LA Forward Endorsements for the November 3, 2026 Election
Nithya Raman for LA City Mayor
LA Forward is built by hundreds of members whose voices guide our organizational priorities. When deciding who we support for the next mayor of LA, our members are clear: Nithya Raman won the support of 90% of LA Forward members who cast ballots in a vote with record-breaking turnout.
Being LA’s Mayor is an incredibly difficult job in the best of times. And needless to say, these are not the best of times. As former Deputy Mayor and Deputy Controller Rick Cole has noted, “beneath the broken sidewalks is a broken system that desperately needs fixing.”
Of the two candidates in this race, Councilmember Raman is best suited to ensure LA City government truly delivers for all Angelenos.
Mayor Bass is smart, hard-working, and rooted in a long history of justice organizing and progressive legislating. That’s why we were proud to endorse her in 2022. But with notable exceptions such as standing up to ICE, she hasn’t risen to the challenge of being Mayor, especially when it comes to managing our massive city government and communicating effectively with the public. Bass has frequently taken the political path of least resistance, taking for granted the progressive voter base that got her elected in the first place and appeasing powerful interests like the police union and Airbnb, which are the same forces that have funded conservative candidates across the city.
Despite Raman’s much shorter tenure in local politics, she has a clearer understanding of the ineffective areas of our city government, and a vision for how to fix them.
Raman’s track record in office over the last six years has largely aligned with LA Forward’s priorities. She helped move LA toward a citywide unarmed crisis response system, spearheaded new protections for renters (even before new progressive colleagues joined her on council in 2022), co-authored the sanctuary city ordinance to protect immigrants, championed good governance reforms to reduce corruption and increase the effectiveness of government, secured a unanimous council vote for building electrification climate policy, and backed expanded transportation and mobility options.
Raman used her position as chair of the Council’s Housing and Homelessness Committee to try to get the Venice Dell affordable housing project out of the red tape purgatory to which Mayor Bass, City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, and Councilmember Traci Park had consigned it.
Raman was one of only a few votes against deals created by Mayor Bass that drained the city’s coffers through overspending on police salaries and a Convention Center overhaul, leading to cutbacks of other vital city services.
Raman fought for real charter reform, including council expansion, greater oversight powers for the City Controller, and increased police accountability, while Mayor Bass unnecessarily delayed the Charter Commission’s start by eight months and then thwarted attempts at broader reform.
Raman used her role on the AQMD board to fight climate change and air pollution before Mayor Bass removed her for being too hard-charging.
Aside from all the issues where we’ve appreciated Raman’s leadership more than Bass’s, we are most hopeful about things that are not policy-specific.
We need a Mayor who pays attention to management, hires top leaders who understand how to get things done at City Hall, and communicates in a way that meets the challenges of the always-on media landscape.
We need a Mayor who is laser-focused on ensuring LA City government works well on a daily basis, holds Department leaders accountable for outcomes, and keeps policy implementation and Angelenos’ experience of government top of mind for everyone in leadership, as well as the rank-and-file.
This is not an easy task for anyone; however, we see Raman asking the right questions and setting the right priorities.
We’re also impressed by Raman’s ambitious and detailed policy agenda. We’re reassured by the commitments she’s made to us personally for collaborative governance and coalition-building, including on issues where we don’t agree.
For all these reasons and more, LA Forward is proud to join partners such as ACCE and City Controller Kenneth Mejia in endorsing Nithya Raman for Mayor.
Interested in volunteering for Nithya alongside other LA Forward members? Fill out this form to get involved.
Marissa Roy for LA City Attorney
Los Angeles needs a City Attorney who protects the public, not one who uses the office to advance personal political interests.
Under the current City Attorney, the city has faced record-breaking liability payouts, attempts to criminalize free speech, and alarming efforts to give police greater power to target journalists.
Marissa Roy offers a profoundly different vision: intelligent, ethical, justice-oriented leadership grounded in competence and care for the people of Los Angeles.
A brilliant attorney and lifelong public servant, Marissa has built her career fighting to protect consumers, the environment, tenants and civil rights – including successfully suing the Trump administration.
As an accomplished litigator with experience working in the same office she is running for, she understands how to use the City Attorney’s office to protect Angelenos, not endanger them. Marissa Roy will be the peoples’ lawyer.
Barri Worth Girvan for LA City Council District 3
Barri Worth Girvan is the best choice for the West Valley, and LA Forward is proud to support her for LA City Council District 3.
She backs a variety of policies to tackle the housing crisis directly and supports a compassionate approach to homelessness that effectively gets people off the streets and into housing, instead of relying on criminalization.
She’s eager to promote the expansion of unarmed crisis response services across the Valley, so we’re not sending armed people to deal with issues that deserve trained mental health responders.
She’ll champion climate solutions that combat global warming which is driving up temperatures in the Valley year after year. And, she will back long-term, comprehensive infrastructure planning to help fix the broken sidewalks, streetlights, and potholes across our city.
Barri has had a long career in public service and a great reputation among people who know her. Her supporters include environmental organizations and progressive unions. In contrast, her opponent is backed by the police union, landlord lobby, real estate interests, and the most conservative members of the City Council.
She is not a movement progressive like many of our endorsed candidates, but we trust that she will work with us closely and partner to help make Los Angeles a fair, flourishing place for everyone, unlike her opponent who would consolidate a growing conservative presence on council.
For all these reasons and more, LA Forward endorses Barri Worth Girvan and encourages West Valley residents to vote for her!
Estuardo Mazariegos for LA City Council District 9
Estuardo is exactly the kind of leader we need at City Hall: someone who doesn't just understand how power works, but has spent decades building it from the ground up. As Co-Director of ACCE's LA region, he has been an invaluable ally in the fight for housing justice, leading the charge on the Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance, the Resident Protection Ordinance, and helping pass Measure ULA. His deep roots in advocacy and organizing are matched by policy expertise — Estuardo holds a Master's in Public Policy from Cal State LA.
Angelenos deserve a leader in office who truly comes from the community and genuinely cares about people. Estuardo is an immigrant from Guatemala who was carried across the Rio Grande as a child by his mother. He learned to be a community organizer as a young child in South LA, and has never stopped being one. As a Councilmember, Estuardo will fight for immigrants, tenants, affordable housing, a greener city, and a government that works for the people. That's why our members voted overwhelmingly to endorse him.
Our Candidate Endorsement Process
LA Forward endorses progressive candidates for local office after a comprehensive and deliberative process that ensures you can trust our recommendation. Our goal is to help you navigate the complicated choices on your ballot and which candidates are worth supporting with your time and money.
Our local candidate endorsements are the result of a multi-step process.
Ultimately, all candidates who secure a support from a simple majority (50%+1) of voting members will receive our endorsement.
To protect our process and the voices of our members, we don’t allow anyone – including candidates – to buy memberships for their supporters to attempt to influence our endorsement votes. Anyone who is being paid by a campaign is not eligible to vote or participate in deliberations about the endorsement for that race.
Due to our limited capacity, LA Forward does not endorse candidates in every race in the county. Our current priorities are LA City Council, LA Citywide offices, some LA Countywide seats such as Superior Court, and smaller cities where we have a base of supporters.
For candidates: If we plan to make an endorsement in your race, we will contact your campaign to ask you to complete our candidate questionnaire to be considered for our process. Our team has limited bandwidth to respond to a high volume of inquiries about individual races – but if you have an urgent or essential question, you can reach us via the contact form on our website.