LOS ANGELES, March 6, 2013 (AFP) – Los Angeles will hold a run-off poll in May to choose a successor to mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, after results Wednesday confirmed two frontrunners from a primary election.
City Controller Wendy Greuel and Councilman Eric Garcetti won 32.9 percent and 29.2 percent respectively in Tuesday’s initial poll, in which a total of eight candidates ran.
Turnout was a dismal 16 percent in the primary race to lead America’s second biggest metropolis. No candidate achieved the 50 percent necessary to win outright. A run-off poll will now be held on May 21.
Villaraigosa, one of America’s most high-profile Latino political leaders since taking office in 2005, cannot stand for re-election after two terms at the helm of the vast West Coast metropolis.
Garcetti, whose showbiz links drew an endorsement from comic Will Ferrell, has a more international background, having studied at Oxford University and the London School of Economics. The 42-year-old has Mexican and Jewish roots.
Greuel, who spent five years at movie giant DreamWorks, has faced questions over financial backing from labor unions, as well as a pledge to increase police ranks by 2,000. She is 51.
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