Nithya Raman, the Indian-American city council member who was elected mayor of California’s Los Angeles on Thursday, has her roots in Keralam.
Her family lived for decades in a lane adjoining the Ramaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram’s Kottakkathu neighbourhood. K Ramayyar, was a postmaster, her father, R Venkataraman, was employed at Keltron While her paternal grandfather. Her mother, Sudha, was an employee at the Indian Overseas Bank. She emigrated with her parents to the US when she was six. Raman last visited Thiruvananthapuram five years ago. Her paternal relatives still reside in the state capital. During the few years that she spent in India after her higher education, Raman was involved in sanitation work through an NGO in Chennai. She worked to improve sanitation programmes in the city in coordination with the municipal corporation. She also worked in Delhi with the homeless population. After her victory, Raman promised to improve neglected city services in Los Angeles and undertake medical and housing efforts for the homeless in the city.
Raman was born on July 28, 1981, in Thrissur to Tamil Brahmin parents. Raman completed her graduation in social studies at Harvard University in 2003 and earned her master’s in urban planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Raman was first elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 2020, and her campaign was backed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).
The 45-year-old defeated incumbent mayor Karen Bass to become the first South Asian to lead America’s second-largest city, which is due to host the Olympics in 2028.
