Campaign 2013

John Shallman, the Valley-based lead consultant for Wendy Greuel's campaign for mayor, didn't care for Times columnist Jim Newton's analysis of what went wrong. He also suggests the Times cheerled for Eric Garcetti, saying in a piece for the LAT website that "The Times was to Eric Garcetti what Fox News was to Mitt Romney."

Morning mess on the 405 in Westwood. Labor's losing bet on Wendy Greuel. How City Hall powers will test Garcetti. Are independent PAC's now toxic to LA candidates? Ex-LAT publisher now in at SF Chronicle. Orange County of 'Arrested Development.' Plus KPCC looks atLAPD's helicopters. And more inside.

Gary took photos throughout the runoff campaign for mayor between Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel. Here is a selection of our favorites.

Quotes often tell the story. These are from a variety of sources, all uttered today as far as I can tell. "One of the worst run campaigns I've ever seen in my life," a veteran LA political strategist says of the Greuel campaign.

It's not just labor. Elected officials such as Gloria Molina and Jose Huizar backed Wendy Greuel, but Eric Garcetti "represents the 2.0 model of Latinos in LA," argues the former editor of Ciudad magazine.

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky welcomes the election of Eric Garcetti, Mike Feuer and Ron Galperin as "a new generation of leadership for the city." He says he's comfortable with his decision last year not to run.

Eric Garcetti chose a playground in Echo Park for his debut as the mayor-elect of Los Angeles. He thanked Wendy Greuel for a good campaign and says they will always be friends.

That would be attorney Ron Galperin, who easily defeated City Hall insider Dennis Zine for a job that reminds me a little of a newspaper ombudsman: Broad discretion in critiquing how the place is run, but little or no authority to force the real honchos to make changes.

The voter turnout in Tuesday's Los Angeles city election will be shamefully low by the time the ballots are all counted. But it won't be the 19 percent that some in the media are using.

In order to become the first woman mayor of Los Angeles, analysts believed that Controller Wendy Greuel needed to win a majority of female voters and pick up a solid majority in her home turf in the Valley and, as the somewhat less liberal of the candidates, win the niche of Republicans who vote in LA. Kevin James' endorsement was crucial in the end.

Today seems like a good day to bring back out the cute photo that Eric Garcetti posted to Facebook a few years ago, of him and his father Gil. "Nice mustache, Dad!," Garcetti wrote.

Eric Garcetti is 42 years old, the youngest mayor of Los Angeles in more than a century, and he will be the city's first Jewish mayor. He won with 53.9 percent of the vote to 46 percent for Wendy Greuel.

The Loyola Marymount exit poll conducted by students under the Center for the Study of Los Angeles forecasts Eric Garcetti will win the mayoral election with 54 percent of the vote. In actual votes counted so far, Wendy Greuel is slightly ahead.

Greuel and Garcetti vote. Both will hit the Apple Pan this morning — at almost the same time. A ton of Campaign 2013 links from across the US. More phone numbers for me to call from Greuel. Plus: Tanaka slams Baca again. Fox 11 promotes Pablo Pereira. KCET promotes Juan Devis. Sherwood Forest gets postal recognition. And SoCal firefighters head for OKC.

Villaraigosa was in Dubai, but quietly. Jackie Goldberg makes no endorsement in her old council district. Yahoo-Tumblr CEOs make their case. AP boss says phone record seizures unconstitutional. News-Press employees drop union. What's behind those Village Voice layoffs. Under the radar LA rental 'hoods and more.

Several out-of-town budinskis have called the campaign an embarrassment, which was certainly not the case. Let's just say that the race, like so many others these days, was a missed opportunity

After two full weekend days of campaigning, Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel were back at it before sunrise this morning. Here's a snapshot of the day, the weekend and the final hours of Campaign 2013.

The ten-point Garcetti lead over Greuel that only the USC-LAT poll found last month has shrunk a bit. But it's better for Garcetti than the dead heat that the last major poll in the race found.

Mayoral votes could take weeks to count despite low turnout. (Only in LA...) Why Angelenos don't vote. Villaraigosa versus the ads. Greuel's job at DreamWorks gave her a Rolodex. Some Garcetti endorsements. Plus the LAPD consent decree, subway noise and Disney Hall, and David Beckham's retirement is a big story in Europe. Kings win 4-3.

Final Thursday of Campaign 2013: Attack ads. Newsy tweets. Obama's Axelrod jumps in. George Lopez wants to run. Follow the money. Look at the billboards. Two million can vote, but 1.6 million won't. And was the LAPD consent decree dismissed yesterday?

As Latinos’ numbers and influence continue to rise, they are feeling optimistic. African-Americans see their hard-earned political gains jeopardized by a declining population share. Whites are the most satisfied with how things are going in their neighborhoods.

The women's magazine thinks that Greuel's first politics mentor was Tom Brady, but gets to the bottom of her preferred "go-to look."

Juice still rules in the state Assembly. A City Hall run entirely by men? Glendale stands up to DWP union chief Brain D'Arcy. Streetsblog writers split on Greucetti. John le Carre is LA's new bestseller. Metro rail ridership is up. Five hottest rental neighborhoods and hot quote of the day.

Final Greucetti debate. DA to join Feuer. Why would anyone want to be mayor? Outrage over the feds exploring AP phone records. JPL told to stop discipline over emails. Another bear in the foothills. Plus another state backs gay marriage and the Kings and Sharks begin tonight.

The latest poll, which finds Dennis Zine ahead in the controller’s race and Mike Feuer leading for city attorney, also shows that half the voters don’t think Los Angeles is heading in the right direction.

As a user's guide for voters, the LA Weekly's Gene Maddaus summarizes some areas where there is daylight between Garcetti and Greuel. Such as on education, development, the DWP — minor issues like that.

Garcetti backer switches over Kevin James. LAT weighs in on City Attorney race. 9th district as focus of special interests. Planning director Michael LoGrande on merging with Building and Safety. Mellowing of Maxine Waters. "Marketplace" parts with Robert Reich. Variety's dealings with Commerce Casino. Plus no Kings-Ducks series.

Doug McIntrye of KABC and the Daily News comes out for Greuel, but after all her husband is his agent. Plus: The candidates fan out for Mother's Day and the Garcetti daughter makes a video appearance. And a roundup of media coverage.

There has never been an LA mayor who grew up on the San Fernando Valley side of the city's geographic and cultural divide. Good story in the Times on Greuel and Garcetti — but look what Austin Beutner says.

City Controller hopefuls Dennis Zine and Ron Galperin sat down with Warren Olney on "Which Way, LA?" to debate issues in the race. They are both trying to persuade voters they will continue the role of controller as watchdog of city spending, even though that is kind of an exaggerated image.

In the latest financial reports filed by the mayoral candidates, Eric Garcetti has a big edge in cash left to finish the final eleven days of campaigning. But in the end, more money may be spent on Greuel's behalf.

Maybe it's an outlier, maybe it just reflects a race that always seemed closer than what several of the polls indicated.

405 overruns. New SEIU ad for Greuel. Trutanich endorsed by Delgadillo. Why so few women or Asians get elected to the City Council. Bud Ovrom to run the Convention Center. Village Voice editors quit rather than cut. LACMA officials move into Variety tower. An editorial on Meghan O'Rourke. Plus Muerto Mouse from Lalo Alcaraz.

Gary Leonard appears on Thursdays at LA Observed.

if you were hoping for an uplifting message about why you should vote for Wendy Greuel to be your mayor, you will be disappointed. At least she is on TV again. Clip inside.

Only someone intrigued by the finer points of the politics of education could have figured out the differences between the overly cautious mayoral candidates Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel at their debate Tuesday night.

Cancelling TV ad buys with two weeks left until the election is certainly not a great sign for Controller Wendy Greuel. Neither is ponying up $100,000 or your own money or having to rely on ads from the Police Protective League and the DWP's powerful union.

In making my choice, says publisher David Abel, "I hope to prod many of my friends, who, like me, have remained uncommitted to date, to again engage in electoral politics and to vote."

Greuel suspends TV ads. DWP coughs up the salary data and it's revealing. City Council blinks on LAFD staffing. Dorner reward goes four ways. Hillary Clinton in town. Possible ambassadorships for Hollywood Obama backers. Disney drops bid to trademark Dia de los Muertos. And yes, you did see an elevated train over DTLA in a TV ad.

Villaraigosa going back to China. LAPD vs USC students. California Supremes uphold cities on pot dispensaries. Greucetti to debate on KCRW. Joe Mathews rooting for the Koch brothers to get LA Times. Twitter hiring a head of news. And more, including the LAT says Spanish pronunciations are making a comeback.

The weekly's editorial hopes that Garcetti "would grow in the job," and says it's "a pity" that Greuel is too close to unions. It's the LABJ's first endorsement for mayor.

Subway turnstiles. LA's rough streets. Rick Caruso on 10,000 cops. Mary Melton of Los Angeles finally gets that Emmis promotion. Get ready for YouTube subscriptions. Howard Kurtz does the mea culpa. The movie academy opens up voting. Magic Johnson swatted, converting the LA River and more. Links inside.

After Sunday, there are only two more weekends before the next mayor is chosen. I still don't detect much bubbling interest among the populace, but Garcetti did get about 150 people to come out to the Tapia Brothers farm in Encino on Sunday. Inside: The latest news and coverage.

A group of Jewish real estate men that migrated over from Nibbler's in the 1990s sits down every Sunday morning and receives politicians — including Greuel and a Garcetti — and has welcomed both Yitzhak Rabin and Vicente Fox.

Springs fire holds at 10,000 acres and 10% contained. LA lifts red flag status. Villaraigosa spokesman moves on. Greucetti blames him/herself for high DWP salaries. Daily News re-endorses Greuel. Jackie Goldberg vs. Gil Cedillo. Kobe Bryant vs his mom. Rosendahl says cancer in remission. New dean at Southwestern and new giraffe at the zoo. Plus more.

DWP salaries and the union's role for Greuel. Mike Woo endorses. Gov. Brown will go after handguns. LA Times latest to drop "illegal immigrant" from style guide. Register's lack of diversity. Slate vs. Joel Kotkin. Press Club to fete Carl Reiner. And Vin Scully to honor Roz Wyman at lunch today.

When I was on Facebook tonight, this invitation popped up for a Wendy Greuel fundraising reception in Venice scheduled for Friday. Notice the ad next to the invite.

May Day and Wyvernwood rallies downtown. Wendy Greuel's text messages to Kevin James. Endorsements in the Valley. The Koch brothers make more political plans. LACMA's new buildings plans and a scary motorcycle vs bike accident caught on video. Plus much more.

What Peter Drucker might have thought of Greucetti. Greuel returns felon's donation. LAX runway vote today. Times endorses O'Farrell. Maria Shriver and Jillian Barberie get new TV gigs. LAT print circulation down again. Is LA "quivering" at the Koch brothers rumor? Plus Malibu Lagoon, crows, Angels and more.

LA Times says "neither candidate is ready" to be mayor but endorses Garcetti. Independent spending in the race undercuts limits. Greuel's son, Garcetti's daughter. NYT trend alert. NBC 4 to look at police chases. Register hiring again. Bob Hope stuff goes on sale and more.