1953 Los Angeles mayoral election

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1953 Los Angeles mayoral election
Flag of Los Angeles, California.svg
←  1949
April 7, 1953 (1953-04-07) and May 26, 1953 (1953-05-26)
1957  →
  NorrisPoulson.jpg Fletcher Bowron, 1953 (cropped).jpg Lloyd Aldrich, 1933.jpg
Candidate Norris Poulson Fletcher Bowron Lloyd Aldrich
First round vote212,668
44.06%		179,205
37.13%		70,823
14.67%
First round percentage287,619
53.23%		252,721
46.77%		Eliminated
Mayor before election

Fletcher Bowron

Elected Mayor

Norris Poulson

The 1953 Los Angeles mayoral election took place on April 7, 1953, with a run-off election on May 26, 1953. Incumbent Fletcher Bowron was defeated by Norris Poulson, a U.S. Representative. [1]

Contents

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

Election

Bowron had been the subject of various failed recall elections against him, including one in 1950 that said that Bowron was "guilty of 'false' representations or was 'grossly negligent' in his assurances [...] that he had rid the city of official corruption and organized crime." [3] Along with Poulson, three other candidates joined to challenge Bowron, including Lloyd Aldrich who failed to win the runoff against Bowron in the previous election. [4] In the primary, Poulson and Bowron advanced to the runoff election, with Poulson gaining more votes than Bowron. [5]

In the runoff election, Poulson defeated Bowron to become Mayor, ending Bowron's tenure of fourteen years. [1] [6]

Results

Primary election

Los Angeles mayoral primary election, April 7, 1953 [7]
CandidateVotes%
Norris Poulson 212,66844.06
Fletcher Bowron (incumbent)179,20537.13
Lloyd Aldrich 70,82314.67
Paul Burke16,4553.41
Myra Tanner Weiss 3,5410.73
Total votes482,692 100.00

General election

Los Angeles mayoral general election, May 26, 1953 [8]
CandidateVotes%
Norris Poulson 287,61953.23
Fletcher Bowron (incumbent)252,72146.77
Total votes540,340 100.00

References and footnotes

  1. 1 2 "Poulson Wins L. A. Mayoralty". Madera Tribune . May 27, 1953.
  2. ↑ "LOS ANGELES: STRUCTURE OF A CITY GOVERNMENT" (PDF). League of Women Voters .
  3. ↑ "Citizens Seek Bowron Recall". Madera Tribune . January 6, 1950.
  4. ↑ "Five well-known citizens in L. A. race for mayor; Bowron, Poulson, Aldrich, Burke and Mrs. Weiss". Los Angeles Daily News . February 20, 1953.
  5. ↑ "L A. Mayoralty Race To Run-Off". Madera Tribune . April 8, 1953.
  6. ↑ Soibelman, Daivd (July 1, 1953). "'IVE GIVEN THE JOB MY BEST' – BOWRON". Los Angeles Daily News .
  7. ↑ "Los Angeles Mayor". Our Campaigns.
  8. ↑ "Los Angeles Mayor". Our Campaigns.
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