Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman is running for mayor, challenging Karen Bass in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. The nonpartisan race will decide who leads a city government whose decisions directly shape life in Bel Air and Holmby Hills.

Raman represents Council District 4 and has served on the council since 2020, according to BallotReady. She has centered her campaign on housing, homelessness and faster city permitting, according to her campaign website.

Candidate information

  • Name: Nithya V. Raman
  • Party: Nonpartisan
  • Born: July 28, 1981, in Kerala, India
  • Education: Bachelor's degree in social studies, Harvard University (2003); master's degree in urban planning, MIT
  • Personal: Moved to Louisiana at age 6; became a naturalized American citizen at age 22

Experience and public service

Raman has held roles in city government, nonprofit leadership and the private sector, according to her Wikipedia biography and BallotReady:

  • Councilmember, District 4, Los Angeles City Council (2020–present)
  • Assistant president pro tempore, Los Angeles City Council (Jan. 28, 2025–April 14, 2026)
  • Board member, South Coast Air Quality Management District (appointed Feb. 1, 2022)
  • Executive director, Time's Up Entertainment
  • Founder and director, SELAH Neighborhood Homeless Coalition (2017)
  • Office of the City Administrative Officer (2013)
  • Founder, Transparent Chennai

On the issues

The following positions are drawn from Raman's responses on her campaign website via BallotReady. All statements reflect the candidate's own claims.

Housing and homelessness. Raman said she would issue an executive directive establishing a "shot clock" for housing approvals: 60 days or fewer for zoning-compliant projects and 120 days or fewer for discretionary ones. She said she would allow duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes in single-family neighborhoods near transit hubs.

On homelessness, Raman said the city must expand shelter capacity while stretching every dollar. She said she would offer intensive case management to transition people within 90 days into long-term options including rental vouchers, family reunification and permanent supportive housing.

She also proposed three new offices. An Office of Tenant Protections would enforce renter safeguards. An Office of Home-Sharing would crack down on rent-controlled units used as tourist accommodations. A "Super NOFA" would bundle all public affordable-housing dollars into one annual funding window.

Transportation. Raman said she would advocate through city appointees on the Metro board for high-ridership rail and express bus projects delivered on time and on budget. She proposed a team of project expediters in the mayor's office to eliminate city delays on Metro capital projects and called for more frequent Metro bus service and expanded Commuter Express routes.

Environment and parks. Raman said she would push to reach 100% clean renewable energy by 2030. She proposed planting 100,000 street trees before the 2028 Games, adding at least 600 bus shelters at high-ridership stops, and opening 100 "Community School Parks" on school campuses after hours. She said that plan would increase the share of Angelenos living within a half-mile of a park from 62% to 80%.

Economy. Raman said she would staff the LA Film Office in the mayor's office, lower or eliminate permit fees for smaller productions, and speed up permitting through structural reforms at city departments and FilmLA.

Endorsements

The following endorsements have been reported by the endorsing organizations or by news outlets, as noted:

  • Unite Here Local 11 (reported by the Los Angeles Times)
  • Democratic Socialists of America – Los Angeles (reported by the Los Angeles Times)
  • Sunrise Movement LA (reported by BallotReady profile data)

Policy positions in this profile are drawn from the candidate's own responses on her campaign website, collected via BallotReady. They have not been independently verified by the Platinum Tribune.