Eric Garcetti leads Wendy Greuel in L.A. mayor race; May runoff slated

Photo Galleries: Wendy Greuel election night party
Photo Galleries: Eric Garcetti with supporters

UPDATED: With all precincts reporting in Tuesday's election, Los Angeles Councilman Eric Garcetti beat City Controller Wendy Greuel by nearly 11,000 votes in the race for mayor, setting up a May 21 runoff between the two.

The city clerk posted final results at 2:20 a.m. today.

Garcetti got 93,978 votes, almost 33 percent, while Greuel got 83,308, or 29 percent. To prevent a runoff, one would have needed an outright majority.

Attorney and talk radio host Kevin James was fourth at 16 percent, while Councilwoman Jan Perry had 15 percent and three other candidates were far behind the top four.

Garcetti and Greuel gave speeches to supporters late Tuesday night.

In Hollywood, Garcetti took swipes at his opponent and said his administration would be "by the people, for the people and of the people of Los Angeles."

At the Los Angeles Brewing Co., Greuel emerged to the song "I Love L.A." and told supporters, "It's early, but it sure looks good. We're 11 weeks

from making history, electing the first woman mayor and, of course, first mom."

The influential Service Employees International Union Local 721, which represents many L.A. city workers is expected to announce its mayoral endorsement today. Sources say the group, which did not endorse in the primary, is going to throw its support behind Greuel.

The race was hard-fought and at times negative. Greuel, 51, had the backing of major unions, and she and Garcetti each raised more than $4 million.

Dakota Smith and Mariecar Mendoza contributed to this story.

Source: http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_22729199/eric-garcetti-leads-wendy-gruel-l-mayor-race?source=rss_emailed

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