Meet Ethan Weaver, challenger for Nithya Raman’s LA City Council seat

Ethan Weaver will face off against progressive L.A. City Councilwoman Nithya Raman in November, based on results of the March 5 elections. On the most recent ballot count, Raman held a lead with 45.75 percent of the votes, compared to Weaver’s 42.09 percent.

Raman represents the 4th City Council district, which runs from Koreatown through the Hollywood Hills into North Hollywood. She was elected in 2020, after unseating incumbent David Ryu who had served on the council for five years.

The competitive nature of this district race highlights brewing pushback against Raman’s progressive policies and approach to homelessness, renters’ rights and environmental regulations, including criticism from the real estate industry.

Weaver, who lives in a studio apartment in Los Feliz with his fiancé, positioned himself as the realist candidate versus Raman’s more idealistic philosophy and approach to the city’s challenges. He currently works as a deputy city attorney in Los Angeles.

“Problems were ignored if they didn’t advance activists’ ideology,” he told the Los Angeles Daily News’ editorial board that endorsed his candidacy, describing a change in relationship with City Hall after Raman assumed the job. “Running a city is not an ideological job. I don’t have room for ideology, only reality.”

In addition to Los Angeles Daily News, Weaver has backing from several police associations, including Los Angeles Police Protective League, Los Angeles Association of Airport Police Officers and Los Angeles School Police Management Association.

His other endorsers consist of a number of public safety unions, including United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, Peace Officers Research Association of California and Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association.

When Raman voted against a pay raise for police, it didn’t sit well with the police union.

Craig Lally, president of the Police Protective League, told Los Angeles Times that Raman’s views on homeless encampments near schools were “out of touch” with voters and said LAPD salary increases were important for recruitment and retention.

Raman has backed the Measure ULA property transfer tax, a voter-approved measure unpopular with a broad swath of real estate agents, business groups and landlords.

Raman, who has a background in urban planning, has advocated for renters’ rights, passing the “single largest expansion of renters’ rights in this city in close to half a century” according to her estimate. They include “just cause” eviction protection and government-paid legal counsel for tenants; both were opposed by the landlord advocacy group Greater Los Angeles Apartment Association.

“We established just cause eviction protections, a rental debt eviction threshold, and mandated relocation assistance — and kept so many Angelenos housed,” Raman said in a post on social media platform X on March 5.

Douglas Emmett, a Santa Monica-based real estate investment trust, is keen to unseat Raman: It donated $400,000 to the Los Angeles Police Protective League, according to Times.

The police unions, in addition to commercial and residential landlords and individuals, contributed a total of $1.35 million for independent expenditures supporting Weaver’s campaign, according to a Los Angeles Times report on March 5. 

Weaver’s individual supporters in the real estate industry include Victor Coleman, CEO of Hudson Pacific Properties ($500); Jennifer Paquette, vice president of asset management at Kilroy Realty ($100); and Josh Trifunovic, director of multifamily operations at Dynamic Real Estate Partners ($900), according to public records. 

“No L.A. incumbent has ever been targeted by as much PAC spending as I have in this race,” Raman said in a post on X on March 5.

Raman’s efforts and policies had ramifications on the real estate industry beyond her district. She worked with Mayor Karen Bass to pass an ordinance requiring new buildings to be all-electric, in an effort to make Los Angeles the “largest American city to make all future buildings carbon-free.”

Weaver’s stated priorities include “building more housing” in addition to addressing the homelessness crisis and public safety. The message seems to find resonance with landlords, developers and brokers.

“Our housing crisis in Los Angeles is out of control — but City Hall’s red tape and government roadblocks have stopped us from building new homes,” according to Weaver’s campaign website. “On the City Council, Ethan will fight to build more housing and use innovative solutions like repurposing unused commercial space to solve our housing crisis.”

How to deal with encampments is a core issue on which Raman and Weaver disagree, with Raman seeking to find housing for the homeless and even converting a hotel into a shelter. While Weaver prioritizes public safety, LAist reported.

Weaver told the Los Angeles Times he has built a coalition of organized labor and business leaders, looking to give voice to those ignored by the City Hall.

“I’m running to give them a voice again on everything from public safety to homelessness to development,” he said.

Weaver’s campaign did not return a request for comment.