Light turnout caps low-profile race for L.A. mayor

LOS ANGELES -- Voters in Los Angeles gave a collective shrug Tuesday to the contest to replace Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, turning out in small numbers after a low-profile campaign in which no issue or candidate galvanized the electorate.

Only about 22 percent of 660,000 mail-in ballots had been returned by Tuesday morning, and campaign strategists figured when Election Day voters were added, only about a quarter of the city's 1.8 million voters would have cast ballots.

The five leading candidates in the nonpartisan contest made last-minute appeals during stops around the city, while unionized workers and other campaign volunteers tried to get voters to shake off indifference and go to the polls.

"I need you to vote, and then go encourage your friends and family to vote, too," city Controller Wendy Greuel told supporters in an email. She hopes to become the city's first woman mayor.

The likely outcome in the heavily Democratic city could send two city hall regulars, Democrats Eric Garcetti, 42, and Greuel, 51, to a May 21 runoff, since it's unlikely any candidate will clear the majority needed to win outright Tuesday.

The sluggish turnout could help Democratic Councilwoman Jan Perry, 57, or former prosecutor Kevin James, 49, a Republican, slip into the two-person runoff. Former technology executive Emanuel Pleitez, 30, is a long shot.

There are plenty of problems to solve in Los Angeles. City Hall is nearly broke, the airport is an embarrassment, freeways remain clogged and potholes, cracked sidewalks and untended trees infest many neighborhoods.

Angelenos are known to give local politics a collective shrug. Turnout failed to reach 30 percent in Villaraigosa's hotly contested primary in 2005, when he was trying to become the first Hispanic mayor in more than a century.

Villaraigosa was re-elected in 2009 with a meager 152,000 votes, in a city of nearly 4 million people. He leaves after two bumpy terms.

Los Angeles County Democratic Chair Eric Bauman attributed the light turnout to voter fatigue after the 2012 presidential race, along with a campaign that failed to produce a star candidate.

"I honestly think voters are worn out," Bauman said. "There isn't anything that is driving up turnout."

Still, there is the possibility of another first for LA. The city could elect its first woman mayor [Greuel or Perry], the first openly gay one [James], or its first Jewish one [Perry or Garcetti].

The five leading candidates have dueled mostly over pocketbook issues -- a looming deficit, 10.2 percent unemployment and how to stop rising worker pension and health care costs from snatching money from street repairs and other services.

"The same career politicians that caused our city's problems now promise they can solve them," said James, who's positioned himself as an outsider who will upend the status quo at City Hall.

The Los Angeles mayor presides over a budget that exceeds $7 billion, but it is a comparatively weak office hemmed in by a powerful City Council. Unlike other big cities such as New York, the Los Angeles mayor cannot directly appoint the head of schools or police.

Voters also were picking a city attorney, city controller and about half the 15 members of the City Council, and deciding whether to increase the city's sales tax a half-cent to 9.5 percent.