1981 Los Angeles mayoral election
April 7, 1981 (1981-04-07)
 
Candidate Tom Bradley Sam Yorty
Popular vote 293,501 148,193
Percentage 63.84% 32.23%
Mayor before election

Tom Bradley

 Elected Mayor

Tom Bradley

The 1981 election for Mayor of Los Angeles 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.[1] 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.[2]

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

Election

Yorty had been a last-minute challenger, saying that he had been urged to run after LAPD Chief Daryl Gates announced that he would not challenge Bradley.[3][4] Yorty said that he "sees the crime issue as the key to the contest" and was seen as injecting racism into the race by saying to a group of businessmen that "black people are really racist. They vote for black people because they're black."[5][6] Bradley defeated Yorty and the other candidates in a landslide, with some calling the election a "lackluster affair."[7][8]

Results

Los Angeles mayoral general election, April 7, 1981[9]
Candidate Votes  %
Tom Bradley (incumbent) 293,501 63.84
Sam Yorty 148,193 32.23
Robert S. Fischer Jr. 2,464 0.54
John Anthony Zrynyi 2,055 0.45
Zack Richardson 1,835 0.40
Eileen Anderson 1,822 0.40
Sally Acosta 1,464 0.32
Jim Little 1,056 0.23
James A. Ware 1,050 0.23
Max Odrezin 969 0.21
Arnold B. Luster 966 0.21
Robert Deutsch 738 0.16
Tangela Masson Tricoli 704 0.15
Mort Allen 667 0.15
Earl Smith 625 0.14
Henry V. Seyfried 457 0.10
Michael A. Hirt 455 0.10
Daniel Webster Henderson Jr. 392 0.09
Douglas Carlton 368 0.08
Total votes 459,781 100.00

References and footnotes

  1. ↑ "It's Bradley vs. Yorty, in LA. race". San Bernardino Sun. April 13, 1981.
  2. 1 2 "LOS ANGELES: STRUCTURE OF A CITY GOVERNMENT" (PDF). League of Women Voters.
  3. ↑ "Yorty joins race". The Desert Sun. January 20, 1981.
  4. ↑ "Yorty Becomes Last-Minute Challenger in LA". Santa Cruz Sentinel. January 20, 1981.
  5. ↑ "Yorty makes crime an issue". The Press Democrat. April 13, 1981.
  6. ↑ "Yorty injects racism into L.A. mayor's race". The Press Democrat. April 6, 1981.
  7. ↑ "Bradley wins third mayor's term at LA". Argus-Courier. April 5, 1981.
  8. ↑ "LA Mayoral Campaign Is A Lackluster Affair". Santa Cruz Sentinel. March 15, 1981.
  9. ↑ "Los Angeles Mayor". Our Campaigns.
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