The 1949 Los Angeles mayoral election took place on April 5, 1949, with a run-off election on May 31, 1949. Incumbent Fletcher Bowron was re-elected.[1]
Municipal elections in California, including Mayor of Los Angeles, are officially nonpartisan; candidates' party affiliations do not appear on the ballot.[2]
Bowron announced his candidacy for a fourth full term in office, with State SenatorJack Tenney, City Engineer Lloyd Aldrich, and Board of Education member Olin Darby also announcing their intentions to run against Bowron.[3] In the primary, Bowron and Aldritch advanced to the general runoff election.[4] Tenney, the head of the House Un-American Activities Committee, was opposed by the AFL Central Labor Council and came in third.[5] In the runoff election, Bowron defeated Aldritch by a smaller margin, with Bowron calling the election the "dirtiest in [his] experience," due to him and Aldrich being political enemies.[6]
