1938 Los Angeles mayoral recall election

1938 Los Angeles mayoral recall election

←  1937 September 16, 1938 (1938-09-16) 1941  →
Vote on recall
Results
Choice Votes % Yes 235,395 64.65% No 128,727 35.35% Valid votes 364,122 100.00% Invalid or blank votes 0 0.00% Total votes 364,122 100.00%
Mayoral election
Candidate Fletcher Bowron Frank L. Shaw Popular vote 233,427 122,692 Percentage 64.33% 33.81%
Mayor before election Frank L. Shaw Elected Mayor Fletcher Bowron

The 1938 Los Angeles mayoral recall election took place on September 16, 1938, following the recall of incumbent Frank L. Shaw. Shaw was defeated by Fletcher Bowron in the election, making him the first recalled mayor in American history. ^[1]

Municipal elections in California, including Mayor of Los Angeles, are officially nonpartisan; candidates' party affiliations do not appear on the ballot. ^[2]

Election

Shaw had been accosted with corruption in City Hall which led to a recall movement against him and his close associates. Reformers who opposed Shaw and the Los Angeles Times both agreed that Shaw was "building the largest machine in the city's history," choosing Fletcher Bowron, a Judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, to run against Shaw. ^{[3] [4]} The reformers campaigned for Shaw's recall saying that he did not do enough to stop crime and that he had supposedly committed various crimes during his tenure. ^[5] The recall was approved by voters by a large margin, and Bowron defeated Shaw by a landslide. ^[6]

Results

Los Angeles mayoral recall election, September 16, 1938

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	235,395	64.65
No	128,727	35.35
Total votes	364,122	100.00

Los Angeles mayoral recall election, September 16, 1938 ^[7]

Candidate		Votes	%
Fletcher Bowron		233,427	64.33
Frank L. Shaw (incumbent)		122,692	33.81
Alonzo J. Riggs		4,050	1.12
Albert F. Osterloh		2,706	0.75
Total votes		362,875	100.00

See also

• LAPD Red Squad
• Clifford Clinton
• The Lid Off Los Angeles

References and footnotes

1. John R. Babcock, "When Los Angeles Was a World-Class City of Corruption," Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, May 12, 1989, page A-19
2. "LOS ANGELES: STRUCTURE OF A CITY GOVERNMENT" (PDF). League of Women Voters .
3. Viehe, Fred W. (1980). "The Recall of Mayor Frank L. Shaw: A Revision". California History. 59 (4). University of California Press: 290–305. JSTOR   25158002.
4. "Judge Named on Reform Ticket". Imperial Valley Press . August 9, 1938.
5. Sitton, Tom (1987). "Another Generation of Urban Reformers: Los Angeles in the 1930s" . The Western Historical Quarterly. 18 (3). Oxford University Press: 315–332. doi:10.2307/969090. JSTOR   969090.
6. "Formidable Ofensiva del Japón La Primera Autoridad". La Opinión (in Spanish). October 13, 1938.
7. "Los Angeles Mayor". Our Campaigns.

External links

• Office of the City Clerk, City of Los Angeles