Make California Post a Preferred Source Residents in LA Mayor-elect Nithya Raman’s own district are warning Angelenos about crime, homelessness and ignored pleas for help they say plagued their neighborhoods during her six years on the City Council.Susan Collins, a longtime Sherman Oaks resident, said she fled the neighborhood after 17 years because of rising crime and frustration with Raman’s policies while she was in control.
“I just couldn’t take the stress anymore, so I moved to get away from her policies,” Collins told the California Post.
She described burglars kicking down neighbors’ front doors, sometimes while families were still inside.
Another resident now keeps her nonprofit thrift store locked behind security barriers following repeated threats and break-ins.
Their warnings come as Raman prepares to take over as mayor despite early election returns showing her trailing outgoing Mayor Karen Bass by nearly five percentage points in the very City Council district she represents.
Citywide, Raman has secured a decisive lead with 608,897 votes, or 54.8%, compared with Bass’s 502,000 votes, or 45.2%, according to Tuesday’s unofficial results.
But in Raman’s Council District 4, which includes Sherman Oaks and other San Fernando Valley neighborhoods, an analysis of Nov. 4 precinct results showed Bass leading 52.4% to 47.6%.
The nearly five-point deficit could change as outstanding ballots are counted. The county has not disclosed how many remaining ballots belong to Raman’s district.
Residents who have spent years dealing with Raman’s office told The Post they wouldn’t be surprised if she lost her own district once all votes are finished being counted.
“Not at all,” Rene Ruston responded when asked whether Raman’s showing surprised her.
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“Because she’s done absolutely nothing to help us, to help our small businesses, to help our neighborhoods,” she said.
Ruston operates START Rescue Resale, a nonprofit thrift store in Sherman Oaks that raises money for animal rescue.
She told The Post that when she first opened her store, she kept the front door wide open and displayed clothing racks outside while also helping homeless residents with clothing, pet supplies and access to services.
Now, she said, conditions have deteriorated so badly that she has installed an electric buzzer to control entry, reinforced her storefront and repeatedly paid to clean up trash.
“Business is dead. It’s dead,” Ruston said. “I do better on eBay than I do here in the store.”
Ruston said she repeatedly sought help from Raman’s office but got nowhere.
“I have pages and pages of texts from Nithya’s office politely blowing me off,” she said.
Collins described similar frustrations, saying repeated burglaries and deteriorating neighborhood conditions drove her out of Sherman Oaks.
In one case, she said she contacted Raman’s field deputy twice a month for roughly 18 months about a sprawling homeless encampment behind a Gelson’s supermarket.
“Nothing ever happened,” Collins said.
Collins also pointed to RVs and homeless encampments outside a senior center in Raman’s district, where she said residents have repeatedly raised concerns about conditions.
When The Post visited the area with Collins, an RV was parked across the street with a television blaring, while several other homeless were seen living in vehicles or camping in the nearby parking lot.
“She has known for a very long time that Sherman Oaks and Encino have been dissatisfied with her,” Collins added.
“The last six years have just shown us that she’s not capable of even running her own district. How’s she gonna run this city, one of the biggest metropolitan cities in the country?” Leanne Deutch, another CD4 resident, told The Post.
Deutch said she hopes what comes of this is the frustration is already fueling talk about who should replace Raman on the City Council.
“I want to launch an effort to bring back former Councilman David Ryu. He was a better councilperson who at least listened to us.”
Ana Teresa Dahan, executive director of Thrive LA, a group critical of Raman’s record, also expressed little surprise at the early district results.
“I think the vote reflects less on some kind of ideological swing in Los Angeles, and more on a dissatisfaction of the state of things,” Dahan told The Post.
Dahan said Raman successfully positioned herself as a candidate for change despite serving on the City Council longer than Bass has occupied the mayor’s office.
“Raman campaigned on improving homelessness services, public safety and basic city operations, promising a new direction for Los Angeles.”
But Dahan said those promises will face immediate scrutiny from critics who believe Raman failed to deliver for her own constituents.
She told The Post that Thrive LA is developing a tracker to monitor the incoming mayor’s campaign commitments.
“We’re not gonna wait four years to hold Nithya Raman accountable, like we’re starting now,” Dahan said.
As of Wednesday, Los Angeles County had counted more than 3.15 million ballots, with approximately 37,500 awaiting processing. The next update is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 13, and officials have until Dec. 3 to certify the results.
The Post reached out to Raman for comment; she takes office Dec. 14.
