In a closely fought election, an Indian American has defeated longtime incumbent to become Mayor of the second largest city in the United States.
In what could be classified as one of the toughest seats to win, that too against a fellow Democrat – 45 year-old Indian American Nithya Raman swung the power balance within the party – to secure her win as Mayor of Los Angeles.
Raman becomes the first Indian American to lead the city in the history of the nation.
She is not the first Democratic Socialist or progressive Democrat to become mayor, having been preceded approximately a year ago by Indian American Zohran Mamdani who is currently running New York City.
ADVERTISEMENT
Saying she was “deeply honored” to be the city’s next mayor, the 45 year-old Raman posted, “ I love this city. I believe in its people. The work ahead will be hard, and change will take time. And together, we are going to build a future as extraordinary as the city we call home.”
The come-from-behind candidate garnered 52.1 percent of the vote to longtime incumbent Karen Bass’ 47.9 percent, according to results posted on Ballotpedia.
Her bio on the campaign website talks of her first race to win a City Councilwoman seat in 2020, when she ran on the power of 2,000 volunteers knocking on 80,000 doors, Raman has been a “political earthquake” as LA Times characterized her.
An uban planner by training, Raman received her bachelor’s degree from Harvard and graduate degree from MIT, and lives with her husband Vali Chandrasekaran, and two children in Silver Lake. Her husband is a veteran television writer and producer, which brings Raman close to the heart of the city that houses Hollywood!
The Guardian of UK reported that Raman served as the entertainment director for the Time’s Up organization founded by the big names of Hollywood at the height of the #MeToo movement. For her campaign, she was endorsed by the older and younger set of tinsel town – Jane Fonda, Samuel L. Jackson, a well as the former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger, as well as Indian American author, actress, filmmaker Mindy Kaling among others.
While in the City Council, Raman is credited with working to lower housing costs and build more housing. Her legislation has focused on trying to accelerate housing production through zoning and planning reforms and overhauling permitting processes to eliminate unnecessary delays. She has also been behind strengthening tenants’ rights and reducing rental increases.
Her approach to homelessness has included pushing for greater oversight of City spending, strengthening data collection, and improving coordination between City departments and service providers.
Born in Kerala, Raman’s ancestral family was following the results closely in their family home in Pazhayanaddakkavu in Thrissur, Mathrubhumi newspaper reported.
Raman came to the US when she was 6 years old, with her parents, and became a citizen when she was 22.