Nithya Raman wins re-election to Los Angeles City Council District 4 seat

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Incumbent Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman has won re-election to her seat, surpassing 50% in last week's election and avoiding the need for a November runoff, according to the latest vote tally.

The first-term councilmember was facing a challenge for her seat from two opponents who questioned her ability to tackle the city's challenges on homelessness and crime.

Her leading opponent, deputy city attorney Ethan Weaver, issued a concession statement Thursday congratulating Raman on her win. Weaver was seen as a strong contender who was backed by funding from the LAPD union and real-estate groups.

"First and foremost, I want to congratulate Councilmember Raman," Weaver wrote to his supporters. "She ran an incredibly well organized, hard-fought campaign. She stayed true to her core values and principles, even when that elicited criticism. She stood firm in her beliefs and I admire that. Councilmember Raman also never ducked an opportunity to debate, even on unfriendly turf. While we agreed on the important issues facing our city, we often have disagreed on the solutions, but we were never disagreeable. I congratulate her on a terrific victory."

The latest results from the county registrar indicate Raman received more than 32,000 votes, coming in at about 50.6%, just above the threshold to avoid a November runoff election. Weaver in second had more than 24,000 votes, for 38.6% and Levon Baronian had almost 7,000 votes, for 10.7%.

Raman told Eyewitness News the results make her "proud to be an Angeleno" because voters rejected the heavy spending by Weaver and the unions backing him.

She said she understands how voters feel about homelessness.

"There is a lot of frustration and anger out there and to be honest, I feel that same frustration," Raman said. "But to me, what this vote, what this outcome represents is that Angelenos want to respond to homelessness in the right way. By offering housing, by offering services, by doing work that can really move people indoors and off the streets - not just shuffle them from sidewalk to sidewalk as the city has been doing for so long."

For example, under Mayor Karen Bass the city launched the Inside Safe program to clear encampments and connect the homeless with services.

The first site cleared, at the 101 Freeway and Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood, was in Raman's district. It has had to be cleared three times, including last week when 15 people were found housing. A fence now surrounds the site.

"This encampment has repopulated and we go back and we offer people housing and services and we get them indoors again," Raman said.