ABSTRACT
Tom Bradley has been re-elected to an unprecedented fifth term as mayor of Los Angeles. His electoral success, by many accounts, has reshaped the political landscape of Los Angeles. The City Charter calls for nonpartisan elections, a weak mayor, strong City Council, and the use of the referendum, recall, and initiative as major features of city government. Political power depends largely on a group's ability to organize and its resources to organize; thus, group mobilization in the city is sporadic and often focused on a single issue. The city of Los Angeles is not immune to patronage politics. In the city's most racially polarized election, involving Bradley and Sam Yorty in 1969, 76 percent of the electorate turned out. In the most recent election, only 23 percent of the voters turned out to vote for mayor. In the case of black Americans, the quality of life has decreased under the Bradley administration.
