Who is Nithya Raman, the Harvard-MIT graduate who has added Los Angeles to the US' list of Indian-origin mayors

Indian-origin Nithya Raman has defeated incumbent mayor Karen Bass to become the next mayor of Los Angeles, marking a major electoral victory for the South Asian-American politician in the United States' second-most populous city.

Raman, who was first elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 2020, entered the mayoral race in February, challenging Bass, whom she had publicly endorsed just weeks earlier. The contest later turned into a generational and political battle, with the two candidates offering different approaches to public safety, affordable housing and homelessness.

Bass had the backing of much of Los Angeles' political establishment, including the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and the county's Democratic Party. Raman, meanwhile, secured support from groups that have gained prominence at City Hall in recent years, including the left-wing Democratic Socialists of America and transportation advocacy group Streets For All.

Who is Nithya Raman

Raman is an urban planner, a graduate of Harvard and MIT, a working mother and an immigrant to America. She represents District 4 on the Los Angeles City Council.

Before entering electoral politics, Raman served for several years as the Co-Chair of the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council Homelessness Committee and co-founded the SELAH Neighborhood Homeless Coalition.

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She ran for City Council in 2020 and won a historic victory, becoming the first Asian-American woman and the first South Asian ever to serve on the City Council. In March 2024, she was decisively elected to a second term.

Since taking office, Raman has focused on homelessness, affordable housing and climate goals. Her office has also worked directly with residents on renter protections, neighborhood upgrades, community initiatives and fire safety.

Her record on homelessness

Homelessness has been a major focus of Raman's work in Los Angeles.

Since she took office in December 2020, her office has brought more than 2000 people off the streets into interim housing, 633 permanently housed, and more than tripled access to shelter beds in the district.

It has also sustainably housed residents at more than a dozen major encampments across the district through dedicated encampment-to-home efforts.

These efforts led to the first reduction of unsheltered homelessness in the district in six years.

Raman has also led efforts to improve the city's response to homelessness across Los Angeles.