Why LA’s mayor doesn’t have much power

With the election of Zohran Mamdani in New York City, big-city mayors have once again become a focal point of national politics.

Now, in Los Angeles, the mayoral race in November is heating up with Councilmember Nithya Raman edging out reality TV star Spencer Pratt to secure her candidacy against incumbent Mayor Karen Bass. And Raman, a democratic socialist like Mamdani, is zeroing in on housing and affordability as defining issues of local politics.

But beneath the promises to take on hot-button issues that plague Angelenos, a persistent question remains: Why can’t the LA mayor get anything........

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