Meet Nithya Raman: The Kerala-born Democratic Socialist who would be Los Angeles’ first South Asian mayor

India-born democratic socialist leader Nithya Raman has rewritten history and defeated Los Angeles’ incumbent Mayor Karen Bass in the November 3 midterm elections in the United States (US). Her victory will completely alter the political trajectory in the second largest city in the country.

45-year-old Raman, who was a member of the Los Angeles City Council and was backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, would become the first South Asian to lead Los Angeles. She described her victory as a great honour and thanked those who supported her during the campaigning.

Raman also thanked Bass, who was Los Angeles’ first woman mayor, for her service to the city.

“Los Angeles, I am deeply honoured to be your next Mayor. Thank you to the thousands of people who knocked on doors, sent texts, made phone calls, convinced their neighbours to believe in the promise of this big, beautiful, joyful city that we get to call home,” she said in a video statement on X on Thursday.

“I am going to City Hall to work every single day to earn your trust and to earn your trust in this city again. And that work starts now, so that we can build housing that people can afford, parks for our children to play in, a transit system that can get people where they need to go, a city that is safe for its working people and its families, and a city government that is actually capable of delivering on its promises,” Raman added.

Nithya Raman: The Kerala-born who would be Los Angeles’ next mayor

Raman was born on July 28, 1981, in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram. When she was just six-year-old, her family moved to Burlington, Massachusetts, where they eventually settled. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the Harvard University in 2003, while she completed her graduate degree from the MIT in 2008.

Raman, who is the LA City Councilmember for District 4, is also the founder of Transparent Chennai, a research firm that operates in Tamil Nadu’s Chennai to improve the city’s sanitation. She also leads the SELAH Neighborhood Homeless Coalition in Los Angeles. 

According to Indian American Impact Executive Director Chintan Patel, Raman’s campaigning for the midterms focused on “lowering rents, building housing faster, and making city services work” for the people of Los Angeles. With her victory, the two largest cities in the US, Los Angeles and New York, would be led by Indian-descent Democratic Socialists mayors.

Bass has congratulated Raman and ensured she is “committed to ensuring a smooth and seamless transition”. “While this is not the outcome we hoped for, the people of Los Angeles have spoken,” Bass said in a statement.

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