Nithya Raman’s campaign is challenging Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass over a television ad in which Bass claims credit for expanding California’s film and television tax credits.
The dispute puts the entertainment industry’s employment crisis at the center of the mayoral race, with Raman and Bass each arguing that the other failed to act quickly enough as Los Angeles production declined.
In the ad, Bass tells viewers: “With the film industry struggling, I cut fees and expanded film and TV tax credits… saving thousands of Hollywood jobs.”
Raman’s campaign says that statement improperly credits Bass for an incentive expansion approved at the state level. Gov. Gavin Newsom led the effort last year to double California’s film incentive to $750 million in response to a dramatic downturn in Los Angeles production since 2022.
Liz Garcia, a spokesperson for Raman, sharply criticized the mayor’s wording on Thursday.
“We’re used to some whoppers from Mayor Bass, but this may be one of her biggest,” Garcia said. “She’s looking voters in the eye and taking credit for expanding film tax credits enacted at the state level.”
Garcia also claimed that Los Angeles has lost 40,000 entertainment jobs during Bass’ time in office, accusing the mayor of failing to protect the productions and workers that underpin the city’s entertainment business.
Bass Ally Defends Her Role
Rick Chavez Zbur, who authored the bill expanding the state incentive, is backing Bass for re-election and has defended her involvement in the campaign for additional tax credits.
Zbur attended last week’s NBC4 debate between Bass and Raman. He said Bass spent last year and this year advocating for the expansion, while arguing that Raman had not previously made the issue a priority.
“She did not focus on it. She was not up in Sacramento. She didn’t support it. She didn’t do anything,” Zbur said of Raman. “So this is a Johnny-come-lately issue for her.”
The two candidates have both moved beyond the existing $750 million incentive in their policy positions. Raman unveiled a Hollywood plan on April 21 that included advocating for unlimited state tax credits. Bass announced on May 1 that she also supported uncapped credits.
The disagreement is therefore not simply about whether California should offer more support to film and television production. It is also a fight over timing, advocacy and which candidate can credibly claim to have treated the industry’s downturn with sufficient urgency.
The Debate Spills Into Prime Time
The tax-credit issue received only a brief airing during the NBC4 debate, but the exchange captured the candidates’ competing accounts.
Raman argued that Bass did not begin publicly emphasizing the incentive until after Raman entered the mayoral contest.
“This mayor only started talking about this tax credit after I entered the race,” Raman said. “I feel an urgency about this issue, a real urgency, and Angelenos need that urgency from their mayor.”
Bass rejected that characterization, saying she had advocated for both state and federal tax credits while working with entertainment-industry representatives.
“That’s completely untrue,” Bass said. “I was involved in advocating for the state tax credit and involved in advocating for the federal tax credit.”
The mayor added that her administration’s work had been conducted in partnership with the industry, saying she had been advocating in Sacramento and participating with industry representatives in Los Angeles.
Hollywood Labor Is Divided
The contest has also divided major entertainment labor organizations. The Writers Guild of America West has endorsed Raman, whose husband is a television writer.
Bass, meanwhile, is supported by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, the Hollywood Teamsters, the American Federation of Musicians Local 47 and Laborers Local 300.
Those endorsements give both campaigns industry ties as they compete to persuade voters that their approach can better address the production slowdown and employment losses.
ShowBiz Take
The clash matters because entertainment jobs are no longer a side issue in the mayoral race. They have become a direct test of each candidate’s record, relationships and response to the production downturn.
The factual line at the center of the controversy is clear: the incentive was expanded through state legislation, with Newsom leading the effort and Zbur authoring the bill. What remains politically contested is how much credit Bass deserves for advocating behind the scenes—and whether Raman raised the alarm sooner.
With both candidates supporting uncapped state credits, their sharpest difference now concerns credibility. For Los Angeles entertainment workers, the campaign’s argument is not just about who can claim a legislative win, but who showed urgency when the industry began losing productions and jobs.