Staff Changes Amid Controversy
In a decisive move, mayoral candidate Nithya Raman dismissed part-time campaign staff member Eric Cheng just days before Tuesday’s election, following backlash over his “reprehensible” comments regarding a U.S. Senate race.
Cheng made headlines for his remarks on Instagram, where he accused Rep. Haley Stevens, a Democratic representative from Michigan, of attempting to “brainwash a lot of the Black vote” through her unexpected endorsement of a Republican. The comments ignited criticism from political strategist Michael Trujillo, who is backing Mayor Karen Bass in the upcoming election. Trujillo condemned the statements as indicative of Raman’s campaign being out of touch with the African American community.
Immediate Response
Trujillo called for an apology from Raman’s campaign, which responded rapidly. Within an hour, the campaign announced that Cheng was no longer part of the team. “We’re aware of a video posted by a part-time staffer on his personal social media account commenting about the Michigan Senate race. The comments in it are reprehensible and do not reflect our campaign. We apologize,” the campaign stated.
According to Raman’s political strategist, Jeff Millman, Cheng had been responsible for liaising with digital content creators but was terminated as a result of the incident. Cheng did not provide any comments when reached for a statement.
This incident follows a series of social media controversies surrounding the mayoral race. Last month, Raman faced criticism for appearing in a video with an influencer where she made contentious remarks about “stopping fascist liars” while denouncing Police Chief Jim McDonnell. After backlash, Raman declared the video was taken out of context and insisted she was referring to broader political issues, not specifically to McDonnell or the mayor.
Additionally, Bass criticized Raman’s past comments suggesting that former Police Chief Daryl F. Gates exemplified the “gold standard” in immigration enforcement, arguing it overlooked the severe mistreatment of Black and Latino communities during Gates’ tenure. While Raman accused Bass of misrepresenting her words, she later issued an apology for referencing Gates in her comments.
