Indian-American Nithya Raman secured a place in the November run-off election for mayor in Los Angeles (LA) on Monday. The Democrat narrowly beat Republican candidate Spencer Pratt after trailing him by over 40,000 and then gaining ground as more votes were counted on Sunday and Monday. Raman will now have the chance to compete against incumbent Mayor Karen Bass to run the second-largest city in the United States.
Raman shared a post on X, expressing gratitude towards her supporters.
“To the thousands of supporters who knocked doors, made calls, sent texts, donated, and opened their homes for events across the city, and to everyone else who made this moment possible: thank you, from the bottom of my heart,” she wrote.
Raman promised to change the “broken status quo”, criticising depleted services, higher rents, and the political power of special interest groups as the key problems facing the city.
She vowed to expand access to affordable housing, protection for renters, and to end homelessness. She has also been a vocal critic of the controversial Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.
Raman was born to immigrants from Kerala and has degrees in urban planning from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After working at the office of LA’s City Administrative Officer and at the non-profit Time’s Up Foundation, Raman launched a bid to unseat an incumbent LA City Council member in 2020. The result marked the first time a challenge to defeat an incumbent in LA succeeded in 17 years.
Raman focused on progressive priorities such as housing, reducing rent increases, and combating homelessness during her time at the office.
She is set to go head-to-head with Bass, who is the first mayor in over 20 years facing a run-off election. Bass’ predecessors had won the mayoral elections in the first round of voting, winning a clear majority. Bass, however, only won 34% of the vote in the initial round, triggering the run-off election despite placing first.
