Nithya Raman defeats Karen Bass to become Los Angeles’ first Indian-American mayor

Washington: Kerala-born Nithya Raman has won the Los Angeles mayoral election, defeating incumbent Karen Bass and becoming the first Indian-American—and first South Asian—to lead the second-largest city in the United States. Bass conceded on Thursday and pledged a smooth transition.

“Los Angeles, I am deeply honored to be your next mayor,” Raman said after the result. The latest unofficial county tally showed her with 460,772 votes, or 52.70 per cent, against Bass’s 413,519 votes, or 47.30 per cent, giving Raman a lead of 47,253 votes as officials continued counting ballots.

Raman, an urban planner and city council member, first won election to the Los Angeles City Council in 2020, becoming the first Asian-American woman and first South Asian elected to that body. She was re-elected in 2024 and will now take office as mayor on December 8.

Her win also makes her the first challenger to unseat an incumbent Los Angeles mayor in more than two decades.

Bass, the city’s first Black woman mayor, said she had called Raman to congratulate her and committed to an orderly handover. She thanked supporters and said she would continue serving Los Angeles.

Raman thanked Bass for her leadership and decades of public service, including her earlier roles as a state legislator and member of Congress.

Raman campaigned on housing affordability, homelessness and better city services, including street and street-light repairs and changes to policing.

Local officials welcomed her victory while flagging pressing issues ahead. Council member Adrin Nazarian cited rising living costs, pressures on the middle class, public transport and retaining entertainment-industry jobs, while District Attorney Nathan Hochman emphasized cooperation on public safety.

Born in India, Raman moved to the United States with her family at age six. She graduated from Harvard and earned a master’s degree in urban planning from MIT, later working on homelessness and co-founding the SELAH Neighborhood Homeless Coalition.

(Inputs from IANS)