The 1997 election for

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

took place on April 8, 1997. Incumbent

Richard Riordan Richard Joseph Riordan (born May 1, 1930) is an American investment banker, businessman, lawyer, and former Republican politician who was the 39th Mayor of Los Angeles, from 1993 to 2001. Born in New York City and raised in New Rochelle, New Y ...

won re-election against

California State Senator The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. ...

and activist

Tom Hayden Thomas Emmet Hayden (December 11, 1939October 23, 2016) was an American social and political activist, author, and politician. Hayden was best known for his role as an anti-war, civil rights, and intellectual activist in the 1960s, authoring t ...

. As of 2023, this is the most recent time a Republican was elected Mayor of Los Angeles. Municipal elections in California, including Mayor of Los Angeles, are officially nonpartisan; candidates' party affiliations do not appear on the ballot.

Election

Hayden criticized Riordan for ignoring the environment and for not debating with him while Riordan criticized Hayden for his voting record as a State Senator. Polls showed Riordan leading Hayden, with most of his support being from white people and Republicans. The

Los Angeles County Federation of Labor The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor was started in 1885. Originally, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor was split into five individual unions of bakers, cigar makers, printers, tailors, and carpenters. Now they represent over 300 unio ...

pulled their support from Riordan and took a neutral stance for the two. In the election, Riordan won outright against Hayden and three other candidates.

Results

References and footnotes

External links

Office of the City Clerk, City of Los Angeles
{{Los Angeles mayoral elections Los Angeles mayoral election

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

Mayoral election Los Angeles Mayoral election