The Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America will not endorse a candidate for mayor.
After City Councilmember Nithya Raman decided at the last minute to run against her former ally Mayor Karen Bass, the group called a vote on whether to reopen the endorsement process, which it had closed without supporting a candidate.
DSA-LA backed Raman’s two successful city council runs, but she has been at odds with the group on some issues.
Also in the mix was another mayoral candidate, community organizer Rae Huang, whose positions align more closely with those of the group.
The two candidates were present for Saturday’s vote at Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Koreatown, though neither spoke.
The left-wing organization, which has about 5,000 members, is known for running strong ground game campaigns that include canvassing, door-knocking and phone banking. In addition to Raman, three other DSA-backed politicians now sit on the 15-member City Council.
Before the vote, DSA-LA members argued for and against reopening the endorsement process.
“The worst thing we can do right now for our movement is to say, ‘Well, actually, we’re not going to endorse Rae or Nithya. We’re going to do a third thing, which is to issue no endorsement.’ Who is the audience for this message?” said Leslie Chang, a co-chair of DSA-LA.
DSA-LA member Anna Gross argued that neither candidate was ideal, with Huang, who has little political experience, being a long shot and Raman hesitating to fully embrace the group.
“I do want a democratic socialist mayor, but as it stands, we have one candidate who is not going to win … and a candidate who will not openly identify as a democratic socialist,” Gross said.
Of the 488 members who voted Saturday, about 55% supported reopening the endorsement process, falling short of the required two-thirds majority.
If the process had been reopened, the group would have then voted on whether to endorse Raman, Huang or neither.
Huang’s earlier attempt to get the endorsement while the window was still open had failed because she did not obtain enough valid member signatures to qualify.
If the race is not decided in the June 2 primary, DSA-LA can still endorse a candidate in the runoff.
Besides Bass, Raman and Huang, the field of 14 candidates includes conservative reality TV star Spencer Pratt and tech entrepreneur Adam Miller.
Some members believed that a mayoral endorsement would take resources away from the slate of six local candidates they have already endorsed.
In city council races, DSA-LA is backing incumbents Hugo Soto-Martínez and Eunisses Hernandez; Faizah Malik, who is running against incumbent Traci Park on the Westside; and Estuardo Mazariegos for an open South L.A. seat.
The group is also backing Marissa Roy, who is challenging City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto, and Rocío Rivas, an incumbent L.A. Unified school board member.
