While many issues are on the table for the Nov. 3 election, from the city’s homelessness crisis to the high cost of housing to Palisades fire recovery, the city also faces the major responsibility of hosting the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics.
Elected four years ago, Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is fighting for her second and final term as mayor against City Council Member Nithya Raman. Whichever candidate wins will be the third mayor in Los Angeles history to oversee the Olympics.
In the past, the two mayors who served during the games were John C. Porter during the 1932 games and Tom Bradley during the 1984 games. The last time L.A. hosted in 1984, the Olympics did turn a profit, which is rare, as in 2016, the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games ended with the city having a crushing amount of debt. However, the organizers for the Paris Games, the last host city for the Summer Olympics, said that they ended with a budget surplus, as they tried to use pre-existing venues as much as possible instead of building brand new facilities.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded the Summer Olympic Games to Los Angeles almost a decade ago in July of 2017. Both Paris (which was the host city for the most recent 2024 Summer Games) and Los Angeles were unprecedentedly chosen as host cities at the same time.
The decision for a city to host the Games happens before the IOC officially votes on a host city contract that allows the city to be voted on in the first place.
While host cities for the Olympic Games benefit from a raise in global profile and the economic benefits of tourism, the games still leave the risk of a financial burden falling on both the city and the people who live there. Still, according to the Olympics.com website, no new permanent structures will be built for the games, which hasn’t been done for any Summer Games since London 1948 (Planning included the optimization of using already established venues in the area and relocating events to outside city limits if necessary).
As the city hit the two-year countdown mark this summer, the two mayoral candidates’ potential to help LA28 flourish felt all the more pressing.
Earlier this month, during a major campaign speech in downtown L.A., Raman outlined her priorities for her first 100 days in office, saying she would appoint an experienced financial executive to oversee the city’s Olympic costs.
In the past, she’s been a critic of the city hosting the games. In 2020, she told the L.A. chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America that the city’s decision to hold one of the largest sporting events in the world was a “rushed” deal that didn’t evaluate how it would affect its residents.
Raman, who is an urban planner and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, is in her second term on the L.A. City Council for district four, which includes Silver Lake to Sherman Oaks in the San Fernando Valley. If elected, Raman said she has plans to improve the housing and homelessness crisis and would prioritize basic city services and safer communities within Los Angeles.
From Raman’s past criticism of the games being hosted in L.A., there is a chance that, as mayor, she’ll put pressure on the committee to publicly disclose its finances and change heads of departments like the Board of Police Commissioners, Metro Board, and LA28 board of directors.
Throughout her campaign, Bass has asserted that if she were re-elected, she has the goals to end street encampments, strengthen public safety and improve city services. During her current tenure, Bass nominated current Police Chief Jim McDonnell. Raman, who was on the board at the time, approved of Bass’s nominations at the time, but if Raman were to win the Nov. 3 election, she’s said she would replace the chief, criticizing the LAPD’s response to federal immigration enforcement in the city.
It’s undetermined whether Raman would replace the police chief before or after the Olympics. Los Angeles mayors can’t fire police chiefs but can appoint one, which would have to be approved by the city council.
Bass says that if a new police chief were to be placed in office ahead of the games, the department would be in disarray with such a major national security event.
However, the LAPD won’t be alone for the games, as the U.S. Secret Service will lead security for the Olympics and will work closely with other law enforcement agencies.
According to LAPD’s May budget, it’s estimated that policing costs would exceed $730 million. This price tag doesn’t include the department’s typical staffing across the city, causing the combo to cost more than half of the LAPD’s 2026-2027 budget for the two-month period of the games.
With the influx of people predicted to come to the city for the Olympics, the L.A. Metro plans to complete 28 major transportation infrastructure projects before the start of the Olympics through the Twenty-Eight by ‘28 Initiative. So far, 11 of those projects have been completed, and 17 projects are still in progress. A temporary bus system is also set to be in place during the games to help transportation efforts.
Beyond security and public transportation, the mayor also has control over the LA28’s board of directors. Currently, the board has six members who were appointed by Mayor Karen Bass without needing the City Council’s approval.
As of now, the Olympic Committee is planning on pulling off the Games on a $7.2 billion budget. In August, the Los Angeles City Council made a deal with the private Olympic organizing committee LA28 on how the committee will reimburse the city for municipal support and services that are not covered by federal funding, like traffic control, street maintenance and trash collection.
The deal requires the committee to create a contingency plan with a $270 million contingency fund that will be monitored by the city. If the best-case scenario happens and the city makes a surplus, then that funding will go to youth sports programs. If there is a deficit, L.A. remains the financial guarantor for the Games.
The Games are a multi-billion-dollar operation funded by private and federal investments, but are backed by city and state pledges to cover cost overruns, meaning there’s a chance that some of the Games’ financial burden could fall on California state taxpayers.
Four council members voted against the Enhanced City Resources Master agreement in August this year, Raman being one of the four members.
On X at the time, she posted, “Would you agree to cover someone else’s bills without knowing what you might have to pay — or even being allowed to see what they’re spending? Of course not!”
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