In a city known for its apathy toward city politics, the tepid
public response to the Los Angeles mayoral election has come as
little surprise to many.
Though Tuesday’s primary election could be the first of
its kind to oust an incumbent mayor in over 30 years, voter turnout
is not expected to exceed 30 percent, said Raphael Sonenshein, a
professor of political science at Cal State Fullerton.
Some blame the public’s lackadaisical attitude toward the
mayoral election on the candidates themselves, saying that none of
the five major candidates has roused the electorate and given
Angelinos a reason to head to the polls.
“They just ramble about leadership, unity, the future
being bright and what a great city this is. They have no platform;
they simply utter vague platitudes,” said lesser-known
mayoral candidate and lawyer Walter Moore, referring to incumbent
Mayor James Hahn, Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa, Bob Hertzberg
and the other frontrunners in the race for mayor. “Why would
anyone get excited about that?”
Each of the five major candidates shares the same basic attitude
toward the election’s central issues of crime and traffic
““ get rid of them. The similarity in platforms is believed by
many to have depressed voter interest.
“You either go to the polls because there’s someone
you’re just crazy about or conversely, someone you think
would be so dreadful that you just got to get out there,”
Sonenshein said. “But all of the candidates are fairly
moderate.”
Years of public apathy toward Los Angeles city politics have
been attributed to the city’s diversified form of government,
in which authority is diffused to several specialized bodies,
leaving the mayor, a powerful figure in many other major cities,
with less authority, said Daniel Mitchell, a professor of
management and public policy at UCLA.
Many major issues concerning voters are not even under the
authority of the city’s mayor, Mitchell said, citing
education and traffic, which fall under the authority of the L.A.
Unified School District and the Metropolitan Transportation
Authority, respectively.
“If you were a resident of New York City, all those
functions would be focused on the city and the mayor would have a
lot of authority over that,” Mitchell said, comparing the Los
Angeles city government setup to that of another major city.
“But that’s just not true in L.A.”
Election timing also plays a significant factor in dwindling
voter interest, Sonenshein said.
Unlike many other major cities, Los Angeles city elections are
held separately from state and federal elections, which commonly
attract greater voter turnout. Though this system prevents
city-level issues from being overshadowed by more prominent state
and federal issues, many major cities opt to combine the two
elections to ensure higher voter turnout, Sonenshein said.
The public’s apathetic response to the mayoral elections
has been reflected in the media, as the final major debate between
the mayoral candidates was not even televised live. Some blame
likely voter turnout woes on the media for failing to sufficiently
inform the electorate.
“The journalists in this town aren’t really
journalists, they just repeat press releases,” Moore said.
“I’ve seen more articles on Kirstie Alley being fat
than the fact that 500 people get murdered by criminals in this
city every year.”
Lukewarm response to the mayoral elections has extended to the
UCLA campus, as many students come from other cities and have not
yet been exposed to Los Angeles city politics.
“As a student getting acclimated to a new environment,
city politics are probably one of the last things on your
mind,” said Kristina Doan, president of Bruin Democrats.
“All of us are having a difficult enough time trying to
figure out how to ride the Blue Bus, let alone who’s funding
it.”
Others blame their apathy on the “college bubble”
““ students’ general lack of awareness of events
occurring outside campus confines.
“Sometimes when I go home and pick up Time magazine,
I’m just amazed by all of the things going on in the
world,” said first-year undeclared student Leiti Hsu.
“It’s just hard to stay up to date.”
Moore said he believes that though many students discount the
effect of city politics in their lives, becoming involved in the
governmental workings of the city they call home is in their best
interest.
“Students can choose to be ignorant. It’s up to
them, but if you don’t vote, don’t complain when your
bills are sky high or when your friend gets robbed,” Moore
said.
Public interest in the mayoral election is expected to increase
after Tuesday’s primary, which will likely narrow the race
down to two top candidates.
A runoff election is implemented when no candidate receives a
majority vote.
“It’s difficult for any of the candidates to really
mark out who they are because you’re competing with four
other people at once,” Sonenshein said, adding that campaigns
will likely take a turn for the negative as personal attacks become
more effective with fewer candidates in the race.