Nithya Raman beat incumbent Karen Bass in the Los Angeles mayoral election. The win was called on Thursday. Raman is the current city councilmember for District 4; a special election will likely be held to replace her. In the June 2 primary, Bass secured 34% of the vote to Raman’s 29%.
Raman ran on a campaign that said Bass did not do enough in her time as mayor and positioned herself as a candidate for change. Her progressive platform included expanding housing, protecting renters and getting United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement out of L.A. Though she criticized Bass in her campaign, after winning the election Raman posted a video thanking her voters and paying tribute to Bass.
“[Bass] has given decades of her life to making this city what it is today,” Raman said in the video. “From her time as an emergency room nurse, to starting Community Coalition, to her leadership in Sacramento and in [Washington,] D.C., and then becoming the first woman mayor of Los Angeles.”
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In the lead-up to the race, Raman led Bass by 11% in one poll by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies that was co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times. In the week leading up to the election, Bass was able to completely erase that lead and tied Raman with support from 40% of likely L.A. voters.
Though the race was close, Bass conceded to Raman on Thursday.
“While this is not the outcome we hoped for, the people of Los Angeles have spoken,” Bass said in a statement. “I have called Councilmember Nithya Raman to congratulate her on her victory, and I have committed to ensuring a smooth and seamless transition. Moving this city forward is what Los Angeles needs from all of us.”
Raman will officially begin her term as mayor on the second Monday of December, Dec. 14, per the Los Angeles Charter and Administrative Code.
“To every voter who voted for Mayor Bass or chose not to vote at all, just know this: I am going to City Hall to work every single day to earn your trust,” Raman said in the video, “and to earn your trust in this city again.”
