Nithya Raman
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Nithya V. Raman (born July 28, 1981) is an
Indian American Indian Americans are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from India. The terms Asian Indian and East Indian are used to avoid confusion with Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans in the United States, who ar ...
urban planner An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning. An urban planner may focus on a specific area of practice and have a title such as city planner, tow ...
, activist, and politician serving as the
Los Angeles City Council The Los Angeles City Council is the Legislature, lawmaking body for the Government of Los Angeles, city government of Los Angeles, California, the second largest city in the United States. It has 15 members who each represent the 15 city council ...
member for the 4th District since 2020. Raman, a member of the Democratic Party and the
Democratic Socialists of America The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a political organization in the United States and the country's largest Socialism, socialist organization. Sitting on the Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left of the politic ...
, defeated incumbent Councilmember
David Ryu David Eun Seok Ryu (; born 1975) is an American politician, who served as the Los Angeles City Councilman for Los Angeles City Council District 4, District 4 from 2015 to 2020.Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, and moved to
Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
at 6 years old. She earned a bachelor's degree in political theory from
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
then a
master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
in urban planning from
MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...
.


Career

After living in the United States for many years, Raman returned to her home country of India and founded the research firm Transparent Chennai. The firm's goal was to improve sanitation in the city of
Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
. Prior to entering politics, Raman founded and headed a homelessness nonprofit in Los Angeles and was the executive director of Time's Up Entertainment.


Los Angeles City Council


Election

Raman declared her candidacy for the Los Angeles City Council in 2019, citing the issue of homelessness as being central to her decision to run. Raman's candidacy was largely fueled by grassroots volunteers, whom she claims knocked on more than 70,000 doors before the March primary. Ground Game LA, which formed following former
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
-endorsed candidate Jessica Salans' defeat by Mitch O'Farrell in the 13th district in 2017, was credited with helping her campaign win. Raman's platform included proposed reforms to Los Angeles' housing and homelessness policy, "a new approach to public safety," and a climate change plan that she claims will get Los Angeles to
carbon neutrality Global net-zero emissions is reached when greenhouse gas emissions and removals due to human activities are in balance. It is often called simply net zero. ''Emissions'' can refer to all greenhouse gases or only carbon dioxide (). Reaching net ze ...
by 2030. She has signed the Participatory Budget Pledge, an initiative put forward by
Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...
LA which expresses a commitment to "holding a participatory budgeting process each budget cycle I hold elected office." In the March 3, 2020 primary, Raman faced incumbent
David Ryu David Eun Seok Ryu (; born 1975) is an American politician, who served as the Los Angeles City Councilman for Los Angeles City Council District 4, District 4 from 2015 to 2020.Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
''.


Re-election

In 2024, Raman was challenged by Ethan Weaver, a Deputy City Attorney who received support from local landlords, business groups, and police and firefighter unions, and Levon Baronian. She won the election in the primary in March 2024, skipping a November runoff by winning 50.6% of the vote outright, versus 38.6% for Weaver, her nearest opponent.


Tenure

In April 2021, Raman proposed amendments to a draft ordinance on tenant harassment. The amendments classified cash buyout offers and threats to report false information to law enforcement as forms of harassment, and included a rent adjustment penalty, which would prevent landlords who violate the ordinance from raising a unit's rent. The ordinance was passed in June 2021. In June 2021, Raman was served with a recall notice after only six months in office. The ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' referred to the notice as part of a "recall fever" striking California, as at least 68 other active recalls were then ongoing in the state, including the recall of Governor
Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom ( ; born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman serving since 2019 as the 40th governor of California. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served from 2011 to 201 ...
. In September 2021 the recall campaign collapsed when proponents announced that they were unable to collect the required number of signatures within the allotted time. On February 1, 2022, Raman was appointed to the board of the
South Coast Air Quality Management District The South Coast Air Quality Management District, also using the acronym South Coast (AQMD), formed in 1976, is the air pollution agency responsible for regulating stationary sources of air pollution in the South Coast Air Basin and the Coachel ...
by
Mayor of Los Angeles The mayor of Los Angeles is the head of the executive branch of the government of Los Angeles and the chief executive of Los Angeles. The office is officially Non-partisan democracy, nonpartisan, a change made in the 1909 charter; previously, ...
Eric Garcetti Eric Michael Garcetti (born February 4, 1971) is an American politician and diplomat who served as the List of ambassadors of the United States to India, United States ambassador to India from 2023 to 2025. He was the 42nd mayor of Los Angeles f ...
. She replaced councilmember
Joe Buscaino Giuseppe "Joe" Buscaino (born ) is an American politician and former police officer, who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council for the 15th district from 2012 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, Buscaino served as Presiden ...
. She pledged to prioritize public health and environmental justice from that position. In 2021 and 2022, Raman was one of three councilmembers to vote against L.A.M.C. Section 41.18, a city ordinance that banned homeless encampments within 500 feet of schools and daycare centers. 41.18 was adopted by the City Council by a vote of 11-3, over the objections of activists who protested the measure in the Council chamber. In remarks in a City Council meeting, Raman argued that the measure "creates a district by district arms-race, where people will get pushed around from district to district instead of having a citywide strategy that prioritizes intervention in encampments by need, by safety, by fire risk, by all of the things that we are claiming to be so concerned about. In the end, this will just push people around again. It's not going to solve homelessness or get anybody into housing." A leaked recording between Council President Nury Martinez, Councilmembers
Kevin de León Kevin Alexander Leon (born December 10, 1966), known professionally as Kevin de León and colloquially as KDL, is an American politician who served as the Los Angeles City Council member for District 14 from 2020 until 2024. A member of the Dem ...
and Gil Cedillo, as well as
Los Angeles County Federation of Labor The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor (LACFL) is the central labor council for unions and worker organizations in Los Angeles County, California. The organization has its roots in the late 19th century when trade unions across the Los Angeles ...
President
Ron Herrera Ron Herrera is an American labor leader, who served as the President of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor (colloquially called the "Fed") until his resignation on October 10, 2022, following the disclosure of his presence during a conver ...
revealed the group's plan to use redistricting to oust Raman. Speaking of Raman, Cedillo stated that "There's certain people who don't merit us rescuing them...She's not our ally, she's not going to help us" and de León proposed to put her district "in a blender, chop it up left or right." The group planned to split the
Koreatown A Koreatown (), also known as a Little Korea or Little Seoul, is a Korean-dominated ethnic enclave within a city or metropolitan area outside the Korean Peninsula. History Koreatowns as an East Asian ethnic enclave have only been in existence s ...
neighborhood, a voting bloc for Raman, so that minority voters in her renters' district would be divided and she would face a tougher reelection. After the conversation was leaked, Raman introduced a measure to ask voters to change the city charter so that redistricting would be handled by an independent commission. In June 2023, during a protest led by
UNITE HERE UNITE HERE is a labor union in the United States and Canada with roughly 300,000 active members. The union's members work predominantly in the hotel, food service, laundry, warehouse, and casino gaming industries. The union was formed in 2004 b ...
Local 11, the
Los Angeles Police Department The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...
arrested Raman after she refused to disperse. On February 3, 2024, Raman was censured by the Los Angeles chapter of the
Democratic Socialists of America The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a political organization in the United States and the country's largest Socialism, socialist organization. Sitting on the Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left of the politic ...
for seeking and accepting an endorsement by the Los Angeles chapter of the Zionist lobby group Democrats for Israel. However, she maintained her endorsement by the DSA Los Angeles chapter.


Political positions


Homelessness and housing issues

Raman identified herself as a "homelessness nonprofit leader" when she first ran for office in 2020. In 2024
Karen Bass Karen Ruth Bass (; born October 3, 1953) is an American politician who has served as the 43rd mayor of Los Angeles since 2022. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Bass previously served in the United States House ...
, the Mayor of Los Angeles, endorsed Nithya Raman's campaign for reelection, and her work on homeless issues.
Raman has made her work on homelessness a cornerstone of her reelection campaign, drawing praise from advocates, nonprofit groups and many of her colleagues.
In Raman's view the situation of the homeless is directly linked to the housing shortage. Specifically responding to citizen complaints about the homeless encampments in the Cahuenga area of Hollywood, she acknowledged the difficulty of finding a room indoors acceptable to the homeless, later stating, "We do not have the shelter resources we need for our homeless population." City officials here have limited discretion. Since the '' Martin v. Boise'' (2018) decision by the
Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts for the following federal judicial districts: * District ...
, the involuntary clearing homeless encampments by municipalities in its jurisdiction may be considered "
cruel and unusual punishment Cruel and unusual punishment is a phrase in common law describing punishment that is considered unacceptable due to the suffering, pain, or humiliation it inflicts on the person subjected to the sanction. The precise definition varies by jurisdi ...
" and thus unconstitutional. "Bass and Raman have embraced a similar strategy: Send outreach workers and other specialists... to make offers of motel rooms, hotel rooms and other types of temporary housing... ." The homeless may then either voluntarily accept or reject such offers. Raman claims success in clearing encampments in Los Feliz, Studio City, Sherman Oaks, among a dozen other spots in her district. In 2024, amid a housing shortage in L.A., Raman proposed to permit mid-sized apartment buildings near public transit stations in some neighborhoods zoned exclusively for single-family houses. The proposal was rejected by a 10-5 margin in the City Council, instead pursuing larger apartment buildings in already dense urban areas.


Armenia and Artsakh

In response to the
September 2022 Armenia–Azerbaijan clashes September is the ninth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 30 days. September in the Northern Hemisphere and March in the Southern Hemisphere are seasonally equivalent. In the Northern hemisphere, the beg ...
, Raman stated "I stand with the Armenian community in Los Angeles, and with Armenians worldwide, in strongly condemning
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
's unprovoked military attacks against civilians. I have the privilege to represent a vast, vibrant Armenian community in the Fourth District, so many of whom have welcomed me as their representative with open arms — and I deeply share in their sadness and anger. This senseless violence must end, and I join in loudly calling for Congress to halt all military aid to Azerbaijan." Raman has condemned Azerbaijan's 2022–2023 blockade of the Republic of Artsakh, stating that "This is not an isolated incident and is a reflection of Azerbaijan's systematic policies that are forcing indigenous Armenians out of their ancestral homeland. Azerbaijan will continue to engage in acts of war against Artsakh and Armenia until the international community holds it responsible for its actions against the only thriving democracy in the region. We have the responsibility to ensure the safety of these peaceful nations from their hostile neighbors. I urge the Biden Administration to use all available diplomatic tools, including withholding financial support, to end the blockade."


Personal life

Raman was born in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and emigrated to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
with her family at the age of six. Raman resides in the Silver Lake neighborhood of
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. She is married to television
screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...
Vali Chandrasekaran, a fellow Harvard alumnus. The two have twins: Karna and Kaveri.


Electoral history


See also

*
List of Democratic Socialists of America who have held office in the United States A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raman, Nithya 1981 births 21st-century California politicians American activists American people of Malayali descent American urban planners California Democrats California politicians of Indian descent Harvard College alumni Indian emigrants to the United States Living people Los Angeles City Council members Members of the Democratic Socialists of America from California MIT School of Architecture and Planning alumni People from Kerala Women from Kerala