The 2001 Los Angeles mayoral election was for a four-year term as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. It took place on April 10, 2001, with a runoff on June 5, 2001. Incumbent mayor

Richard Riordan Richard Joseph Riordan (May 1, 1930 – April 19, 2023) was an American businessman, investor, military commander, philanthropist, and politician. A decorated Korean War veteran and a member of the Republican Party, Riordan served as the 39th ...

was prevented from running for a third term because of

term limits A term limit is a legal restriction on the number of Term of office, terms a Incumbent, person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in Presidential system, presidential and Semi-presidential republic, semi-president ...

. In the election to replace him, then-City Attorney

James Hahn James Kenneth Hahn (born July 3, 1950) is an American lawyer and politician. A Democrat, Hahn was elected the 40th mayor of Los Angeles in 2001. He served until 2005, at which time he was defeated in his bid for re-election. Prior to his term a ...

defeated

Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa (; né Villar Jr. on January 23, 1953) is an American politician who served as the 41st Mayor of Los Angeles from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Villaraigosa was a national co-chairman of Hillary C ...

, the former speaker of the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

. Municipal elections in California, including for mayor of Los Angeles, are officially

nonpartisan Nonpartisan or non-partisan may refer to: __NOTOC__ General political concepts * Nonpartisanship, also known as Nonpartisanism, co-operation without reference to political parties * Non-partisan democracy, an election with no official recognition ...

; candidates' party affiliations do not appear on the ballot.

Results

Primary election

The primary election for mayor was held on April 10, 2001. Villaraigosa finished first, with 30 percent of the vote. Hahn was second with 25 percent of the vote. In Los Angeles city elections the top two vote-getters advance to a runoff if no contender reaches 50 percent in the primary. Riordan had endorsed his senior advisor, Parks Commissioner and businessman

Steve Soboroff Steve Soboroff (born August 31, 1948) is an American businessperson who was Los Angeles Police Commissioner from 2013 to 2023, where he spearheaded the use of body cams for the LAPD. Days after the catastrophic Palisades fire began in Los Ange ...

, to replace him. Soboroff, the only prominent Republican in the race, finished third with 21 percent of the vote. Also competing in the primary election were longtime Los Angeles City Council member

Joel Wachs Joel Wachs (, ; born March 1, 1939) is an American former politician and lawyer. He is the president of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts in New York City. He was a member of the Los Angeles City Council for 30 years, where he was k ...

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

Xavier Becerra Xavier Becerra (; born January 26, 1958) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 25th United States secretary of health and human services, a position he held from March 19, 2021 to January 20, 2025. He is the first Latino to h ...

, and then-

California State Controller The state controller of California is a constitutional office in the executive branch of the Government of California, government of the U.S. state of California. Thirty-three individuals have held the office of state controller since statehood. T ...

Kathleen Connell Kathleen Connell is an American businesswoman, journalist, entrepreneur, and academic. She was the California State Controller from 1995 until 2003. She was the first woman to serve in the position. As controller she served as a trustee of Cal ...

. Along with Hahn, they were all prominent Democrats. They finished with 11, 6 and 5 percent of the vote, respectively. The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' made a dual endorsement of Hahn and Villaraigosa in the primary election, while the City's other daily newspapers, ''

The Los Angeles Daily News The ''Los Angeles Daily News'' is the second-largest-circulating paid daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California, after the unrelated ''Los Angeles Times'', and the flagship newspaper of the Southern California News Group, a branch of Colorado- ...

'' and ''

The Daily Breeze The ''Daily Breeze'' is a 57,000-circulation daily newspaper published in Hermosa Beach, California, United States. It serves the South Bay cities of Los Angeles County. Its slogan is "LAX to LA Harbor". Early history The paper was found ...

'' endorsed Soboroff. Becerra's mayoral campaign ran a tape of someone impersonating

Los Angeles County Supervisor The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (LACBOS) is the five-member governing body of Los Angeles County, California, United States. History On April 1, 1850 the citizens of Los Angeles elected a three-man Court of Sessions as their first ...

Gloria Molina Jesús Gloria Molina (May 31, 1948 – May 14, 2023) was an American politician who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council, the California State Assembly, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the Los Angeles County Metropo ...

disparaging Villaraigosa's voting record in the state Assembly. The tape was run by campaign staffer

Lloyd Monserratt Lloyd Monserratt (December 2, 1966 – January 9, 2003), was an American political activist and Director of Constituent Services for the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, where he trained a number of future Latino p ...

and, though no laws had been broken, this action tarnished the reputations of all involved.

General election

Riordan switched his endorsement to Villaraigosa in the general election. Despite the popular Republican mayor's endorsement, as well as the endorsement of the ''Times'', Villaraigosa was unable to capture a majority. Hahn won the general election on June 5, 2001 with 53.53 percent of the vote, to Villaraigosa's 46.47 percent. Soboroff, Becerra and Connell remained neutral in the general election. Wachs endorsed Villaraigosa.

Further information

Hahn was sworn in as Los Angeles' 40th mayor in the summer of 2001. He faced Villaraigosa in a rematch in the

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

mayoral election. In that race, Villaraigosa defeated Hahn to become the 41st mayor of Los Angeles. Soboroff would go on to become a Senior Fellow at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

and the head of the

Playa Vista Playa Vista is a neighborhood in the Westside area of Los Angeles, California, United States. The area was the headquarters of Hughes Aircraft Company from 1941 to 1985 and the site of the construction of the Hughes H-4 Hercules "Spruce Goo ...

development on Los Angeles' Westside, while Wachs became president of the

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...

Foundation in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and Connell was termed out of her post as State Controller. Becerra remained a Member of Congress until his appointment to succeed Senator

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

Attorney General of California The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the government of California. The officer must ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" ( Constitution of California, Article V, Section 13). ...

in 2017.

References and footnotes

External links

Office of the City Clerk, City of Los Angeles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Los Angeles Mayoral Election, 2001 Mayoral election, 2001 2001 California elections

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

2001 United States mayoral elections April 2001 in the United States Non-partisan elections