Nithya Raman has won the Los Angeles mayoral race, defeating incumbent Karen Bass with nearly 53 per cent of the vote in a result that adds to democratic socialists’ growing presence in U.S. municipal politics, Al Jazeera reports.

Raman, a 45-year-old city council member and former urban planner, was declared the winner on Nov. 5 and is due to take office in December.

“I love this city. I believe in its people,” Raman said in a video shared on social media after the result. “The work ahead will be hard, and change will take time.”

Her campaign promised “a city that works,” with an emphasis on housing, homelessness and the details of municipal administration.

In his reporting for Al Jazeera, Brian Osgood places Raman’s victory within a wider series of electoral gains by candidates who identify as democratic socialists. Author Shawn Gude told the outlet that frustration with economic inequality and difficulty accessing basic necessities have helped drive support for the movement.

“The idea that the economy is rigged is pretty common,” Gude said.

Leslie Chang, cochair of the Los Angeles Democratic Socialists of America, credited the organisation’s emphasis on face-to-face conversations with voters. She said its work must continue beyond election day through attention to both larger policy questions and everyday services, including rubbish collection and infrastructure repairs.

Raman’s campaign also exposed divisions within the movement. According to Al Jazeera, a national DSA panel voted a day before the Nov. 3 election on whether to withdraw her endorsement over her past positions on Israel, including her support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. The motion failed, 14 to 13.

For Chang, the next test is whether elected democratic socialists can deliver improvements residents notice before campaigners return to their doors seeking another term.

Sources