Election
After the retirement of Tom Bradley, the seat was open for the first time since the 1929 election when incumbent George E. Cryer retired. Many city council members ran for the post, including Michael Woo, Joel Wachs, Nate Holden, and Ernani Bernardi. Other local area politicians, including Assemblyman Richard Katz, Deputy Mayor Linda Greigo, and Board of Recreation and Parks Commissioner Richard Riordan. [3] [4]
Riordan used $4.2 million during the campaign, with much of the donations to him from the more conservative San Fernando Valley, Westside, and Harbor area. [5] In the primary election, Riordan and Woo advanced to the runoff. [6]
Riordan and Woo criticized each other over their ability to fight crime and about the economy, with Riordan calling Woo a career politician and Woo saying that Riordan was a "symbol of 1980s greed." [7] [8] In the runoff election, Riordan defeated Woo, with the Jewish population in Los Angeles seen by some as the defining factor for Riordan's win. [9] Some newspapers also said that Riordan's hiring of gay staffers helped bolster the vote from gay and lesbians in the city as well. [10]
Richard Joseph Riordan was an American businessman, investor, military commander, philanthropist, and politician. A decorated Korean War veteran and a member of the Republican Party, Riordan served as the 39th mayor of Los Angeles from 1993 to 2001; as of 2023, he remains the last Republican to hold that office. He ran for governor in the 2002 California gubernatorial election, losing the Republican primary. After politics, he resumed his business career, specializing in private equity.
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.
Joel Wachs is an American former politician and lawyer. He is the president of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts in New York City. He was a member of the Los Angeles City Council for 30 years, where he was known for his promotion of the arts, support of gay causes, advocacy of rent control and other economic measures.
Michael K. Woo is an American politician and academic who was the dean of the College of Environmental Design at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. As a member of the Los Angeles City Council representing District 13 from 1985 to 1993, he was that body's first Asian American member and its youngest member upon his election, at 33.
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The 1997 Los Angeles mayoral election took place on April 8, 1997. Incumbent Richard Riordan won re-election against California State Senator and activist Tom Hayden. As of 2023, this is the most recent time a Republican was elected Mayor of Los Angeles.
Wendy Jane Greuel is an American politician. She served as Los Angeles City Controller from 2009 to 2013. Greuel was the second woman elected to citywide office in Los Angeles, after her predecessor Laura Chick.
Christine "Chris" Essel is the President of Southern California Grantmakers (SCG), a regional association of philanthropic leaders whose mission is to support and advance effective, responsible philanthropy for the public good.
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