Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and City Councilwoman Nithya Raman traded sharp attacks Wednesday night over homelessness, policing, housing, and the city’s struggling economy in the first major debate of the general election campaign.

The 90-minute debate offered voters a preview of a race expected to be closely watched. Bass, who finished about 5 points ahead of Raman in the June primary, sought to portray her challenger as an inexperienced outsider who would struggle to build support at City Hall.