The 1989 election for Mayor of Los Angeles 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.[1]
Municipal elections in California, including Mayor of Los Angeles, are officially nonpartisan; candidates' party affiliations do not appear on the ballot.[2]
Election
Bradley, now in his fourth term, was slowly declining in popularity during his term due to traffic congestion, air pollution, and commercial development threatening residential neighborhoods in the city.[3] He had also run in the 1986 California gubernatorial election, which he lost again to Republican George Deukmejian in a landslide.[4] Despite this, Bradley announced that he would be running for a fifth term.[5][6] He faced minimal opposition at the start, with councilman Zev Yaroslavsky declining to run because of a private poll that had Bradley in the lead.[7] Bradley was widely expected to easily win re-election.[8] Councilman Nate Holden and former supervisor Baxter Ward filed late into the filing period, giving Bradley two challengers.[9] Holden, who was a newcomer in the City Council, was able to drive up some votes, and in the primary election gained one-third of the vote.[10]
Results
Los Angeles mayoral general election, April 11, 1989[11]
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