1969 Los Angeles mayoral election
April 1, 1969 (1969-04-01) and May 27, 1969 (1969-05-27)
 
Candidate Sam Yorty Tom Bradley
First round 183,334
26.09%		 293,753
41.80%
Runoff 447,030
53.26%		 392,379
46.74%
 
Candidate Baxter Ward Alphonzo E. Bell Jr.
First round 116,555
16.59%		 99,172
14.11%
Runoff Eliminated Eliminated
Mayor before election

Sam Yorty

 Elected Mayor

Sam Yorty

The 1969 election for Mayor of Los Angeles 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.[1] 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.[2][3]

Municipal elections in California, including Mayor of Los Angeles, are officially nonpartisan; candidates' party affiliations do not appear on the ballot.[4]

Election

Yorty had been criticized by newspapers, mainly with the Los Angeles Times which had published an 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]

Results

Primary election

Los Angeles mayoral primary election, April 1, 1969[9]
Candidate Votes  %
Tom Bradley 293,753 41.80
Sam Yorty (incumbent) 183,334 26.09
Baxter Ward 116,555 16.59
Alphonzo E. Bell Jr. 99,172 14.11
Robert M. Wilkinson 2,682 0.38
Eileen Anderson 1,600 0.23
Robert K. Steinberg 1,574 0.22
Saxon Cameron Elliott 1,160 0.17
Jack Rourke 760 0.11
Fred W. Kline 718 0.10
Arthur Whizin 659 0.09
William E. Hathaway 375 0.05
Don Federick 277 0.04
Lawrence M. Schulner 169 0.02
Total votes 702,788 100.00

General election

Los Angeles mayoral general election, May 27, 1969[10]
Candidate Votes  %
Sam Yorty (incumbent) 447,030 53.26
Tom Bradley 392,379 46.74
Total votes 839,409 100.00

References and footnotes

  1. 1 2 "Yorty upsets pollsters, elected for 3rd term Edges Bradley by 55,000 vote margin". Belvedere Citizen. May 29, 1969.
  2. ↑ "Bradley hits introduction of race issue". Highland Park News. May 18, 1969.
  3. ↑ Sonenshein, Raphael J. (1993). Politics in Black and White. Princeton University Press.
  4. ↑ "LOS ANGELES: STRUCTURE OF A CITY GOVERNMENT" (PDF). League of Women Voters.
  5. ↑ "Wilkinson Urges Clean Slate for City," Los Angeles Times, March 8, 1969, page 16
  6. ↑ "Yorty in big blast at Bradley". Highland Park News. April 3, 1969.
  7. ↑ Yu, Elly (November 21, 2022). "LA's Contentious 2022 Election Now Has Highest Number Of Votes Ever Cast For Mayor". LAist. The previous high total was in 1969's runoff between incumbent Sam Yorty and Tom Bradley. Nearly 860,000 Angelenos cast ballots that May.
  8. ↑ "Yorty, Bradley spent $2 million in campaign". Belvedere Citizen. July 17, 1969.
  9. ↑ "Los Angeles Mayor - Primary". Our Campaigns.
  10. ↑ "Los Angeles Mayor". Our Campaigns.
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