1949 Los Angeles mayoral election

1949 Los Angeles mayoral election

April 5, 1949 (1949-04-05) and May 31, 1949 (1949-05-31)

Candidate Fletcher Bowron Lloyd Aldrich First round 179,929 44.99% 87,766 21.95% Runoff 238,190 53.48% 207,211 46.52%   Candidate Ellis E. Patterson Jack Tenney First round 57,286 14.33% 48,162 12.04% Runoff Eliminated Eliminated

Mayor before election Fletcher Bowron Elected Mayor Fletcher Bowron

The 1949 Los Angeles mayoral election took place on April 5, 1949, with a run-off election on May 31, 1949. Incumbent Fletcher Bowron was re-elected.

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

Candidates

• Lloyd Aldrich, former chief engineer for the Los Angeles transit system
• William N. Attaway
• Fletcher Bowron, incumbent mayor since 1938
• Olin E. Darby
• Ellis E. Patterson, former U.S. representative and lieutenant governor of California
• Joseph E. Shaw, brother and personal secretary of former mayor Frank L. Shaw
• Jack Tenney, member of the California State Senate
• Joseph H. Thayer
• Myra Tanner Weiss, Trotskyist activist and candidate for mayor in 1945

Election

Bowron announced his candidacy for a fourth full term in office, with State Senator Jack Tenney, City Engineer Lloyd Aldrich, and Board of Education member Olin Darby also announcing their intentions to run against Bowron. In the primary, Bowron and Aldritch advanced to the general runoff election. Tenney, the head of the House Un-American Activities Committee, was opposed by the AFL Central Labor Council and came in third. In the runoff election, Bowron defeated Aldritch by a smaller margin, with Bowron calling the election the "dirtiest in [his] experience," due to him and Aldrich being political enemies.

Results

Primary election

Los Angeles mayoral primary election, April 5, 1949

Candidate		Votes	%
Fletcher Bowron (incumbent)		179,929	44.99
Lloyd Aldrich		87,766	21.95
Ellis E. Patterson		57,286	14.33
Jack Tenney		48,162	12.04
Olin E. Darby		18,806	4.70
Joseph E. Shaw		2,716	0.68
William N. Attaway		2,647	0.66
Myra Tanner Weiss		1,506	0.38
Joseph H. Thayer		1,085	0.27
Total votes		399,903	100.00

General election

Los Angeles mayoral general election, May 31, 1949

Candidate		Votes	%
Fletcher Bowron (incumbent)		238,190	53.48
Lloyd Aldrich		207,211	46.52
Total votes		445,401	100.00

External links

• Office of the City Clerk, City of Los Angeles Archived June 19, 2011, at the Wayback Machine