend on those results.
“The price is no political support in the future,” he told The Wave.
The coalition plans to disclose which campaigns respond by October 23 and publish their answers before the election. Whoever wins will face the same expectation: demonstrate progress, not merely promise it.
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