Los Angeles incoming mayor Nithya Raman has pledged to cut the city’s homeless encampments by half before the 2028 Summer Olympics, a promise that drew immediate fire from local business leader John Alle.
Raman’s homelessness agenda
Raman, a Democratic Socialists of America member, centered her campaign on ending tent cities and vowed to expand shelter capacity, rental assistance and long‑term housing while stretching every dollar.
She says the city’s “desensitization to homelessness” is a moral failing and will dispatch medical teams to encampments to provide mental‑health and addiction services, aiming to move people into permanent housing within 90 days.
Raman also wants to replace the costly Inside Safe hotel program with rental vouchers and to send unarmed crisis response teams instead of police for certain calls, while auditing stalled housing projects and increasing oversight of homelessness spending.
Alle’s skepticism
John Alle, co‑founder of the Santa Monica Coalition and commercial‑property manager, told Fox News Digital that Raman’s plan is a short‑term fix that will move encampments out of sight before the Games and let them return afterward.
He warned that tourism and retail sales are already down, police morale is low, and the city cannot “hide” the problem from visitors arriving for the Olympics.
Alle said the city has seen a 3.4% rise in homelessness in the 2026 LA Homeless Services Authority count, ending two years of declines under former mayor Karen Bass, and noted that LA has hosted the Games only once since 1984.
He argued that Raman’s approach is not aggressive enough, pointing to her past opposition to camping restrictions near schools and her lack of a sobriety requirement for supportive housing residents.
Alle urged the mayor to address the underlying drug and mental‑health crisis, end Los Angeles’ sanctuary city status, and increase transparency on the more than $1 billion spent on homelessness programs before adding more taxpayer dollars.
Raman defeated incumbent Karen Bass in the midterm election and will take office in December, leading a city of roughly 4 million residents. Fox News Digital has requested comment from Raman’s team and LA28.
