WASHINGTON, November 2026 : Indian-origin lawyer Marissa Roy has been elected Los Angeles city attorney, joining India-born Mayor-elect Nithya Raman in a significant electoral outcome that will place women of Indian heritage in two of the city's three citywide elected offices.
Roy, a deputy attorney general in California, defeated Deputy District Attorney John McKinney in last week's runoff election. During her campaign, she highlighted her family's immigrant background, with her mother having emigrated from India.
Together with Filipino American City Controller Kenneth Mejia, who secured re-election in June, Roy and Raman will make Asian Americans the holders of all three citywide elected positions in Los Angeles for the first time in the city's history, The Los Angeles Times reported.
“This is really a significant moment, not just for the Asian American community, but for the immigrant community to have an immigrant mayor, to have a city attorney who is the daughter of an immigrant,” Roy told the newspaper. She described the result as Los Angeles sending a message about its identity.
Roy also said her relatives in India had closely followed the election and congratulated her through WhatsApp messages after her victory.
A founding board member of Asian Democrats of Los Angeles County, Roy received endorsements from California Attorney General Rob Bonta and San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu. The organisation also supported Raman, who moved from India to the United States when she was six years old.
In her first address as mayor-elect, Raman highlighted the significance of voters choosing an immigrant to lead the city.
Manjusha P. Kulkarni, executive director of the AAPI Equity Alliance, attributed the electoral milestone to decades of community organising. Mejia, meanwhile, said the outcome reflected voters' support for the candidates' progressive policies as well as their backgrounds.
Los Angeles elects its mayor, city attorney and city controller through citywide voting. While the mayor heads the city's executive branch, the city attorney represents Los Angeles in legal matters, advises public officials and enforces applicable laws.
Roy and Raman will serve in separate offices with distinct responsibilities, marking a notable moment for Asian American and immigrant representation in the city's political leadership.
(Disclaimer :The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)
