Marisa Roy Elected City Attorney in Los Angeles, Marks Historic Representation for Asian Americans

Los Angeles, November 12 (Daily Kiran) : Marisa Roy, an Indian-American attorney, has been elected as the City Attorney of Los Angeles. She will serve alongside Nithya Raman, the city’s newly elected mayor, marking a significant milestone with two women of Indian descent holding two of the three top elected positions in the city.

Roy, who previously served as a Deputy Attorney General in California, won the election by defeating Deputy District Attorney John McKinney in a runoff held last week. Her mother immigrated from India to the United States, and during her campaign, Roy highlighted her family’s immigrant story.

According to reports from the Los Angeles Times, Roy’s victory, along with the reelection of Filipino-American City Controller Kenneth Mejia in June, means that all three major elected offices in Los Angeles will now have Asian American representation for the first time in the city’s history.

In an interview with the newspaper, Roy expressed, “This is not just a significant moment for the Asian American community, but for the immigrant community as a whole. Having a mayor from an immigrant background and a daughter of immigrants as City Attorney sends a powerful message about the kind of city Los Angeles is.”

Roy shared that her relatives in India closely followed the election and congratulated her via WhatsApp after her win.

She is also a founding board member of the Asian Democrats of Los Angeles County. Her campaign received support from California Attorney General Rob Bonta and San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu, who also backed Nithya Raman. Raman, who moved to the U.S. from India at the age of six, emphasized the importance of electing someone from an immigrant background in her first address to voters as mayor-elect.

Manjusha P. Kulkarni, executive director of the AAPI Equity Alliance, attributed this achievement to decades of organized efforts from the community. Mejia remarked that the election results reflect voters’ support for candidates with diverse backgrounds and progressive policies.

In Los Angeles, voters citywide elect the mayor, city attorney, and city controller. The mayor leads the city’s executive branch, while the city attorney represents the city in legal matters, advises officials, and is responsible for enforcing laws.

Both Nithya Raman and Marisa Roy will fulfill their independent responsibilities in their respective roles. Their victories are viewed as a significant step towards increasing participation of Indian and Asian American communities in U.S. local politics.