Indian-origin politician and urban planner Nithya Raman has secured a historic electoral victory, defeating incumbent Karen Bass to become the 44th mayor of Los Angeles.
Securing approximately 52 per cent of the vote, Raman will make history as the first South Asian American to lead the second-largest city in the United States.
Raman was born in 1981 in the southern Indian state of Kerala. Her early years were spent in Kerala, with family roots in Thrissur and Thiruvananthapuram before she moved to the United States with her family at the age of six.
She later earned her undergraduate degree from Harvard University and a master’s degree in urban planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Maintaining a strong connection to India throughout her career, Raman also returned to South India to work on urban governance initiatives, including founding Transparent Chennai, a research collective focused on improving municipal sanitation and infrastructure.
Raman’s mayoral victory marks one of the biggest political shifts in recent Los Angeles history. Having first been elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 2020 representing District 4, she entered the mayoral race earlier this year as a progressive challenger.
Campaigning on promises to address the city’s housing affordability crisis, combat homelessness through comprehensive support services, and overhaul municipal infrastructure and basic public services, Raman built strong grassroots support among young voters and working-class communities across Los Angeles.