Make California Post a Preferred Source After the campaign slugfest comes the post-election love-in.
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell and Mayor-elect Nithya Raman are putting their bitter election feud behind them, even arranging an afternoon ”get to know each other” session on Thursday.
McDonnell confirmed to the California Post that the pair were already in regular contact about police operations, just weeks after Raman appeared in a campaign video branding the chief and cops generally as ”fascist liars.”
The controversial video, filmed with lefty influencer Ed Choi, featured images of McDonnell and outgoing Mayor Karen Bass alongside the slogan ”Only you can stop fascist liars.”
Raman later denied calling either of them fascist liars.
But since unseating Bass earlier this month, the 45-year-old city councilwoman and Los Angeles’ first Democratic Socialists of America-backed mayor-elect has softened her stance, signaling McDonnell may yet keep his job.
And the chief, speaking ahead of Thursday’s meeting, insisted he would not be ”begging for his job.”
”I’m a fairly known quantity to the mayor-elect,” said McDonnell, 67, who joined the LAPD in 1981, the same year Raman was born.
”So it’s not going to be a job interview, as much as it is: “Where are we in alignment? What can we do to be able to come into further alignment?”‘
”Our role (the police) is to be able to help familiarize the mayor-elect with what we’re currently doing.”
McDonnell said the two had already spoken repeatedly about emergencies facing the city, describing their conversations as ”very strong and positive.”
”I’m very encouraged by that,” he added.
McDonnell said he hopes to keep his job and sees reason for optimism in his dealings with Raman, who has repeatedly dodged questions about whether she still plans to fire McDonnell or to say who might replace him.
“As far as being able to tout the work of the men and women of the Los Angeles Police Department, I look at our numbers, the metrics that you generally judge a police department by,” McDonnell said.
“Crime is down this year, 9.2%. Homicides are down 10.3% after last year, bringing them down to the lowest level since 1966.”
The apparent cooperation between the pair is a remarkable turnaround from the bitter campaign, when Raman accused McDonnell of having ”lost the trust of our immigrant community here in LA” over his handling of federal immigration raids and protests.
She also accused the LAPD of secretively sharing sensitive information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, potentially putting undocumented immigrants at risk.
”There have been reports, credible reports, that LAPD has actually shared information with ICE, including information from our fingerprint databases and through Flock cameras,” she claimed.
McDonnell has flatly rejected the accusations, insisting the department is barred by state and city laws from assisting federal immigration enforcement.
The chief also fired back at Raman’s criticism of the LAPD’s handling of last year’s violent anti-ICE protests, contrasting his presence on the streets with the conduct of his critics.
”I was out there,” McDonnell told the Post, in a pointed response to Raman, who was criticized for attending a happy hour gathering during the unrest.
”I don’t know that people who are criticizing us were anywhere near there.”
”It’s ugly,” he said of the attacks. ”Some people take it to an extreme and do things they can’t take back later.”
But the hostility appears to have cooled since Raman’s election victory.
Last week, she said McDonnell was among the first people she called after winning ”because public safety is the most important service that the city is delivering to its people.”
The mayor-elect has nevertheless promised a sweeping overhaul of policing, with her first 100-day public safety plan calling for more 911 operators, expanded unarmed crisis response teams and an audit of LAPD compliance with the city’s sanctuary law.
McDonnell, meanwhile, has stressed the importance of stable leadership as crime levels continue to fall and Los Angeles prepares for major events, including the 2027 Super Bowl in nearby Inglewood and the 2028 Olympics.
And even if their newfound friendship sours, Raman cannot simply fire him.
Under the city charter, the five-member Board of Police Commissioners can remove McDonnell before his term expires, subject to review procedures involving the mayor and City Council.
The City Council can also oust him directly, but only with a two-thirds vote to begin removal proceedings and another two-thirds vote following a public hearing.
