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The1981 Los Angeles mayoral election took place on April 7, 1981. IncumbentTom Bradley was re-elected over former MayorSam Yorty. The election was a third rematch between Bradley and Yorty, the other two being in1969 and1973.[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]
Yorty had been a last-minute challenger, saying that he had been urged to run afterLAPD ChiefDaryl 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]
| 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 | |
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