Municipal elections in California, including Mayor of Los Angeles, are officially nonpartisan; candidates' party affiliations do not appear on the ballot.[2]
Bowron had been the subject of various failed recall elections against him, including one in 1950 that said that Bowron was "guilty of 'false' representations or was 'grossly negligent' in his assurances [...] that he had rid the city of official corruption and organized crime."[3] Along with Poulson, three other candidates joined to challenge Bowron, including Lloyd Aldrich who failed to win the runoff against Bowron in the previous election.[4] In the primary, Poulson and Bowron advanced to the runoff election, with Poulson gaining more votes than Bowron.[5]
In the runoff election, Poulson defeated Bowron to become Mayor, ending Bowron's tenure of fourteen years.[1][6]
Results
Primary election
Los Angeles mayoral primary election, April 7, 1953[7]
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