Does mayoral continuity matter for the Olympics?

Friday afternoon's news that Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia subpoenaed LA28 sent a ripple of excitement through my megaevent-tracking group chats. Whether or not LA28 is responsive to the request for financial information withheld from city officials — the 15-day deadline is Halloween; trick or treat! — it's a relief to see at least one LA elected taking action to mitigate the "inherent risk" that's been foisted upon us.

But even though Mejia and a majority of LA's councilmembers have expressed concern about the lack of LA28 transparency while the city's on the hook, there's one person in City Hall who has not been as vocal about protecting LA's constituents from potentially incurring hundreds of millions of debt. Mayor Karen Bass, who is fighting to keep a job that she may not hold anymore come July 14, 2028, needs to project the vibes that the Olympics deal is under control — which, I assure you, reader, it is not.

In recent weeks, the Bass campaign has turned this concept of preserving LA's Olympic preparation continuity into a major talking point. At last week's debate, Bass cautioned against a change in leadership with the "greatest sporting event in U.S. history" less than two years away. "I believe that the city would be destabilized with someone who has extreme views and basically has not been able to build relationships, not on city council and not with her constituents," Bass said. "Now is not the time to turn the city over to Nithya Raman." DESTABILIZED!

When I was in Paris, Anne Hidalgo's mayoral tenure from bid to closing ceremony was often cited to me as a reason the games were considered to be successful, as well as legacies like Hidalgo's decade-long push to make the Seine swimmable. But due to LA's term limits and our unprecedented 11-year total lead time, continuity was never going to be possible here. Plus Bass was never going to achieve the levels of the Eric Garcetti-Casey Wasserman bromance — immortalized with its own "1984 boys" nickname.

But I still appreciated Jim Rainey's attempt to tease out the nuance between Bass and Raman in the Los Angeles Times this week. Rainey points out something that I've noted quite a few times: there's only one sitting councilmember who has reliably voted against the worst Olympics deals, as well as the "Olympics-adjacent" convention center expansion, and it's Raman. For me, the story's main takeaway is that Raman is the one person aside from Mejia who's taking any of this seriously.

Yesterday, the Bass campaign built a whole social media attack around Rainey's article, quoting it directly: "The next mayor of Los Angeles will preside over what many are calling the largest athletic event in U.S. history — and that mayor could be someone who didn’t even want the 2028 Summer Olympic Games here in the first place." Bass is now trying to spin Raman's principled stance to protect the city from bankruptcy as a bad thing.

In addition to taking on LA28, Mejia has established himself as Raman's closest ally in City Hall. All the other councilmembers have more or less endorsed Bass — some of whom are being total asses to Raman right on the council floor — or are reluctantly admitting they will vote for Bass despite misgivings, affirming Raman's status as a "lone wolf." (This morning's endorsement from LA County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath does give Raman one more fierce backer.) But as the city's most popular elected official — more people voted for him than Bass in 2022 — Mejia is a good person to have on your side. Post-debate, as Raman's sole surrogate, Mejia was directly questioned by NBC LA's Robert Kovacik about the continuity issue. "When we're looking at the Olympics in two years, and we're a city right now that really is in a bit of a crisis, that change may not be the best avenue," said Kovacik. (Interesting — so is he suggesting LA is in such crisis that one might say the current leader... has left the city... DESTABILIZED?) Mejia responded that change is, in fact, what's needed. "A lot of the issues you see in the city are due to budgetary and financial decisions made by the executive level, pushing labor contracts, police contracts that we couldn't afford, pushing the convention center deal, signing us up for the Olympics," he said. "We have a mayor and executive that's trying to defend the system when we need to be breaking the system. And Nithya just needs to keep showing that we could have better. We deserve better."

If Raman wins, and it increasingly seems like she will, teaming up with Mejia could offer a very different approach to 2028. As I think even her fellow councilmembers will attest, this city needs one. 🔥

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Still not moving

Can this newsletter go a week without mentioning the people mover? Apparently not! The January 6 opening date is at risk of "further slippage" after a series of "blast incidents" that occurred on the track while testing. Wait, what? Is that normal? KNX's A.B. Silverman talked to a people mover expert who says LA's situation is "unprecedented" and "one of those unicorn systems where everything is going wrong." Here's the LINXS report and the report to the lenders. The LA Times made the people mover a centerpiece of a whole story on the transit challenges LA's next mayor will face. But this is clearly the biggest one. It's almost like the track is... DESTABILIZED. 🦋

LA28 announced its new licensing program, Made for Two-Eight, which will work with small businesses to allow them to put LA28 logos — which ones? — on locally manufactured products. The program was announced this morning at Homeboy Industries, the absolute perfect place to launch such a partnership, and will include an "exciting variety of officially licensed products made by other local makers, artisans and manufacturers who give Los Angeles its distinctive identity." Okay, but why are we trying to make "two-eight" happen? Should we also call it L-A-two-eight? I'm going to lose my mind.

I'm thrilled to announce that Torched is a media partner for CoMotion LA '26, which has become the essential destination for experts working on LA's megaevents-and-beyond future. Here's my previous reporting from CoMotion. This year's conference is taking place November 18 and 19 in DTLA where you'll hear from some of the smartest people tackling urban transportation problems. And, as per tradition, attend some truly excellent parties.

I'm very excited about the session I'm hosting on megaevent readiness with Paralympian Candace Cable and FASTLinkDTLA’s Hilary Norton and I want to make sure that as many Torched subscribers as possible can be there too.

🎟️ I have TWO PASSES for Torched subscribers at the 🔥🔥-level or higher. If that's you, and you want to join me at CoMotion, simply reply to this email. If you miss out, or that doesn't somehow motivate you to upgrade to a 🔥🔥-level subscription, I also have a Torched code for 15 percent off. See you there!

What Torched subscribers are reading

• Hotels say LA's World Cup was bad for business: "Nearly three-quarters, or 72 percent, of surveyed hotels reported the event hurt their financial outlook for 2026, including 48 percent that described the impact as 'extremely negative.'" Here's the report
• LAist's Libby Rainey on AirTalk discussing her piece on the Cultural Olympiad
• "It’s just the latest project to fall short in the Crenshaw neighborhood of Los Angeles. But this time the stakes are especially high." Erin Aubry Kaplan on Destination Crenshaw's delays. Honestly, I'm very worried about a 2028 opening here as well
• An excellent Sunita Jain Anti-Trafficking Initiative primer on how to spot labor trafficking
• SAJE reviews LA28's human rights strategy
• I loved reading Amanda Lee Koe on the "strange, underrated intimacy of LA sidewalks" featuring some of my favorite bars — find me anytime with an orange wine under the A line at Café Tondo
• Risking arrest, he paints illicit crosswalks across LA. 'We can’t wait any longer'
• Edward Russell on the Hollywood glamor of Burbank's new airport
• "Storaging the Homeless: A Report for Housing Justice Organizers," a very sobering read from the UCLA Luskin Institute on Inequality and Democracy ahead of LAHSA's dissolution and Trump's games
• A huge congratulations to The Eagle Rock Association who transformed a WPA-era amphitheater at the Yosemite Rec Center into a concert venue for 700 neighbors. Let's make it easier to use our public park properties for the public (another good reason to pass Measure PRK!)

On the town

I was so honored to speak at the 20th anniversary of UCLA's cityLAB, and on the same day as the launch of their incredible new Markings LA project for Lafayette Park in partnership with Heart of Los Angeles. Later that week, I stopped by the fifth anniversary party for Agency Artifact, which recently upgraded to a ground-floor unit in the gorgeous Granada Building in order to accommodate their growing Festival Trail endeavors. And while there, I finally got a copy of An Incomplete* Listing of Los Angeles Libraries, Reading Rooms, and Archives from Inventory Press.

Coming up! On Wednesday, November 18, I'm joining LA Times sports writer Kevin Baxter and LA Times columnist Gustavo Arellano, for a journalists roundtable at Chapman University. And then, as previously noted, I'll be at CoMotion LA the following day. Finally, don't miss the recording of the latest Torched Talks with the phenomenal Jill Jaracz, up now for your enjoyment. See you out there.