Officials backed by the Democratic Socialists of America—an organization that has also remained silent—have yet to publicly respond to her candidacy.
Nithya Raman’s ideas and voice immediately capture your attention.
After announcing her run for mayor of Los Angeles, getting to know her ideas and proposals is essential. This past Saturday, she took social media and the media by storm when it was announced that she would challenge her former ally, Mayor Karen Bass, and seek her job.
Raman, who has praised Bass’s leadership over the years, said Los Angeles needs “big changes.”
“I have deep respect for Mayor Bass. We’ve worked closely together on my biggest priorities and her biggest priorities, and there’s significant alignment there,” she told The Los Angeles Times.
“But over the last few months in particular, I’ve really begun to feel like unless we have some big changes in how we do things in Los Angeles, the things we count on are not going to function anymore.”
Listening to podcasts and reviewing media coverage and social media posts from Saturday, the same ideas emerge repeatedly: Los Angeles is on the brink of collapse, a change in direction is urgent, and new leadership is needed.
On the podcast With Warrior Women by Liz Svatek, the host asks Raman where this sense of urgency to work with the unhoused and the most vulnerable comes from.
Raman is clear. Born in Kerala, India, she explains that in her homeland, the divide between rich and poor looks very different than in the United States. There, both worlds coexist, living on the same block, making awareness between one and the other unavoidable. “That world,” she says, “I brought it with me to America when I was six years old.”
Nithya is emphatic: “I developed an awareness of inequality” that has stayed with her. “Many people label me as compassionate,” she adds, “and yes, I am—but compassion does not mean accepting things that are wrong.”
Since 2020, she has served as councilmember for Los Angeles’ District 4, where she has focused her work on homelessness, climate change, and inequality more broadly.
She considers herself an outsider to Los Angeles political circles. With the support of a large group of volunteers, she won in 2020 and believes she can reach the mayor’s office without political machines behind her.
The messages and themes she shared in videos posted on her social media closely resemble—if not mirror—what she was already saying in 2023. “Political will is needed,” she said then, and continues to say now.
Her mayoral launch caused a stir in the media but was met with a kind of silence within city political circles, especially among those considered her allies. Officials backed by the Democratic Socialists of America—an organization that has also remained silent—have yet to publicly respond to her candidacy.
Nithya repeatedly affirms her love for Los Angeles. She says it is the city she chose to settle in, get married, and raise her children, which is why what is happening pains her so deeply.
“The city is no longer a place of opportunity for so many. Los Angeles is at a breaking point, and people feel it in the most basic ways. The high cost of housing is forcing families out of their homes, the homelessness crisis is getting worse, public safety feels increasingly fragile, with residents afraid to walk around their neighborhoods, dark streets… We have to move with a sense of urgency, and that’s not happening. We need a mayor who takes responsibility for the system, demands accountability from city departments, and prepares the city for emergencies before they happen,” her office stated.
Raman says she didn’t decide to enter politics until she was 38, for one simple reason: she lacked confidence. She had done many things but didn’t feel ready. “When I felt ready, I did it. I turned forty while already serving as a councilmember.”
Reactions to her candidacy quickly appeared on social media. Bass’s office responded the same day:
“The last thing Los Angeles needs is a politician who opposed cleaning up homeless encampments and efforts to make our city safer,” said campaign adviser Doug Herman. “Mayor Bass will continue changing L.A. by building on her track record delivering L.A.’s first sustained decrease in street homelessness, a 60-year low in homicides, and the most aggressive agenda our city has ever seen to make our city more affordable.”
Nithya has been clear in emphasizing that she does not oppose providing necessary funding to the LAPD or strategies addressing homelessness, but she wants to prioritize clear plans first and understand exactly how those resources will be used.
Many voters reacted to coverage of her candidacy.
“I didn’t vote for Nithya Raman the first time, but I did the second. The reason was practical: she, or her staff, have been responsive on everyday quality-of-life issues. Garbage collection in my area, which had been a mess, is now consistent; traffic lights and stop signs were installed where needed; and a neighborhood movie theater that was rumored to close has stayed open. Those things matter.
“That said, I’m hesitant to support her for mayor. I have serious concerns about the Democratic Socialists of America and what I see as their combative, zero-sum approach to politics and policy. In my view, those tactics may work for activism but are ill-suited to governing a city as large, diverse, and economically complex as Los Angeles,” wrote a resident of her district in The Los Angeles Times.
