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The 1961 Los Angeles mayoral election took place on April 4, 1961, with a runoff election on May 31, 1961. Incumbent Norris Poulson was defeated by Sam Yorty, a former U.S. Representative. [1]
Municipal elections in California, including Mayor of Los Angeles, are officially nonpartisan; candidates' party affiliations do not appear on the ballot. [2]
Poulson ran for re-election for a third term after a movement to "draft" Poulson for a next term. [3] [4] In January 1961, former U.S. Representative Sam Yorty entered the race, criticizing Poulson for his handling of smog and taxes in Los Angeles. [5] Patrick D. McGee, a member of the Los Angeles City Council, also announced his run for mayor. [6] Both Yorty and McGee had talked about rumors surrounding Poulson that said that he had throat cancer, which Poulson denied. [7] In the primary election, Poulson and Yorty advanced to the runoff election. [8] In the runoff, Yorty defeated Poulson in the election, which some newspapers said was because Poulson "could not make a good public appearance." [9] [1]
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norris Poulson (incumbent) | 179,273 | 39.67 | |
| Sam Yorty | 122,478 | 27.10 | |
| Patrick D. McGee | 115,635 | 25.59 | |
| Robert C. Ronstadt | 11,340 | 2.51 | |
| Howard M. Kessler | 7,558 | 1.67 | |
| William Carpenter | 7,267 | 1.61 | |
| M. Garet Miller | 4,640 | 1.03 | |
| Oscar G. Coover | 2,141 | 0.47 | |
| Wallace J. Lauria | 1,598 | 0.35 | |
| Total votes | 451,930 | 100.00 | |
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Yorty | 275,249 | 51.45 | |
| Norris Poulson (incumbent) | 259,760 | 48.55 | |
| Total votes | 535,009 | 100.00 | |
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Charles Norris Poulson was an American politician who represented Southern California in public office at the local, state, and federal levels. He served as the 36th Mayor of Los Angeles from 1953 to 1961, after having been a California State Assemblyman and then a member of the United States Congress. He was a Republican.
Samuel William Yorty was an American politician, attorney, and radio host from Los Angeles, California. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives and the California State Assembly, but he is most remembered for his turbulent three terms as the 37th Mayor of Los Angeles from 1961 to 1973. Although Yorty spent almost all of his political career as a Democrat, he became a Republican in 1973.
The 2005 Los Angeles mayoral election took place on March 8, 2005, with a run-off election on May 17, 2005. In a rematch of the 2001 election, Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa defeated the sitting mayor, James Hahn, becoming the city's first Hispanic mayor since the 19th century.
Rosalind Wiener Wyman was an American politician, Los Angeles City Councilmember, and California Democratic political figure who, at 22 years old, was the youngest person ever elected to the Los Angeles City Council, and only the second woman to serve there. Her City Council tenure ran 12 years, representing the city's Fifth District. Wyman was highly influential in bringing the Brooklyn Dodgers from New York to Chavez Ravine, Los Angeles. She helped lead the successful campaigns of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and in 2019, was reported to be California's oldest DNC delegate.
The 1993 Los Angeles mayoral election took place on April 20, 1993, with a run-off election on June 8, 1993. This was the first race in 64 years that an incumbent was not on the ballot. It marked the first time in 24 years that retiring Mayor Tom Bradley was not on the ballot, after five consecutive victories starting in 1973. Richard Riordan became the first Republican mayor elected in 36 years.
Patrick D'Arcy McGee was a Republican member of the California State Assembly for the 64th district from 1950 to 1957 and from 1966 until his death in 1970. He was a Los Angeles City Council member from 1957 to 1961, when he opposed the city's agreement to bring the Dodgers baseball team to a new stadium in Chavez Ravine.
The 1937 Los Angeles mayoral election took place on April 6, 1937, with a runoff election on May 4, 1937. Incumbent Frank L. Shaw was reelected over Supervisor John Anson Ford in the runoff election.
The 1941 Los Angeles mayoral election took place on April 1, 1941, with a run-off election on May 6, 1941. Incumbent Fletcher Bowron was re-elected in the runoff election, defeating councilmember Stephen W. Cunningham.
The 1945 Los Angeles mayoral election took place on April 3, 1945. Incumbent Fletcher Bowron was re-elected outright with minimal opposition. The candidates challenging Bowron included restaurateur Clifford Clinton, city councilmember Ira J. McDonald, and former State Assemblymember Sam Yorty.
The 1949 Los Angeles mayoral election took place on April 5, 1949, with a run-off election on May 31, 1949. Incumbent Fletcher Bowron was re-elected.
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.
The 1957 Los Angeles mayoral election took place on April 2, 1957. Incumbent Norris Poulson was re-elected with minimal opposition. Poulson had stated that he would retire from the office before changing his mind and filing for re-election; County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, President of the Los Angeles City Council John S. Gibson Jr., and advertising executive Don Belding all withdrew after Poulson made his announcement. Four candidates still ran to defeat Poulson, but Poulson won outright in the primary election.
The 1965 Los Angeles mayoral election took place on April 6, 1965. Incumbent Sam Yorty was re-elected over James Roosevelt and six other candidates in the primary election.
The 1969 Los Angeles mayoral election took place on April 1, 1969, with a run-off election on May 27, 1969. Incumbent Sam Yorty was re-elected over councilmember Tom Bradley, a win that had a record-breaking turnout. Yorty used race against Bradley to paint him as a mayor who would be open to Black Nationalism and that he was inefficient against fighting crime, both were denied by Bradley as he was a police officer in the Los Angeles Police Department before his election to the council.
The 1973 Los Angeles mayoral election took place on April 3, 1973, with a run-off election on May 29, 1973. Incumbent Sam Yorty was defeated by councilman Tom Bradley in a rematch of the 1969 mayoral election.
The 1981 Los Angeles mayoral election took place on April 7, 1981. Incumbent Tom Bradley was re-elected over former Mayor Sam Yorty. The election was a third rematch between Bradley and Yorty, the other two being in 1969 and 1973. It would be the last time a Mayor would be elected to a third term, as voters amended the city charter in 1993 to implement a two-term limit for the office of Mayor.
The 1985 Los Angeles mayoral election took place on April 9, 1985. Incumbent Tom Bradley was re-elected over councilmember John Ferraro. Bradley's re-election would give him a fourth term, an unprecedented feat in the office as no mayor except for James R. Toberman had been re-elected to a fourth consecutive term.
The 1989 Los Angeles mayoral election took place on April 11, 1989. Incumbent Tom Bradley was re-elected over ten candidates in the primary election. It would be the last time Bradley ran for mayor, as he chose to retire after his fifth term.
The 1956 United States Senate election in California was held on November 6, 1956.
As part of the 2022 United States elections, throughout the year various elections were held at the local level, including the office of mayor, as well as several other municipal and county-level positions. A number of major U.S. cities held mayoral elections in 2022, and saw incumbent mayors re-elected, including Fort Smith, Arkansas ; Little Rock, Arkansas ; Tallahassee, Florida ; Lexington, Kentucky ; Flint, Michigan ; Reno, Nevada ; Newark, New Jersey ; Charlotte, North Carolina, and Raleigh, North Carolina ; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma ; Clarksville, Tennessee ; Murfreesboro, Tennessee ; Denton, Texas ; and Washington, D.C..
