Bold.
That’s what I initially thought when a political novice named Nithya Raman defeated an incumbent in 2020 to become the first democratic socialist elected to the Los Angeles City Council.
That’s how I’ll feel when Raman prevails over deep-pocketed challengers and loud-mouthed opponents in the 2024 primary and wins re-election outright, even as the district she represents is redrawn against her.
What was bold was that Rahman filed to run for mayor before the deadline. Taking on her ally Karen Bass, the Los Angeles institution she endorsed just weeks ago. That angered members of the Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, who had not planned to run for mayor this year. Call out stereotypes in Los Angeles institutions, such as expensive convention center renovations.
Stevie Wonder’s “Living for the City” was chosen as the campaign theme song, despite its explicit lyrics about urban despair. Despite being in third place at the time, she danced with Elaine from “Seinfeld” on primary night.
When we learned that Raman was hosting her Nov. 3 election night party at the Greek Theater, I texted a friend “Bold”—either a brilliant move to mark the start of a new day in Los Angeles or the worst choice for a venue political loser since Hillary Clinton hosted her 2016 party in a glass-ceilinged hotel ballroom.
Boldness is what Raman is all about. Bass raised more money and received support from Los Angeles blue institutions. From the Los Angeles Police Protective League to the California Post to her fellow City Council officers, haters paint Rahman as an immature, insecure pinko coward who doesn’t understand Los Angeles and can barely do her job, let alone run one of the greatest cities in the world.
But Raman did not stop. She left the trendy parts of the city, where democratic socialists had found a stronghold, and campaigned in an area openly loathed by the people she represented. She uses imperfect Spanish to express her desire to reach Angelenos in any way possible and is vulnerable enough to show that she’s still learning. Raman has even cried in public, and City Hall insiders have long mocked her, and crying in the name of trying to make Los Angeles a better place is about the boldest thing you can do.
Boldness is what this metropolis needs. Now that Raman defeated Bass in a multi-year campaign, Los Angeles will make bold moves.
Critics will downplay the victory as more of a verdict against a deeply unpopular mayor than an embrace of Raman – they have said a stump could have beaten Bass. But that’s not what heavyweights who have long aspired to become mayor — like billionaire developer Rick Caruso, Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath and City Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez — were thinking when they had the chance to run this year but chose not to.
They decided the road to City Hall was too dangerous to risk potential damage. They are not bold.
I can’t say I saw this coming. I did call Raman the comeback in Los Angeles politics in September. Pillaris as tireless a politician as I have ever covered. But her apology for some avoidable gaffes in the final month of the campaign seemed to confirm any suspicions about her. The attacks on Raman became more vicious and relentless, while Bass attacked anyone she thought might win her more votes, from walking alongside Caruso to walking alongside future governor Xavier Becerra at Homegirl Cafe the day before the election.
On the morning of the election I told a friend that Bass was probably going to win. Angelenos were not brave enough to go with Raman. As I wrote a few weeks ago, Los Angeles had long ago given up on its old mayoralty when they could have acted boldly.
Not this time.
Los Angeles Mayor-elect Nithya Raman (left) hugs her father Venkit Raman during an election night party at Boomtown Brewery on June 2, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
(Gina Ferrazzi/Los Angeles Times)
As mayor, Rahman needs to be bolder than ever. Angelenos long for safer streets, an end to homelessness, and the restoration of the dream place this city has represented for more than a century. They want to reduce the bureaucracy that has slowed redevelopment in the Palisades and made running a small business more of a punishment than a reward. They don’t want anyone to be beholden to any ideology except that the City of Angels needs to be a paradise again.
When Raman took office, nearly half of voters (not to mention the entire City Council) supported her opponent. She will need the humility to win over the naysayers, the conviction to get rid of things and people that don’t make Los Angeles a better place, the wisdom to preserve what works, the courage to stand up to the DSA, and the vision to make the city believe in itself again.
Most importantly, Raman needs to be bold enough to avoid becoming another Karen Bass.
When she was an activist in South Los Angeles, the lifelong Angelino was bold, advocating for multiracial alliances and challenging conservatives. She was an effective member of Parliament and Congress. But City Hall sucked away her creativity, her optimism, her drive. She became cautious, then negative. By the end of the game, it seemed like Bass was just giving the city a final gift by being able to say she drove off another DSA insurgent.
Bright-eyed outsiders drowning in the swamp — that’s the story of Los Angeles politics. Raman needed to show that this story could end.
“Bold” ultimately hopes that you will be the one to break the system that needs to be eliminated. This was another important issue that Rahman repeatedly emphasized during the campaign, culminating in her election night speech at the Greek Theater.
“Despair can be fatal to a city,” she told an adoring crowd that grew in numbers until security closed the entrance. “But this campaign refuses to accept that. You refuse to accept that. You see despair, but you choose hope.”
Angelenos chose to be bold. Hope Raman stays bold.