1953 Los Angeles mayoral election
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1953 Los Angeles mayoral election took place on April 7, 1953, with a run-off election on May 26, 1953. Incumbent Fletcher Bowron was defeated by Norris Poulson, a U.S. Representative.[1]
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April 7, 1953 and May 26, 1953
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Municipal elections in California, including Mayor of Los Angeles, are officially nonpartisan; candidates' party affiliations do not appear on the ballot.[2]
Candidates
- Paul Burke
- Lloyd Aldrich, former chief engineer for the Los Angeles transit system and candidate for mayor in 1949
- Fletcher Bowron, incumbent mayor since 1938
- Norris Poulson, U.S. representative and former state assemblyman
- Myra Tanner Weiss, Trotskyist activist and candidate for mayor in 1945 and 1949
Campaign
Bowron had been the subject of various failed recall elections against him, including one in 1950 that said that Bowron was "guilty of 'false' representations or was 'grossly negligent' in his assurances [...] that he had rid the city of official corruption and organized crime."[3] Along with Poulson, three other candidates joined to challenge Bowron, including Lloyd Aldrich who failed to win the runoff against Bowron in the previous election.[4] In the primary, Poulson and Bowron advanced to the runoff election, with Poulson gaining more votes than Bowron.[5]
In the runoff election, Poulson defeated Bowron to become Mayor, ending Bowron's tenure of fourteen years.[1][6]
Results
Primary election
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norris Poulson | 212,668 | 44.06 | |
| Fletcher Bowron (incumbent) | 179,205 | 37.13 | |
| Lloyd Aldrich | 70,823 | 14.67 | |
| Paul Burke | 16,455 | 3.41 | |
| Myra Tanner Weiss | 3,541 | 0.73 | |
| Total votes | 482,692 | 100.00 | |
General election
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norris Poulson | 287,619 | 53.23 | |
| Fletcher Bowron (incumbent) | 252,721 | 46.77 | |
| Total votes | 540,340 | 100.00 | |