Nithya Raman vows to get spicy with City Hall rivals as she reveals timeline for mayoral takeover

Mayor-elect Nithya Raman bid farewell to the Los Angeles City Council Tuesday, vowing to work with colleagues who snubbed her campaign — even if things get a little “spicy” — after her stunning election victory over Karen Bass.“Just because I’m down the hall doesn’t mean I’m gonna forget how to do that work,” Raman told her colleagues during a council meeting.“And so I’m here to be spicy with you and to get through it and to find the outcome that works for all of us.”The 45-year-old former urban planner reflected on six years in office during an emotional speech from the council floor, pledging to put political differences aside when she becomes mayor on December 14.Raman will remain on the council until midnight the morning December 13, when her District 4 seat becomes vacant.Her departure will trigger another political battle at City Hall over who will replace her, but Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson told the California Post a decision is unlikely for at least a month.“Nothing will get decided, at least until the mayor-elect vacates her seat and becomes mayor,” Harris-Dawson told The Post, pointing to the council’s upcoming recess.Raman’s political ascent comes after she pulled off one of the city’s biggest election upsets in decades, defeating Bass despite entering the race at the last minute and failing to secure a single endorsement from her 14 council colleagues.Her lead has ballooned to 104,240 votes, with Raman capturing 603,631 votes, or 54.7%, compared with Bass’ 499,391 votes, or 45.3%, according to Monday’s election returns.Yet on Tuesday, Raman extended an olive branch to her colleagues who largely supported her opponent.“We all came to this from different pathways and from different perspectives, but we are all here because we love LA and we wanna make it better,” she told the council.She promised to visit neighborhoods alongside councilmembers to better understand their constituents’ concerns and...