Election
Yorty had been criticized by newspapers, mainly with the Los Angeles Times which had published a newspaper on the city's harbor commission and his refusal to endorse Democratic presidential candidate Hubert Humphrey. He was mainly challenged in the race by councilman Tom Bradley, television news anchor Baxter Ward, U.S. Representative Alphonzo E. Bell Jr., and councilman Robert M. Wilkinson. [5] In the primary election, Bradley held a substantial lead over Yorty but did not win the race outright.
In the campaign for the runoff, Yorty questioned Bradley's credibility in fighting crime and said that he would supposedly open up the city to Black Nationalists, as well as saying that he accepted money from developer Bryan Gibson. [6] To the surprise of many pollsters, Yorty won a majority of the vote and was re-elected as Mayor. [1] The election had a record breaking turnout of more than 75% with more than 860,000 votes; the vote count would not be broken until the 2022 election. [7] Bradley and Yorty spent a combinded total of $2 million in their election campaigns, with Yorty spending $817,450 and Bradley spending $1.4 million. [8]
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.
Thomas Bradley was an American politician, athlete, police officer, and lawyer who served as the 38th Mayor of Los Angeles from 1973 to 1993. Tom Bradley was Los Angeles' first Black mayor, first liberal mayor, and longest-serving mayor. A Democrat, Bradley's multiracial liberal political coalition was a forerunner of future President of the United States Barack Obama's coalition in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections.
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.
Robert Melvin Wilkinson was a political figure and lobbyist in the San Fernando Valley in California. He was a member of the Los Angeles City Council from 1953 to 1957 and from 1967 to 1979.
Billy Gene Mills is a retired Los Angeles Superior Court judge and a former Los Angeles City Council member, serving from 1963 to 1974. He was one of the first three African-Americans elected to the council.
Leonard E. "Lee" Timberlake (1896–1973) was a British-born American politician who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council from 1945 to 1969. Before entering politics, Timberlake was a railroad employee and travel bureau owner.
The 1982 California gubernatorial election occurred on November 2, 1982. The Republican nominee, Attorney General George Deukmejian, narrowly defeated the Democratic nominee, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley. Incumbent Governor Jerry Brown did not seek reelection to a third term; he later successfully ran again in 2010 and 2014.
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.
The Bradley effect is a theory concerning observed discrepancies between voter opinion polls and election outcomes in some United States government elections where a white candidate and a non-white candidate run against each other. The theory proposes that some white voters who intend to vote for the white candidate would nonetheless tell pollsters that they are undecided or likely to vote for the non-white candidate. It was named after Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley, an African-American who lost the 1982 California gubernatorial election to California attorney general George Deukmejian, a white person, despite Bradley being ahead in voter polls going into the elections.
John Patrick Cassidy was a newspaperman and public relations practitioner who became a Los Angeles City Council member in District 12 between 1962 and 1967. Before and after his term he was a field deputy to two City Council members, and in 1967 he was briefly the head of public relations for the city's Recreation and Parks Department.
The 1909 Los Angeles mayoral election took place on November 9, 1909, with a run-off election on December 7, 1909. Incumbent George Alexander was re-elected over George A. Smith in the runoff election.
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.
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 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 1977 Los Angeles mayoral election took place on April 5, 1977. Incumbent Tom Bradley was re-elected over nine other candidates. He was mainly challenged by State Senator Alan Robbins and tax policy activist Howard Jarvis, with Robbins campaigning on his opposition to busing in the city. Bradley was widely expected to easily win re-election, and on election day, Bradley won by a landslide against the other candidates.
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 1994 Oakland mayoral election was held on June 7, 1994 and November 8, 1994 to elect the mayor of Oakland, California. It saw the reelection of Elihu Harris.
The 2022 Long Beach mayoral election was held on June 7, 2022. Because no candidate reached 50% of the vote, there was a runoff election on November 8, 2022. Although incumbent Mayor Robert Garcia was eligible to run for a third term, he opted to run for the U.S. House instead. Rex Richardson was elected mayor, defeating Suzie Price.
