LOS ANGELES, CA – Neighborhood leaders across Los Angeles’ 4th Council District are pressing the City Council to hold a special election for the seat that Mayor-elect Nithya Raman will vacate when she takes office Dec. 14, while Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson says the council will not decide how to fill it until next year.
Raman, who represents the district from Silver Lake to the west San Fernando Valley, defeated Mayor Karen Bass in the Nov. 3 general election, and Bass conceded Nov. 5. Both women appeared as mayoral candidates on the City Clerk’s list of certified candidates for the general municipal election.
Raman’s council term runs through December 2028, so about half of it remains. That timeline is behind the worry among residents and community groups that the council could name a replacement without a public vote.
Residents of the Hollywood Hills district had begun talking about who might run to replace her even before she won the mayor’s race. Since the election, community leaders have turned to a different question: whether the council will call a special election at all.
Council will not decide before winter recess
Harris-Dawson said Tuesday, Nov. 10, that he does not plan to have the council decide how to fill the seat until it returns from its holiday break. Raman takes office Dec. 14, and the council is scheduled to begin its winter recess the following day.
The council president declined to say whether he prefers any of the available options. “We haven’t ruled anything out,” he said in an interview.
Another account of his remarks has Harris-Dawson saying the council will discuss with Raman an appointment that best serves residents of the 4th District. The council has not posted a file or agenda item on the vacancy as of Thursday.
Three paths for filling the vacancy
According to Josué Marcus, a spokesperson for the City Clerk’s office, the council has three basic options. It can call a special election and install a nonvoting caretaker to run the office in the meantime.
It can also appoint an interim replacement with voting power, who would serve until a special election is held and the results are finalized.
The third option is to appoint a voting member to serve out the rest of Raman’s term, which ends in December 2028.
Neighborhood leaders press for a vote
Anastasia Mann, president of the Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Council, said she has received numerous calls from people across the district who worry the council will skip a special election. They fear it will instead choose someone to serve until the end of 2028.
“We just want to have a voice. That’s the way the system is supposed to work,” Mann said. “It’s not like we have six months left in her term. We have half of the term left.”
On Wednesday, Nov. 11, the Encino Property Owners Assn. voted unanimously to ask Raman, Harris-Dawson and the rest of the council to hold a special election so that voters can choose their next representative.
Rob Glushon, the group’s president, said any other approach would amount to “backroom anointment.” He added: “We won’t accept an anointment.”
A coalition of neighborhood and business leaders from across the district was scheduled to meet on the issue this week.
Councilmembers voice positions
Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky’s office said voters should have the opportunity to decide who they want to represent them.
Councilmember Traci Park urged the council president to engage with constituents on the vacancy.
Raman’s office cites continuity of services
Raman has not said whether she wants a special election for her seat. Stella Stahl, her spokesperson, said in an email that the councilmember’s office has already received a policy briefing on “potential pathways forward.”
Stahl said Raman believes district residents deserve effective representation and “continuity of services.” She added that Raman “looks forward to a thoughtful process that puts their interests first.”
Transition to the mayor’s office
In her concession statement, Bass said the people of Los Angeles had spoken and that she had called Raman to congratulate her. She said she had committed to ensuring a smooth and seamless transition.
Thirteen of the 14 other councilmembers had endorsed Bass, and Raman has said she and the council would work together after the election. When she takes office, Raman will also become chair of the Metro board.
The 2022 appointment of Heather Hutt
Residents pointing to the possibility of an appointment have a recent precedent. In 2022, the council selected Heather Hutt, a former state legislative staffer, to hold the 10th District seat as a voting member while Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas fought federal corruption charges.
The City Clerk’s records for Council File 22-0981 cover the council’s Sept. 2, 2022 action on that appointment, taken while the temporary vacancy continued after Ridley-Thomas was suspended. A Council District 9 office page also reports the appointment.
The following year, after Ridley-Thomas had been convicted and forced from office, the council reappointed Hutt to serve out the remainder of his term. She won her own election to represent the district in 2024.
The District 6 special election in 2023
The council took a different route after Council President Nury Martinez resigned abruptly in 2022. A council office page dated Nov. 2, 2022 reports that the council scheduled an April 2023 special election for the vacant District 6 seat.
The council voted 10-0 to set the election for April 4, 2023, with a runoff on June 27. The city clerk estimated the cost at up to $7.65 million.
While the seat was vacant, Chief Legislative Analyst Sharon Tso served as the nonvoting caretaker. In that role she ran the office and constituent services but did not hold a council seat.
Charter change proposed in 2024
In May 2024, Councilmembers Monica Rodriguez and Imelda Padilla introduced a motion to amend the city charter. It would require a special election whenever a seat is vacant with 12 months or more left in the term, and would bar appointees with voting power.
Charter changes need voter approval, and the motion has not changed the options the City Clerk’s office described for the 4th District.
Possible candidates express interest
Two people have expressed interest in running if there is a special election. They are Jimmy Biblarz, a senior adviser on Raman’s mayoral campaign, and Ethan Weaver, a deputy city attorney who lost to Raman in 2024.
Council decision remains pending
Raman keeps her council seat until she takes office as mayor Dec. 14. Harris-Dawson has said the council will not act on the vacancy until after the winter recess, and it has not announced which of the three options it will choose.
