Councilmember Nithya Raman holds onto her seat with an outright primary win.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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Topline:
Incumbent Nithya Raman has successfully won her city council seat with more than 50% of the votes cast, the threshold needed to win outright in the primary.
How we got here: L.A.’s worsening housing and homelessness crisis has been front and center in this district. Raman and Weaver sharply disagree on a city policy that bans encampments near schools, parks and other “sensitive” locations.
The backstory: This district changed more than any other during the city’s most recent redistricting process. Renter-heavy parts of Koreatown were taken out of the district, and parts of the Valley featuring more homeowners were added in.
Keep reading ... for analysis of the race and why Raman came up in those taped conversations that roiled City Hall.
Latest results
Los Angeles city councilmember Nithya Raman will keep her seat, as election results show her maintaining just enough votes to avoid a runoff election.
With Raman’s vote tally now above the critical 50% threshold, her main challenger — Deputy City Attorney Ethan Weaver — called her to concede the race on Thursday.
A race that appeared tight on election night now has incumbent Nithya Raman in the clear lead. The big question: Does she stay above 50% to retain the seat outright?
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Erin Hauer
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Raman said in a statement Thursday that during the campaign she encountered many voters hopeful about the city’s future. “I really look forward to carrying that sense of optimism and insistence on a better L.A. with me over the next four years.”
A note on the results
OFFICIAL RESULTS
The California Secretary of State's Office certified the final vote tallies on April 12, marking an official end to the March 5, 2024 Primary Election.
Voter Game Plan will be back in the fall to help you prepare for the Nov. 5 General Election.
The race was widely seen as a key test of political progressives’ staying power in city hall.
Raman received support from the Democratic Socialists of America, and has pushed to expand tenant rights and impose new limits on evictions. She also faced opposition from Sherman Oaks homeowners opposed to a low-income housing project Raman supports.
Weaver told voters he would take a tougher approach to clearing homeless encampments near schools and public parks. On election night, he said early results putting him close behind Raman showed his message resonating with voters.
“We have issues like homelessness, public safety, small businesses that are collapsing,” Weaver said. “These are voices that do not feel they have representation in city hall. And people are looking for a new approach.”
Landlords, police and firefighters spent big to defeat Raman
Outside spending favored Weaver, with real estate interests and police and firefighters unions spending $1.3 million to defeat Raman.
Corporate landlord Douglas Emmett Management — currently carrying out one of the city’s largest mass evictions in the Barrington Plaza high-rise apartment complex — gave $400,000 to the independent committee opposing Raman.
About the district
The amount of money spent in the race marked a shift from the previous election in 2020, when Raman became the first challenger to unseat an L.A. City Council incumbent in 17 years. The district’s boundaries also changed significantly.
When Raman originally won the seat, the district included more renter-heavy areas, such as Koreatown and fewer homeowner-dominated areas in the San Fernando Valley. After the city’s most recent redistricting process, the district’s southernmost portions were removed and more of the Valley was included.
In a covertly recorded discussion at the L.A. County Federation of Labor headquarters in 2021, former council president Nury Martinez and current councilmember Kevin de Leon discussed diluting “her renters’ district” and putting it “in a blender” to “chop up left and right.” Ultimately, 40% of the district is new to this election.
What's next
Despite those changes, Raman was able to eke out a victory in the primary. She needed over 50% of voters’ support to avoid a runoff in the November general election. As of Wednesday, March 13, she had 50.64% of the vote.
Weaver had 38.62% of the vote as of Wednesday. Former NASA engineer Lev Baronian was coming in a distant third with just over 10.74%.
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