Kathleen Egan Murray was like everyone else when her college friend Nitya Raman announced in February that she was running for mayor of Los Angeles. She sent a quick text message and soon found herself organizing numerous fundraisers and meet-ups.
Egan Murray and her husband, television writer Matt Murray (“Parks and Recreation,” “The Good Place”), met Raman’s husband, television writer Valli Chandrasekaran (“30 Rock,” “Nobody Wants This”), when they were together at the Harvard Lampoon 25 years ago.
And while her social connections extend far beyond the world of comedy, Raman is drawing heavily on that world to propel her campaign. Her contributors include Tina Fey, Mindy Kaling, Mike Schur, Colin Jost, Nicholas Stoller, Cord Jefferson, David Mandel, and more.
In late April, Raman was introduced by Adam Scott (“Severance”) at a fundraiser in a Santa Monica backyard. Scott said he has known her for years through her work representing Hollywood and Los Feliz on the Los Angeles City Council. He touted her plans for the housing crisis, restoring entertainment jobs and rebuilding from the Palisades fire.
“She wins because she does it right and she has a plan for everything,” Scott said.
In addition to her relationships, Raman’s industry support is a function of her truly left-wing politics. But with discontent swirling around, it remains to be seen whether voters want that. She’s running against Mayor Karen Bass and Spencer Pratt, the bombastic reality show star who has seen a surge in interest since the May 6 debate.
Mr. Raman, who is vying for a spot in the November runoff, has begun to ramp up his attacks on Mr. Platt, even as he acknowledges the anger that fueled his own campaign.
“I think this is a very real problem that we need to take seriously and that we need to address. And we need to provide an honest response, a response that is rooted in actually solving these problems,” she told podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen on Sunday. “Otherwise, people will turn to fascism and mini-Trumps. I think that’s what Spencer Pratt truly represents.”
The central issue of the campaign is homelessness and civil disorder, which is by no means a new topic. It’s been five years since media mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg became fed up with the homeless problem and went on a tour of civic leaders to build consensus and urgency around solutions.
Mr. Katzenberg spent $2 million to help Mr. Bass defeat mall billionaire Rick Caruso in 2022, and also invested $300,000 in LA4LA, an affordable housing company in partnership with Mr. Bass’s office. But after leading President Biden’s unsuccessful Hollywood fundraising efforts for his 2024 re-election campaign, Katzenberg has withdrawn from the political scene and is no longer involved in Bass’ re-election efforts.
“As you are aware, Mr. Jeffrey has been away from politics for some time,” the spokesperson said.
Several other big donors who joined Bass’ support in 2022 are now giving money on her behalf to an independent committee run by Julie Chavez Rodriguez, who managed Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign. Aiming to increase Bass’ support among Latinos, the commission (Unidos con Karen Bass) is highlighting her work on affordable housing and homelessness issues, as well as her resistance to President Trump’s immigration crackdown.
“She’s just getting started,” Chavez-Rodriguez said. “She knows we are not at the point where we can say ‘mission accomplished’ on these issues.”
Pratt, meanwhile, has received significant support from the Los Angeles real estate community, as well as donations from entertainment figures such as Haim Saban, Justin Bateman, Jenny McCarthy and “Melania” director Brett Ratner. “The Hills” star is also sought after by reality TV producers such as Craig Prestis (“The Masked Singer”), Jeff Jenkins (“The Secret of the Mormon Mrs.”) and Sandra Lee (“Dr. Pimple Popper”).
But it’s Raman who gets the lion’s share of Hollywood support, and her donor list resembles the Social Affairs Committee of the Writers Guild of America.
On Thursday, supporters plan to hold a fundraiser at Dynasty Typewriter, a comedy club in Westlake, where the cast, including Lake Bell, Will Forte, Adam Devine, Bobby Moynihan, Chelsea Peretti and Paul Shea, will perform a live table reading of “One Harley Quinn: The Very Troubled Valentine’s Day Special.”
“Abbott Elementary” showrunners Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacher helped organize the event, along with the show’s writer Brittani Nichols. Halpern said in an interview that he is disillusioned with the Bass administration and wants them to do more to pressure studios to negotiate during the 2023 WGA strike.
“We want someone who really understands the industry,” said Halpern, who was impressed by Raman’s time on the city council. “In Los Angeles, we often call ourselves a progressive city, but in reality we’re progressive in name only. Nisya felt like someone who wanted to come in and bring positive progressive change to a city that is supposed to set the tone for this country.”
