In the final days before the Tuesday election, L.A. Councilwoman Nithya Raman urged candidates for governor on Friday to support uncapped tax incentives for film and TV production.
Raman appeared outside Radford Studios with entertainment figures who support her mayoral campaign, including Mike Schur, Cord Jefferson, and Kay Cannon.
“We must ensure that Hollywood remains a reliable on-ramp into the middle class for Angelenos,” Raman said. “We must protect that before it slips further away.”
The dramatic downturn in Hollywood production has been a key issue in the races for mayor and for governor. Mayor Karen Bass has also called for uncapped state tax credits, has moved in recent months to cut city location fees, and has won the support of three below-the-line Hollywood unions.
Spencer Pratt, the former reality TV star, has accused his two rivals of failing to do more to stop the decline of industry jobs.
“Notice how Hollywood fell off a cliff IMMEDIATELY after Karen Bass took office?” Pratt said on X on Friday. “If you give her another 4 years, that’ll be a wrap on Hollywood. She will finish the job of killing our city’s golden goose. Vote like your life depends on it, LA. It does.”
Among the top three contenders in the gubernatorial polls, only the Republican, Steve Hilton, has called for unlimited state tax incentives for Hollywood productions.
Xavier Becerra, the leading Democrat in most polls, has said he will increase the $750 million program, but has not pledged to make it unlimited. Rolling out his Hollywood policy last week, Becerra vowed to hold an entertainment summit early in his administration to gather input from stakeholders. Tom Steyer has likewise pledged to expand the program, but has not endorsed an uncapped tax credit.
Among the candidates for governor, only Matt Mahan and Antonio Villaraigosa have pledged to eliminate the cap entirely, though none has said how much that would cost. Raman has not endorsed any of the candidates.
The state’s $750 million tax incentive is set to expire in 2030. On Friday, Raman also urged the candidates for governor to seek an early extension of the program to ensure stability.
She also took a swipe at Pratt for sharing campaign videos generated by AI — a sensitive subject for many in the industry.
“I would say to people who really care about the state of Los Angeles, and to people who care about keeping Hollywood in L.A., I would choose away from the candidate who has relied on sharing AI videos as his primary mode of communication about these issues,” Raman said.
Raman was also asked about a report in L.A. Material that her campaign had reached out to Rae Huang, a candidate to her left, to urge her to drop out and consolidate the Democratic Socialist vote. Raman confirmed that her campaign had had discussions with Huang.
“I think both of us feel very real alarm about the idea that — even if it’s only for the next five months — that we could have Spencer Pratt and millions of dollars fueled by a nationwide MAGA network essentially corroding the civic life of the city,” Raman said. “That to me is something that strikes real fear in my heart, and I think it’s definitely worth figuring out how to achieve the bold positive progressive vision that I have and that she shares for Los Angeles.”
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