Los Angeles mayoral candidate Nithya Raman is facing a wave of online mockery after touting the completion of a crosswalk as a major infrastructure achievement—while the cracked street beneath it remained visibly unrepaired.
Raman, a progressive member of the Los Angeles City Council representing District 4, announced the project Wednesday in a post on X, thanking her field team for delivering the crosswalk at the intersection of Sunset Drive and Bates Street in the Los Feliz neighborhood.
“The Los Feliz Neighborhood Council alerted our office in late 2025 to the need for a crosswalk at Sunset Dr. and Bates St., which has just been completed,” Raman wrote. “Thank you to our incredible CD4 Field Team for continuing to problem-solve, push for solutions, and make our streets safer.”
The post included a graphic labeled “Street Infrastructure” showing before-and-after photos of the intersection. While yellow crosswalk stripes had been added, large cracks running through the pavement were still clearly visible in both images.
Raman did not specify exactly when in late 2025 her office received the request, leaving the precise timeline unclear. She also did not identify which city agency installed the crosswalk.
The announcement quickly drew ridicule from critics, including Spencer Pratt, the former reality television star who finished third behind Raman in the June mayoral primary.
“Nithya Raman’s big accomplishment is taking 9 months to paint 7 yellow stripes over a cracked street? How dumb do you have to be to post this?” Pratt wrote in response to Raman’s post.
Ben Shapiro, editor emeritus of The Daily Wire, also weighed in, calling the post “beyond parody.”
“Eight months to paint some yellow lines. Huge infrastructure victory! Make her mayor!” Shapiro quipped.
Raman’s post did not explain why the pavement cracks were left unaddressed, nor whether any additional repairs were planned for the intersection. The graphic itself highlighted the crosswalk as the sole infrastructure improvement.
The criticism comes as Raman campaigns in the November runoff against incumbent Democratic Mayor Karen Bass. Raman advanced to the general election after a dramatic primary night in June, when Pratt initially held second place as early results came in. As mail-in ballots were counted in the days that followed, Raman overtook him and secured the runoff spot.
Pratt, best known for his role on “The Hills,” had run a self-funded campaign that gained traction with voters frustrated with city services. His third-place finish, while not enough to advance, positioned him as a vocal critic of the city’s political establishment—and he has continued to needle Raman from the sidelines.
Raman has represented Council District 4 since December 2020, winning a second term in 2024. She has built her political brand around progressive priorities including rent control, climate initiatives, and alternatives to traditional law enforcement responses. She also supported expanding sanctuary-city policies.
But the crosswalk post has given her opponents ammunition on a pocketbook issue that resonates across the city’s electorate: basic street maintenance. Los Angeles has long struggled with deteriorating roads, and the visible cracks in Raman’s own photographs undercut her message of delivering tangible results for residents.
The intersection in question sits in a well-trafficked area of Los Feliz, a neighborhood known for its walkability and active community councils. The Los Feliz Neighborhood Council had flagged the need for a crosswalk in late 2025, according to Raman’s post, but the city’s response time—and the incomplete nature of the work—has become the focus of the backlash.
Online reaction ranged from sarcastic praise (“Great job, very efficient city government”) to sharp criticism of Raman’s judgment in sharing the photos. Several users pointed out that painting stripes over cracked asphalt does not address the underlying safety hazards posed by uneven pavement, particularly for pedestrians with mobility issues.
Raman’s campaign did not immediately respond to requests for additional comment on the timeline or the pavement condition.
The episode highlights the challenges facing Raman as she tries to unseat Bass, who has faced her own criticism over homelessness and public safety but retains the advantages of incumbency. Raman’s team has sought to cast her as a fresh voice capable of tackling the city’s deep-seated problems, but the crosswalk controversy feeds a counter-narrative that she is more focused on symbolism than substance.
For Pratt, the moment was an opportunity to reinsert himself into the political conversation. His response—blunt and meme-friendly—played to the same frustration that fueled his primary run, when he positioned himself as an outsider who would cut through bureaucratic inefficiency.
As the November runoff approaches, the crosswalk is unlikely to be the deciding issue for most voters. But in a race where every gaffe is amplified, Raman’s decision to highlight a nine-month, paint-only project as a victory could prove a gift to her detractors—and a reminder that in L.A. politics, even a few yellow stripes can spark a firestorm.
Source: www.dailywire.com — https://www.dailywire.com/news/left-wing-l-a-mayoral-candidate-touts-yellow-paint-on-cracked-street-as-infrastructure