Kerala-born Nithya Raman elected as Los Angeles mayor
The 45-year-old Democratic Socialist defeated incumbent Karen Bass to become the first South Asian mayor of the city.
Nithya Raman, a Kerala-born Democratic Socialist, has been elected as the Mayor of Los Angeles, according to reports by The Hindu and The Economic Times. Raman, 45, defeated the incumbent 73-year-old Karen Bass in the November 3 mid-term elections.
The Los Angeles City Council member for District 4 is an urban planner who holds a bachelor's degree from Harvard University and a graduate degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Raman spent early years in Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur before migrating to the US when she was six years old.
Before her political career, Raman worked in India, specifically in Chennai, where she led Transparent Chennai. According to The New Indian Express, she founded this research and data initiative in 2010 under the Centre for Development Finance at the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR).
During her time in Chennai, Raman led projects to document public services and map the locations of public toilets to ensure accountability. Her team also created a bus route map for Chennai in 2010 and worked on initiatives to map potholes.
In a video posted on X, Raman stated she is honoured to be the next Mayor and intends to work to build affordable housing, parks, and a transit system. She also expressed a commitment to making the city government capable of delivering on its promises.
Chintan Patel, Executive Director of Indian American Impact, said Raman ran on platforms of lowering rents and building housing faster.