In the race for mayor of Los Angeles, housing — and the subsequent problems of affordability, homelessness, economic opportunity and safety that are so closely intertwined — remains the issue of the day. She’s an MIT-educated urban planner by training, and current head of the City Council’s Housing and Homelessness Committee who has long been in the weeds in the city’s housing debates. Raman also faces an electoral landscape in which some real estate operators and investors feel unhappy with the state of leadership, according to real estate and eviction attorney Avi Sinai. Plenty of real estate players opposed Raman, especially for her tenant’s rights and anti-displacement stances, and backed Spencer Pratt earlier in the race. “Nobody is the ideal candidate for the real estate industry or for the community,” said Smith.