Nithya Raman Might Save City Council
It’s time for LA leaders to put people over corporate lobbyists.
There are seven days to go until November 3rd.
I, like you, am spending every minute working for a ballot box blow-out— we need to turn the page on the neo-fascist nightmare that Donald Trump has wrought.
But frankly, one of the races I’m most excited about is one that I can’t even vote in -- the race for L.A.’s fourth council district.
Yes, I’m making calls for Joe Biden. But I’m spending most of my time this final week getting out the vote for Nithya Raman.
This election is proof that local politics matter.
Los Angeles has one of the biggest city budgets in the country -- a whopping $9 billion dollars. And every penny of it is controlled by the City Council.
Although the Council represents a city with nearly four million residents, a plurality of whom are working class people of color, its members have spent the last several years answering to a constituency of one: big money interests— from accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars from police unions, to cozying up to real estate developers.
And we’ve suffered for it: our housing affordability crisis is spiraling out of control and homelessness continues to rise at alarming rates. Since March, thousands of Angelenos have slipped into poverty, as many as 365,000 households could face evictions, and 15,000 businesses have closed.
Thanks to their lack of leadership, Los Angeles is on the brink of implosion.
It’s no secret that many Councilmembers are life-long politicians who have hopped from one elected position to another and then back again.
It’s also not a secret that -- despite years in office -- they feign powerlessness and insist their hands are tied when it comes to passing effective, progressive policies.
As our city has slipped into disarray, our representatives have twiddled their thumbs while comfortably collecting their taxpayer-funded salaries. We have allowed their power to go unchecked far too long.
This summer, during a nation-wide reckoning with racism and criminal injustice, and a pandemic that decimated our local economy and plunged thousands of Angelenos into financial crisis, all eyes were on City Council to rise to the occasion.
So, what did they do? They delayed evictions, barely trimmed the bloated police budget, and threw a Hunger Games-style rent forgiveness lottery at Angelenos for which only a handful of tenants qualified (with their landlords’ permission, of course).
Even as their constituents pleaded and protested for bigger change, City Council shrugged their shoulders and conceded that this was the best they could do.
If that’s their best, we need some new blood. Flip-flopping and lip-service isn’t enough.
City Council must reflect the ideological diversity of LA, instead of a small faction of archaic neoliberalism.
That’s where Nithya comes in.
An urban planner, activist, and co-founder of one of Los Angeles’s most impactful homeless outreach programs, SELAH. Not to mention, she served as the executive director of Time’s Up Entertainment.
Most importantly, Nithya is running an entirely people-funded campaign. I believe with my whole heart that electing Nithya to Council District 4 is the change we need in our local government.
Many Angelenos are concerned about their unhoused neighbors, terrified of climate change, sick of the unchecked power of law enforcement, and tired of DC, Sacramento, and City Hall legislating around the interests of big money donors.
Nithya doesn’t just hear our cries for equity and justice, she leads the charge. I hope you’ll take some time to read her carefully crafted policies on environmental justice, affordable housing and homelessness, real criminal justice reform, and increased accountability and transparency at City Hall.
And let’s not forget, she’s doing it all without accepting a dime of corporate, fossil fuel, or developer money.
LA City Council is notorious for voting unanimously and cutting deals behind the scenes that serve corporate City Hall lobbyists.
But we elect Councilmembers to serve us.
I firmly believe that Nithya’s transparency and vision could build lonely votes into coalitions, and backdoor meetings into open forums.
And I sincerely hope that her election will blaze a trail for future progressive legislators to run for City Council, State Assembly, and beyond.
That’s why I’m calling on my friends and neighbors in District 4 to vote for Nithya Raman.
Because a win for Nithya is a win for all Angelenos.
I don't live in LA but wish she wins the election. We all deserve better.