L.A. city general election

[Brian]

Almost all of the news I've read, seen and heard in the past month since the primary is about the horse race -- the endorsements the mayoral runoff candidates are garnering and the money they're raising. Only the money counts. City election law requires them to start over the day after the primary. The first City Ethics Commission report of the general election campaign will be released later this week.

If Wendy Greuel spends her money on television ads like she did in the primary, she will buy another poor second place finish. If Eric Garcetti's workers knock on enough doors, he will win a low turnout election.

[Brian]

We just got our sample ballots on Monday, a whole week late. Absentee voting started April 22, the mayoral television ads long before then. At least that's how it feels. So far, we've received seven mailers: three for Mike Feuer for city attorney, three for Antonio Sanchez for school board and one for Wendy Greuel.

I only have three weeks to figure out how to vote on the three marijuana measures. I could abstain from voting on all of them. Proposition D was put on the ballot by the city council to counter Initiative Ordinance E, which was abandoned by its proponents after it qualified. They endorsed Initiative Ordinance F.

I became exasperated with the greedheads who finance state and local petition drives for initiatives way back in 1978 because of Howard Jarvis. Greedy potheads are wackier, but no more endearing.

[Brian]

I thought that Wendy Greuel was fine as my city council member and city controller -- she never pissed me off, as far as I can remember, and I voted for her most of the time -- but I've gotten weary of her ambition throughout this mayoral campaign. She seems to exist only to run for higher office. I blame term limits. Few politicians take the time to nurture a vision or really care for their constituents while raising money for the next race. After a dozen years being represented by Wendy, I'd rather not see her elected mayor.

Come to think of it, no Los Angeles mayor in my lifetime was ever elected to anything else. Yorty ran for president against Muskie, Humphrey, Jackson, Wallace, McGovern and others in New Hampshire in 1972. Bradley lost twice as the Democratic nominee for governor. Riordan couldn't get nominated in the 2002 Republican primary. Villaraigosa may never hold another elective office. Mayor is a lousy job anyway. The real power in this city is president of the city council, Eric Garcetti's old job. But he was termed out.

[Brian]

Every candidate who I voted for Tuesday won. I can't remember the last time that happened, if ever, in my 37 years of voting. The margins of victory surprised me -- I expected at least one of the citywide races to be too close to call until all the late absentee and provisional ballots are counted three weeks from now. Poor Wendy Greuel was still unable to concede when I went to sleep after 1 a.m., but that's because the City Clerk is so freaking slow every election night.

I heard that $95 was spent for each vote that was cast. I could never count all of the mostly depressing television ads I saw or ignored, where most of the money went. But we received a total of 46 mailers:

• 8 - Greuel (only two of those from her campaign)
  
• 2 - Garcetti (neither from his campaign)
  
• 7 - Feuer (all from his)
  
• 1 - Trutanich (entirely anti-Feuer with his name identified only in fine print)
  
• 4 - Galperin
  
• 1 - Zine
  
• 1 - Ratliff (with refrigerator magnet)
  
• 10 - Sanchez
  
• 1- Vela
  
• 11 slates (only two of those official Democratic Party)
  

Bloomberg's group spent $2 million on Antonio Sanchez for school board. His opponent Monica Ratliff could only afford to send out a form letter with a refrigerator magnet. She's the better candidate, and she won.

[anni]

And Monica Ratliff's beautiful refrigerator magnet has assumed the position on our refrig. It even has "cooking conversions" ie. cups, ounces, and milliliters. Better than B. Boxer's HUGE cat ball (from a few years ago)...doesn't even bounce!

[Brian]

The best piece I've read about the mayoral race was written by Tom Hayden after the election. He profiles the city's actual electorate along with its activists, then outlines the issues a progressive mayor must address in the next four years. This is just beautiful:

tomhayden.com/elections/eric-garcettis-future.html

I still love elections, even after surviving the tsunami of Republican lies in 2012 and watching two good Democrats tear each other up for the first five months of 2013. Garcetti might have won without all those ads calling Greuel the DWP candidate, but we'll never know. Ironically, the independent union money produced her only effective ad, the one with Clinton and Greuel at Langer's. She ran a horrible campaign.