10月下旬，在洛杉矶市长候选人尼蒂亚·拉曼（Nithya Raman）于米德-威尔夏区餐厅Gritz N Wafflez举行活动后，我与苏西·托（Susie Tho）聊了起来。托是一位母亲兼企业家，她告诉我，在该市6月的初选中，她投给了前真人秀明星、共和党人斯宾塞·普拉特（Spencer Pratt）。她说之所以参加拉曼的活动，是因为她在即将到来的选举中仍未决定支持谁。
In late October, I fell into a conversation with Susie Tho after an appearance by Los Angeles mayoral candidate Nithya Raman at the Mid-Wilshire restaurant Gritz N Wafflez. Tho, a mom and an entrepreneur, told me she voted for former reality show star Spencer Pratt, a Republican, in the city’s June primary. She attended the Raman event, she said, because she’s still undecided on who to support in the upcoming election.
托的犹豫不决凸显了美国第二大城市市长竞选的未定局势。民调显示，竞争正在趋于胶着——而且许多选民似乎对自己的选择并不十分热衷。他们是选择不受欢迎的现任市长凯伦·巴斯（Karen Bass），后者发誓说自己从2025年太平洋帕利塞兹大火（Palisades fire）中真的、真的吸取了教训？还是为拉曼这位更年轻、左翼的挑战者拉杆投票，她与美国民主社会主义者组织（Democratic Socialists of America）关系密切，散发着真诚却常在言辞上显得笨拙，且难以与市议会同僚相处。很难说洛杉矶的麻烦从何处开始，也难以知晓将如何解决。
Tho’s indecision highlights the unsettled state of the mayoral race in America’s second-largest city. Polls show that the race is tightening — and that many voters still appear less than enthusiastic about their choices. Do they go with unpopular incumbent Karen Bass, who swears she has really, really learned her lesson since the 2025 Palisades fire? Or do they pull a lever for Raman, the younger, left-wing challenger aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America, who radiates earnestness but is often verbally flat-footed and struggles to get along with her fellow City Council members. It’s hard to know where the trouble with Los Angeles starts, or how it will be fixed.
在这个以自由派著称的城市里，答案将取决于像托这样的普拉特选民，这颇具讽刺意味。这位候选人在竞选中依然保持着超乎寻常的存在感，仍在因太平洋帕利塞兹大火愤怒发帖——他和其他数千名市民一样，在那场大火中失去了家园。他似乎同时鄙视巴斯和拉曼；“笨蛋和更笨的笨蛋”（Dumb and Dumber）是他形容前对手较为客气的说法之一。
It’s no small irony that in this famously liberal city, the answer will come down to Pratt voters like Tho. The candidate continues to maintain an outsize presence in the race, still rage-posting about the Palisades fire, where he — along with thousands of other city residents — lost his home. He seems to despise both Bass and Raman; “ Dumb and Dumber ” is one of the more polite ways he has described his former rivals.
但普拉特也给几乎所有洛杉矶人心中长期未曾言说的愤怒发了声，无论他们的政治倾向如何，他们都对这座城市的发展方向——或者更准确地说，或许是缺乏方向——感到不满。托举例提到，她所在的韩国城社区老鼠问题日益严重。而害虫问题只是冰山一角。“环境卫生糟糕透顶，无家可归者问题糟糕透顶。商家纷纷关门，社区对此有点厌倦了，”她说。
But Pratt has also given voice to a long unspoken anger almost all Angelenos, no matter their political leanings, feel with the city’s direction — or, more properly, perhaps, lack of direction. Tho, for instance, cites a growing rat problem in her Koreatown neighborhood. And the pest issue is just the tip of the iceberg. “Sanitation’s horrible, homelessness is horrible. Businesses are closing and the community is kind of tired of it,” she said.
很难说洛杉矶的麻烦究竟始于何处，也难以预料将如何解决。尽管投入激增，去年无家可归者人数却反而上升（此前曾连续两年下降）。用于解决该问题的 20 多亿美元资金下落不明。好莱坞举步维艰之际，纽约州的电影制作支出即将超越加利福尼亚州。911 报警电话的平均响应时间令人堪忧：超过 40% 的紧急呼叫未能在州政府规定的 15 秒内接通，不太紧急的呼叫可能要等长达一小时才能接通话务员。
It’s hard to know where the trouble with Los Angeles starts, or how it will be fixed. Despite a surge of spending, homelessness increased last year (after two years of declines). More than $2 billion in funds to address the issue went missing . While Hollywood struggles, the state of New York is on the verge of overtaking California on film production spending. Average response time for 911 calls is woeful: More than 40% of emergency calls go unanswered within the state-mandated 15 seconds, and less urgent calls can take up to an hour to reach an operator.
2026 年 8 月 30 日 / 06:49基础维护严重缺失：水管频频爆裂；在这座以驾车为主的城市，道路重铺几乎不存在。洛杉矶国际机场的人员输送系统原定 2023 年完工，如今超支 10 多亿美元且仍无踪影——除非你把那没完没了的空载试运行也算数。
August 30, 2026 / 06:49 Basic maintenance is lacking: Water mains break constantly ; street repaving, in this city of drivers, is all but nonexistent . The people mover at Los Angeles International Airport, originally scheduled for completion in 2023 , is more than $1 billion over budget and still MIA — unless, that is, you count the endless test runs of an empty train.
裙带关系、可疑交易和无能几乎成了常态。由市政府直接运营的当地动物园——美国最后一座此类主要动物园——深陷丑闻，濒临崩溃。
Cronyism, questionable dealings and incompetence are all but endemic. The local zoo , the last major U.S. zoo run by a city government, is mired in scandal and near collapse.
连这座城市引以为傲的宜人天气也“掉链子”了。今年的“超级”厄尔尼诺现象带来了前所未有的潮湿天气和蚊虫——后者在该地区构成真正的威胁，因为直到最近几年，这里蚊子极少，许多家庭的窗户根本没装纱窗。随之而来的热浪导致电费账单飙升，账单正陆续寄入信箱。
Even the city’s famously lovely weather has failed to cooperate. This year’s “super” El Nino has brought unprecedented humidity and mosquitos — the latter a true menace in a region where, until the past few years, mosquitoes were so rare many homes had no screens on their windows. The heat wave, in turn, resulted in epic power bills , which are hitting mailboxes now.
拉曼于 2013 年搬到洛杉矶，有时表现出对这座她如今想要领导的城市惊人的陌生。
Raman, who moved to Los Angeles in 2013 , sometimes shows a remarkable unfamiliarity with the city she now wants to lead.
居民们不禁要问，事情究竟是怎么搞砸的。喜剧演员海迪·普拉兹洛夫在2022年投了巴斯一票，如今却在为她的对手投票并敲门拉票。她在鹰岩区一家糕点店休息间隙为拉曼助选时告诉我：“洛杉矶本可以成为世界上最酷的城市，但感觉什么都没变，一些改变会非常好。凯伦·巴斯已经得到了她的机会。”
Residents find themselves wondering how it all went wrong. Comedian Heidi Prazloff voted for Bass in 2022, but is now casting her ballot and knocking on doors for her opponent. “LA could be the coolest city in the world, but it feels like nothing is changing and some change would be really good,” she told me when I ran into her at an Eagle Rock pastry shop as she was taking a break from canvassing for Raman. “Karen Bass has been given her chance.”
直到普拉特聚拢了一批追随者、拉曼宣布参选，巴斯似乎才对日益增长的愤怒和绝望有所察觉。她花了两年多时间才为该市任命一名影视联络员，就在这段时间里，好莱坞两大工会举行罢工，影视拍摄量断崖式下跌。她本周宣布了一项加快餐厅许可的计划；有X平台用户问道：“她刚想起来自己是市长吗？”
Bass appeared all but oblivious to the growing fury and despair — until, that is, Pratt attracted a following and Raman entered the race. It took her more than two years to appoint a film liaison for the city, during a period when two Hollywood guilds went on strike and film shoots fell off a cliff. She announced a plan to help expedite restaurant permitting this week; as one X user asked, “ Did she just remember she was the mayor? ”
拉曼的竞选主张是加强问责，并以一种伊丽莎白·沃伦式的热情推出各项计划：让影视拍摄许可更容易获得，让开办和经营餐厅更容易，让建设住房更容易。这些计划给我留下了深刻印象，以至于我在初选期间向她的竞选团队捐了款。2026年9月12日 / 14:50但拉曼于2013年搬到洛杉矶，有时却表现出对这座她现在想要领导的城市惊人的陌生。
Raman is campaigning on increased accountability and an Elizabeth Warren-esque enthusiasm for plans: to make film-shoot permits easier to obtain, and to make it easier to open and operate restaurants and to build housing . These plans impressed me enough that I made a donation to her campaign during the primary. September 12, 2026 / 14:50 But Raman, who moved to Los Angeles in 2013 , sometimes shows a remarkable unfamiliarity with the city she now wants to lead.
例如在最近一场辩论中，她称赞前警察局长达里尔·盖茨治下的警务工作，而盖茨任内以大规模逮捕和对黑人及西班牙裔居民的残酷对待而著称。她现任选区的不少选民表示，她的市议会办公室反应迟钝，巴斯屡屡指出这一点。而她应对无家可归者问题的计划——包括在学校附近露营地清理问题上倒行逆施——极不可能吸引普拉特的选民。
During a recent debate, for instance, she praised the policing under former police chief Daryl Gates , whose tenure was marked by mass arrests and brutal treatment of Black and Hispanic residents. A number of her current constituents say her City Council office is unresponsive , something Bass points out repeatedly. And her plan to address homelessness — which includes backtracking on the city’s crackdown on encampments near schools — is highly unlikely to appeal to Pratt voters.
值得注意的是，拉曼在市议会的同事中，没有一人背书支持她，这其中也包括另外三位与美国民主社会主义者组织（DSA）关系密切的成员。不过，至少依我观察，典型的洛杉矶市民似乎都认为市议员不会为他们着想，因此这反而可能成为拉曼的一个卖点。
It’s also worth noting that not one of Raman’s colleagues on the council has endorsed her, including the other three members aligned with the DSA. Then again, at least in my experience, the typical Angeleno appears to think of their City Council member as someone who isn’t there for them, so this may well turn out to be a selling point for Raman.
美国民主社会主义者组织本身也成了这场选举中的一个不确定因素。该全国性组织威胁要撤销洛杉矶分会对拉曼的背书，理由是认为她需要更明确地支持针对以色列的“抵制、撤资、制裁”（BDS）运动。洛杉矶分会依然支持她——这在一个选民表示最关心生活质量、负担能力以及解决看似棘手的无家可归问题的城市里，并不令人意外。
The DSA itself also has become something of a wild card in the equation. The national organization is threatening to rescind the Los Angeles chapter’s endorsement of Raman over the fact it believes she needs to more explicitly endorse the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. The local chapter continues to support her — hardly a surprise in a city where voters say their top concerns are quality of life, affordability and getting a grip on the seemingly intractable homelessness problem.
归根结底，许多洛杉矶选民似乎面临着一个两难的选择：是继续支持那个众所周知却无能为力的巴斯，还是投票给拉曼，哪怕不同意她的左倾政治立场，也寄希望于她能带来积极的变化？唯一看似确定的是，无论结果如何，普拉特都将继续像一根刺一样扎在胜选者身边。
Ultimately, many Los Angeles voters appear to be weighing a less-than-pleasant choice: Do they stick with the known quantity in the ineffectual Bass, or do they vote for Raman, even if they disagree with her left-leaning politics, in the hopes she can make positive change? The only thing that seems certain is that no matter the outcome, Pratt will remain a virtual thorn in the winner’s side.