Los Angeles Mayor-elect Nithya Raman has pledged to reduce the number of people living in tents and encampments by at least half before the 2028 Summer Olympics. But local business owner and homelessness activist John Alle doubts the city can meet that goal—or produce lasting change.
Homelessness was a central issue in Raman’s campaign. A member of the Democratic Socialists of America, she has proposed expanding shelter and housing, while making public funds go further.
Alle, who co-founded the Santa Monica Coalition, said the problem is already visible to visitors and cannot simply be concealed during the Games. He also voiced concern about tourism, business activity and police morale, and said he worries the city’s approach will amount to moving people elsewhere temporarily.
“When the Olympics come, they’ll be picked up, they’ll be bused, they’ll be sent elsewhere,” Alle said, predicting that people would return after the Olympic and Paralympic events end.
Los Angeles last hosted the Olympics in 1984. Former Mayor Karen Bass received the Olympic flag at the closing ceremony in Paris in 2024, formally marking the transfer of hosting responsibilities to the city.
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s 2026 count found that homelessness had risen 3.4% in the city and 1.2% across the wider Los Angeles area. The increases reversed two years of declines during Bass’s tenure.
Raman has said she would expand housing, shelter space and rental assistance during her first term, with the aim of ending long-term encampments. Her proposals include sending medical teams into encampments to offer mental health and addiction care and help people move into longer-term housing or treatment within 90 days.
She has also criticized Bass’s Inside Safe program, which has placed some people in hotels and motels, and has proposed directing more funding toward lower-cost options such as rental vouchers. Other ideas include using unarmed crisis teams for some emergencies, reviewing housing projects that have stalled and increasing scrutiny of homelessness spending.
Alle said Raman’s proposals did not seem very different from Bass’s and argued that city leadership had not improved. He manages about one million square feet of commercial property in Los Angeles and said he has seen the crisis affect businesses and their employees.
He argued that providing treatment on the street could prolong the problem, and called for people to be moved to facilities away from parks and places used by children and older adults. He also questioned whether some supportive housing programs require residents to stay sober.
Alle said the city should account for more than $1 billion in homelessness funding before committing additional taxpayer money. Raman, who chaired the City Council’s Housing and Homelessness Committee from 2023 until she was removed this year amid her mayoral campaign, has proposed auditing nonprofits and other agencies that received public funds. Alle said he welcomed that effort.
He also criticized Raman’s past opposition to restrictions on camping in public spaces and near schools, saying her approach was not forceful enough. Alle described drug use and mental health needs as central issues and argued that the city would not solve homelessness without addressing them.
“Of course I want her to succeed,” he said. “If Nithya succeeds, we all succeed.”
Raman defeated Bass in the midterm elections and is due to take office in December. Los Angeles has about four million residents.
