The 1981 Los Angeles mayoral election 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]
Yorty had been a last-minute challenger, saying that he had been urged to run after LAPD 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]
