Kerala-born Nithya Raman (44) reached second place in the primary election for the post of Mayor of Los Angeles. She now looks to challenge Mayor Karen Bass in the November election. 72-year-old Karen is in first place with 34.7% votes. Nitya got 27.1% votes. A mayoral candidate can win outright by securing more than 50% of the votes in the primary election. Otherwise the top-2 candidates face each other in the runoff election. Los Angeles is the second most populous city in America after New York. Hollywood is also here. Nitya says that India has an important contribution in shaping political thinking to help the people. Know how, in his own words… I came to America at the age of 6. Faced discrimination in school on the basis of both immigration and colour. This experience instilled in me a deep compassion for social justice. Studied Political Theory at Harvard. Took a degree in Urban Planning from MIT. When she won the Los Angeles City Council for the first time in 2020, it was called a ‘political earthquake’. People believe that my politics started from here. But, its roots are in the slums of Delhi and Chennai. Delhi gave the questions, Chennai gave the answers. After studying, I returned to India. One day in Delhi I saw that a huge slum was demolished. More than one lakh people became homeless. There was no discussion on this anywhere. I understood that the problem of the poor is not just poverty, but that they have been made invisible. Delhi asked questions and Chennai answered. A map of slums was made there under the ‘Transparent Chennai’ initiative. Collected data of water, toilets, drainage and basic facilities. For change, data is also necessary along with sensitivity. Urban problems are not individual problems, but systemic failures. Slum in India, Sidewalk in America, reached Los Angeles in 2013. Here, instead of slums, homeless people were on the footpaths. While working in the administrative office, I was given the responsibility of researching the expenditure on homelessness. 100 million dollars are being spent on these every year. But, 90% of the expenditure was on things like sending them to jail. Expenditure on housing, rehabilitation and permanent solutions was very low. Entered politics for change. Politics is not a career, just a means of work. When I thought of contesting the mayor’s election, people said that this was not the right time. I said that crises never come without waiting. I have not come here to make a career or to remain glued to the chair for 20 years. I am an urban planner. Politics is not my profession, it is a means of completing my work. If any better way of change is seen outside politics, I will not hesitate to adopt it. A city’s greatness is determined not by its shining buildings, but by how it treats its most vulnerable citizens. If a city cannot provide dignified housing, secure life and opportunity to every person, its prosperity is incomplete.
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लॉस एंजिलिस में मेयर के लिए चुनाव: रेस में केरल में जन्मीं नित्या रमन भी, बोलीं-शहर की पहचान बड़ी इमारतें नहीं, गरीबों से व्यवहार
