When Nithya Raman becomes Los Angeles mayor next month, residents of her sprawling City Council district could find themselves with a new representative they never voted for — or no voting representative at all.
Now, neighborhood leaders from Silver Lake to Encino are organizing to make sure voters, rather than the City Council, get to choose who succeeds her.
More than 30 leaders from neighborhood councils, homeowner associations and business groups in communities across Council District 4 gathered Thursday evening to discuss a push for a special election, according to Rob Glushon, an Encino community leader and one of the coalition’s organizers. He said he believes the group will reach a consensus in favor of a special election.
But the question of how to replace Raman is more complicated than whether to hold an election. With her council term not scheduled to expire until December 2028, the decision could determine not only who speaks for the district at City Hall, but also whether residents have a voting representative while they wait for a successor.
And while some community leaders insist that only an election can give Raman’s successor legitimacy, others worry about the cost of a special election and the prospect of leaving the district without a vote on the council.
The decision rests with Raman’s soon-to-be former colleagues on the City Council, which has not announced how it will fill the vacancy.
Raman is scheduled to take office as mayor Dec. 14, leaving open the seat she has held since 2020. Her 4th Council District stretches from Silver Lake and the Hollywood Hills to Studio City, Sherman Oaks and Encino, encompassing neighborhoods with markedly different concerns about housing, development, public safety and city services.
Glushon, president of Encino Property Owners Association, said his group’s 16-member board voted unanimously this week to support a special election as soon as possible rather than an appointment that would allow someone to serve the remainder of Raman’s term without facing voters.
“Representative democracy is more important than the cost of a special election,” Glushon said.
He and Matt Epstein of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association are helping to organize a coalition of community leaders seeking to influence the council’s decision.
Organizers plan to continue discussions Saturday and hope to release a statement next week. But Glushon said they are still working through what should happen to the council office while a special election is organized.
That question presents its own set of choices.
Under the City Charter, the council could appoint a voting member to fill Raman’s seat, designate a nonvoting caretaker to handle the district office’s administrative operations, or call a special election, according to Josué Marcus, a spokesperson with the City Clerk’s office.
The council could also combine a special election with an interim appointment, allowing a temporary voting member or a nonvoting caretaker to serve until voters choose a successor.
Marcus said the clerk’s office does not yet have a timeline for a potential special election or an official estimate of its cost. The city is awaiting an estimate from Los Angeles County based on the number of registered voters in the district.
Roy Nwaisser, president of the Encino Neighborhood Council, also favors a special election, but said his concerns extend beyond how Raman’s successor would be chosen.
Nwaisser emphasized that he was speaking in his personal capacity, and not on behalf of the neighborhood council, which had not taken an official position on the vacancy as of Thursday.
“I definitely prefer to have a special election,” he said, adding that it would be “a huge mistake” for the council to bypass the electoral process.
Nwaisser said he wants someone who takes a different approach to public safety, homelessness and housing density. He criticized Raman’s positions on those issues and expressed concern that the council could appoint someone whose political priorities differ from his own and those of many district residents, whom he said share his views.
He is considering running for the seat himself, though he said he has no timetable for making a decision and would support another candidate who shares his priorities.
“Ultimately, if I decide to run, it won’t be because I necessarily want to. It will be because I need to,” Nwaisser said.
Not everyone involved in the district’s civic life believes an election should be the first choice.
Howard Katchen, president of the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council and a member of the Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates, said he would personally prefer that the City Council appoint a voting representative, ideally someone supported by the community, citing the expense of an election and the importance of ensuring the district has a voice in council decisions.
A special election would be his second choice, he said, while a nonvoting caretaker would be his least preferred option.
Katchen emphasized that he was speaking for himself, not on behalf of the neighborhood council, which had not taken an official position on the vacancy at the time of his interview Thursday.
For residents in Hollywood Hills, the question of who represents the district carries consequences that extend beyond the council chamber.
Justin Burnett, president of the Hollywoodland Homeowners Association, said his neighborhood is grappling with concerns about wildfire safety and traffic congestion from visitors heading toward the Hollywood Sign.
Narrow, crowded streets can complicate emergency vehicle access, he said. Residents are also concerned about broken streetlights, copper theft and other problems requiring attention from city agencies.
Burnett said he favors a special election, as did nearly all of the 33 people who responded to an informal survey he distributed through neighborhood WhatsApp and Facebook groups.
Residents want a say in who represents them for the next two years, he said, particularly given the problems they want the city to address.
But Burnett said he could accept an appointed voting representative if residents had meaningful input into the selection and the expense of a special election proved too high. He emphasized that this was his personal view, not an official position of the homeowners association.
What he strongly opposes is leaving the district with a nonvoting caretaker for an extended period.
“We can’t wait another two years for somebody to come in and help us,” Burnett said. “They can’t be a placeholder. We need somebody who is going to be a leader for our area and really represent us well.”
Sheila Irani, chair of the Hollywood Hills Fire Safe Council, shares Burnett’s concerns about traffic and wildfire safety but takes a different view of what should happen while an election is organized.
Irani said the City Council should call a special election to replace Raman and appoint a nonvoting caretaker in the meantime, ideally someone from Raman’s existing staff who knows the district and its needs.
She adamantly opposes appointing a voting replacement to serve the remainder of Raman’s term without an election.
“Those of us who are constituents in CD4 must play a role in who is going to represent us,” she said. “And the only way to do that is through a vote.”
Irani, a former staffer for Councilmember Tom LaBonge who ran for the seat in 2015, said she intends to run again in 2028 and in a special election if one is called. She said she has hired campaign professionals and expects to file paperwork soon.
Although Irani criticized Raman’s handling of traffic congestion around the Hollywood Sign, she credited the outgoing councilmember with supporting the Fire Safe Council’s wildfire preparedness efforts.
Irani said Raman had approved the organization’s grant requests, even as a proposal to manage visitor traffic around Lake Hollywood failed to advance.
Despite her opposition to a voting appointment that would replace an election, Irani said she would be willing to accept an appointment herself if residents were consulted.
“I would love that, but I feel like the people still need to be consulted,” she said. ”Obviously, whatever it takes to get inside there and to start making the necessary changes that I hear from the constituents all throughout CD4, I want to do.”
Other potential candidates are also weighing a race.
Jimmy Biblarz, a senior advisor and campaign counsel to Raman’s mayoral campaign, has said he is prepared to run if a special election is called. Deputy City Attorney Ethan Weaver, who challenged Raman in 2024, has said he would run as well, according to the Los Angeles Times.
For Maebe Pudlo, co-chair of the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council, a special election is important not only because it would give voters a say in Raman’s successor, but also because an appointment could give someone an advantage in the 2028 election.
“If there’s an appointment, that gives whoever’s appointed a great advantage, if they want to run for a full term in 2028, which overall feels unfair to me,” said Pudlo, also known as Maebe A. Girl.
Pudlo lives in the Council District 13 portion of Silver Lake, which is divided between two council districts. They emphasized that they were speaking for themselves, not on behalf of the neighborhood council.
Unlike some of Raman’s critics, Pudlo supported her mayoral campaign and praised her council office’s responsiveness to neighborhood concerns. They said they hope her successor will continue addressing homelessness compassionately, expanding permanent supportive housing and strengthening renter protections.
The breadth of the organizing effort does not mean that every neighborhood organization has formally endorsed a special election.
The Los Feliz Neighborhood Council had not taken an official position as of Friday. Its board is scheduled to consider a letter Tuesday urging the City Council to call a special election, according to its president Misty LeGrande.
The Silver Lake Neighborhood Council is expected to consider a similar resolution Dec. 2, Pudlo said.
The final decision, however, rests with the City Council.
Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson has not publicly committed to either a special election or an appointment. In a statement provided to SCNG Thursday, senior advisor Martin Schlageter said the council president remains committed to reviewing the options under the City Charter.
“The main goal is to address the impending lack of representation for CD4 residents,” Schlageter said.
Glushon said Harris-Dawson told him the council does not expect to decide how to fill the seat until after its winter recess, when members return in January.Harris-Dawson has also agreed to meet with the coalition later this month or early December to hear from community leaders and residents, Glushon said.
Raman’s office likewise has not said whether the mayor-elect favors an appointment or a special election, or whether she intends to recommend a successor.
In a statement, her office said district staff had been briefed by the city’s chief legislative analyst on the available options and shared them with Raman.
“The Mayor-Elect recognizes the importance of this decision for the district and believes Council District 4 residents deserve effective representation and continuity of services,” the statement said. “She looks forward to a thoughtful process that puts their interests first.”