Raman's Spanish: A tool for connection or a campaign tactic

Nithya Raman recited a handwritten message in Spanish at Univision's Westchester studios on Thursday, days before the mayoral election. The candidate, who is currently serving on the L.A. City Council, told staff that she came from India with her mother at age six and understands the difficulty of starting over in a new country. She aimed to demonstrate her language skills to connect with Latino voters, who make up nearly half of the city's population and represent a key voting bloc in the final days of the campaign.

Raman has incorporated Spanish into her public appearances since launching her mayoral bid. She often speaks in Spanglish or uses stilted Spanish sentences to address constituents. Her senior director for Latino outreach, Lauren Perez-Rangel, reviewed the full message with Raman before the interview. Raman repeated the text without pauses, and Perez-Rangel confirmed her accuracy. The candidate hopes to use this fluency to win over voters who may feel disconnected from English-only communication.

Raman's background informs her approach to language. She spoke Tamil and Malayalam in India before moving to the United States. If she wins the election, she would become the first immigrant mayor since Frank Shaw in the 1930s. She would also be the first mayor whose native language was not English since Bernard Cohn in 1878. Her experience moving between languages shapes her view on how city government should interact with residents who speak different tongues.

The candidate has taken specific steps to support Spanish speakers in her role on the City Council. In 2022, she co-authored a motion to introduce live Spanish translation services at committee meetings. She is currently pushing the city to research how to maintain Spanish-language information as the federal government removes these versions from websites. Raman stated that showing an effort to speak Spanish, even with mistakes, communicates to residents that officials are making an attempt to reach them.

Raman learned Spanish during four years of high school classes in suburban Boston. She chose the language over French because she believed it would be more useful globally. After forgetting much of her vocabulary during time at Harvard and MIT, she resumed practicing with her brother, a Spanish major at UCLA, after moving to Los Angeles 13 years ago. She studies using bilingual books, streams Spanish-language shows, and listens to podcasts. She noted that she has practiced regularly since joining the City Council in 2020, though she reduced her study time as her mayoral campaign intensified.

Supporters and critics have offered mixed reactions to Raman's language efforts. Some voters appreciate the direct communication, while critics dismiss the use of Spanish phrases as pandering. Raman rejected the idea that speaking in a resident's language is a political tactic. She argued that elected representatives should make an effort to communicate in the languages spoken by the people they serve, noting that she would appreciate similar efforts if Tamil were the dominant language in the city.

In a recent interview, Raman discussed the challenges of learning a new language and her personal life. She explained that her husband speaks only English, and her twin 10-year-olds can understand some Tamil but she is no longer fluent in Malayalam. She acknowledged that maintaining multiple languages at home can be stressful. When asked about the term convenenciero, which describes someone who adapts to help themselves, Raman said she does not feel the term applies to her. She emphasized her desire to learn what residents want rather than assuming she already knows the answer.

The mayoral election is scheduled for November 3. Raman's campaign continues to focus on outreach to Latino communities. Her opponent, Karen Bass, has emphasized her long history of work with Latino residents and uses bilingual advertising in her campaign. The results will determine the next leader of Los Angeles and the direction of its multilingual policies.