1953 Los Angeles mayoral election

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1953 Los Angeles mayoral election

The race began with a primary on April 7, 1953, and a runoff on May 26, 1953. Incumbent Mayor Fletcher Bowron was defeated by Norris Poulson, a U.S. Representative, after a four-candidate primary.

In the primary, Norris Poulson led with 212,668 votes (about 44.1%), Fletcher Bowron had 179,205 (about 37.1%), Lloyd Aldrich received 70,823 (about 14.7%), and the remaining votes went to other candidates. Because no one won a majority, Poulson and Bowron advanced to the runoff.

In the May 26 runoff, Poulson won with 287,619 votes (53.2%) to Bowron’s 252,721 (46.8%), ending Bowron’s roughly fourteen-year tenure as mayor and making Poulson the new mayor of Los Angeles.

Elections in California cities are officially nonpartisan, so candidates’ party affiliations do not appear on the ballot. Bowron’s term had seen recall efforts, including a 1950 attempt over accusations related to corruption and crime fighting.