Tom Bradley

For more information on Thomas Bradley, visit Britannica.com.

(b. Calvert, Texas, 29 Dec. 1917; d. 29 Sept. 1998) US; mayor of Los Angeles 1974 – 94 Educated at Southwest Law School and UCLA, Bradley was for many years (1940 – 62) a member of the Los Angeles Police Department. From 1963 onwards he was fully involved in Los Angeles elective politics, becoming the city's most prominent black leader and serving as a city council member (1963 – 73) and as mayor (1974 – 94).

Bradley was the first black mayor of Los Angeles and one of a group of black mayors who played an increasingly important role in American politics. Race played a part in Bradley's first attempt to become mayor in 1969. Then populist Sam Yorty beat Bradley; but once Bradley won the mayoralty, he managed to maintain a coalition of blacks, Jews, Latinos, and liberals in support of his policies. Bradley moved to incorporate business into the running of the city and was so successful that Los Angeles for a period became a model of racial co-operation and of partnership between the business community and the public sector. His moderate approach disappointed some of his more radical supporters; and there emerged widespread concern about congestion and growth in the city. Yet Bradley remained personally popular and in 1982 he ran for Governor of California. However, he narrowly lost the general election to the Republican George Deukmejian. When Deukmejian and Bradley fought each other again for the governorship in 1986 Bradley was more decisively defeated.

Bradley's position in California state politics gave him a high profile in national Democratic politics and in 1976 he co-chaired the Democratic national convention. In 1993 Bradley chose not to run again and he resumed private law practice. In 1996 he suffered a stroke while undergoing heart surgery and, although he survived, his activities were inevitably limited thereafter.

The first African American mayor of Los Angeles, Tom Bradley (born 1917) won election five times, serving a record 20 years in a city where African Americans constituted a small minority of the electorate. He was twice (1982, 1986) the Democratic candidate for governor of California.

Born to an east central Texas sharecropper family of Crenner (Hawkins) and Lee Thomas Bradley on December 29, 1917, Bradley was one of seven children. When he was only seven years old his family moved to Los Angeles, where his mother worked as a domestic servant and his father at various jobs including waiting tables and Pullman car porter. A talented athlete, Bradley excelled in football and the 440-yard dash at Polytechnic High School in Los Angeles. After high school he enrolled at the University of California at Los Angeles to become a track star.

Dropping out of college Bradley joined the Los Angeles police force for what turned into a 21-year career (1940-1961) and rose through the ranks to lieutenant. In the 1950s Bradley enrolled in night school and completed his law studies at Southwestern University, where he received an LL.B. degree in 1956 and won admission to the California bar the next year. In 1941 Bradley married Ethel May Arnold, a member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church which he attended and where he later became a trustee. He was the father of two daughters, Phyllis, a school teacher, and Lorraine, a secretary. After his police career, Bradley practiced law briefly and in 1963 won a seat as Los Angeles' first African American city councilman. Reelected in 1967 and again in 1971 from a biracial district, Bradley often spoke for larger citywide concerns including what he perceived to be poorly planned off-shore oil drilling and its possible negative environmental effects.

Tom Bradley challenged incumbent Mayor Sam Yorty in 1969. In a bitter campaign, and in the runoff which ensued, Yorty painted Bradley as a 1960s radical and defeated him. By 1973 the apprehensions of Los Angeleans had cooled considerably on the issue of African American urban riots, and in this election Tom Bradley hired New York media consultant David Garth to package an effective advertising campaign. Garth presented Bradley as the politically responsible and temperate moderate that he was and would become as mayor. Bradley won a stunning upset, carrying 56 percent of the vote in a city in which African Americans comprised only 15 percent of the electorate. Bradley won reelection four times, several of those with even larger majorities. He carried 59 percent of the vote in 1977, 64 percent in 1981, and 67 percent in 1985, achieving a precedent-setting fourth term.

Throughout his terms as mayor, Bradley led and guided his city through a series of problems including the first energy crisis of 1973-1974. The crisis prompted the mayor to develop a program to make Los Angeles a leader in energy conservation and the "solar city" of America. Although sensitive to environmental concerns, Bradley was also an aggressive executive in encouraging economic development and private investment in his city. Initiatives to improve public transportation, control freeway construction, and vitalize the city's core were also undertaken. Mayor Bradley worked diligently during his early administrations to overcome the impersonal quality of urban leadership by holding "open house" days in branch offices in various parts of the city where citizens could meet their mayor.

A physically imposing figure of more than six feet tall and robust in appearance, Bradley paradoxically projected a soft, low-key, in-control image to the public. A deft politician with a calming influence, Bradley seldom embroiled himself in racial and political turmoil (much to the displeasure of radicals) and adroitly sidestepped the issue of forced cross-town bussing of school children which the courts settled. In the first six years of his administration he avoided new taxes and balanced the budget for his tax conscious electorate. An area in which he suffered considerable criticism was the rapid increase in homicides in 1979. Notwithstanding his career as an ex-police officer, the mayor supported and implemented a civilian commission to oversee the police department.

Although he opened up more city jobs for minorities than any previous mayor, Bradley was colorblind on most public issues and came down on the side of merit and efficiency in personnel management. Bradley also prided himself on fiscal conservatism, which the mayor's office called "enlightened stinginess." In his third term Bradley cut back on city spending and public services (including street cleaning and library hours) when tax revenues were not sufficient to meet expenses. Tempted into statewide politics, Bradley ran as a Democratic candidate for the California governorship in 1982 and lost a hard-fought campaign to Republican George Deukmejian, an Armenian-American and former state attorney general. Mayor Bradley entered into the national slipstream of media consciousness in a large way when he won for his city the privilege of hosting the 1984 summer Olympic Games and played the role of official host. Although discussed in a preliminary fashion as a possible Democratic vice presidential candidate in 1984, the party instead chose Geraldine Ferraro. Bolstered by favorable results in straw polls, Bradley in 1986 again challenged Deukmejian in a contest for governor of California. However, he lost the race to Deukmejian.

Bradley's later administration was marred by conflict and scandal, largely as a result of the Rodney King incident and the riots that ensued when the involved officers were acquitted. On March 3, 1991, King was severely beaten by Los Angeles police officers, and the event was recorded on videotape. Four officers were charged with assault and controversial police chief Darryl Gates was suspended, then reinstated. Mayor Bradley urged Gates to resign, and when he refused, communication between the two disintegrated. A year later, when the verdict in the officers' trial sparked riots in South Central Los Angeles, Gates was again at the center of the controversy. A panel led by former FBI and CIA director William Webster held Gates responsible for not having an adequate plan to deal with potential unrest. But Webster also blamed Mayor Bradley for poor relations between the police department and city hall. Bradley confessed that he and Gates had not spoken for over a year before the riots. The riots had a devastating impact on the city and on Bradley's administration: 58 people were killed, 2, 283 were injured, and there was over $750 million in property damage. The Economist wrote, "Since the 1984 Olympics, his [Bradley's] administration has been pockmarked by petty corruption, inaction, and, of course, last year's riots."

After the riots, Bradley was praised for forming "Rebuild L.A.", a task force established to put the city back in order. He also formed a program called, "L.A.'s Best", which provided afternoon activities for young people in an effort to keep them off the streets. In 1993 Bradley retired from the Mayor's office after a record 20 years and after 50 years of public service as police officer, city councilman, and then mayor. He was replaced by millionaire businessman Richard Riordan. Of his years as mayor Bradley said, "Everything that I set out to do 20 years ago, I have accomplished. The Olympics were the major event of my life…[the riots were] the most painful experience of my life."

In 1996, Bradley suffered a heart attack while in a fast-food restaurant, but recovered. A reserved man who was known as a hard-working and conscientious administrator, Tom Bradley was among the leading African American political figures in the United States.

Further Reading

For his early life, see The New York Times Biographical Service 12 (April 1981) and 15 (June 1984) and "Winning Mayor, " The Economist, 279 (April 18, 1981). For Bradley's mayoral and public career, see "Tom Bradley, " Biographical Dictionary of American Mayors, 1820-1980, eds. M. Holli and P. Jones (1981); Mayors of Los Angeles (1968, 1980); TIME magazine, (October 2, 1982 and November 15, 1982); and U.S. News and World Report, 96 (March 6, 1984). See also Contemporary Black Biography (Vol. 2) (1992).

mayor

Personal Information

Born December 29, 1917, in Calvert, TX; died September 29, 1998, in Los Angeles; son of Lee Thomas (a sharecropper, waiter, and railroad porter) and Crenner (Hawkins) Bradley; married Ethel Arnold, May 4, 1941; children: Lorraine, Phyllis.
Education: Attended University of California, Los Angeles; attended Loyola University; Southwestern University, LL.B., 1956.
Politics: Democrat.
Religion: Methodist.
Memberships: National Energy Advisory Council, National League of Cities, NAACP Black Achievers Committee (founding member), California State Bar Association, Southern California Association of Governments, American Cancer Society of the City of Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles Urban Coalition, Los Angeles World Affairs Council, United Nations Association of Los Angeles, Urban League of Los Angeles.

Career

Los Angeles Police Department, 1940-62; private law practice, 1961-63; Los Angeles district councilman, 1963-73; mayor of Los Angeles, 1973-1993; Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, 1993-1996. Democratic nominee for governor of California, 1982 and 1986. Co-founder and co-director of the Bank of Finance of Los Angeles.

Life's Work

In the two decades after his election as the first black mayor of Los Angeles, Thomas Bradley's name was virtually synonymous with the city. Serving an unprecedented five terms, Bradley became one of America's most respected politicians. He worked behind the scenes to transform Los Angeles from the somewhat stagnant city of the 1970s to a dynamic metropolis with an international reputation as the "Gateway to the Pacific Rim." Bradley was twice nominated as the democratic candidate for governor of California, both times positioning himself to become the first black governor of the state. Not bad for the son of a Texas sharecropper.

Bradley was born one of seven children on December 29, 1917, in Calvert, Texas. His family moved to Los Angeles when Bradley was seven; his father took on whatever odd jobs he could to support the family. The marriage of Bradley's parents eventually foundered and the boy's mother worked as a domestic to support her children. Bradley attributed much of his self-motivation to his mother's constant support and encouragement. For her part, his mother described Bradley as a child who was so studious that he did not have time for friends. Bradley had his first paper route at the age of nine, and fought to educate himself in a disadvantaged school system. He excelled at sports at Polytechnic High School in Los Angeles, running the 440-yard dash and becoming an all-city football tackle. Bradley won entry to the University of California at Los Angeles in 1937, where he majored in education and became a track star.

Bradley left school after three years to join the Los Angeles Police Department. In his 21-year stay at what was supposed to be a temporary job, Bradley served as a juvenile officer, detective, and community-relations officer, and rose to lieutenant, the highest rank held by a black officer at that time. While still on the police force, he began studying law at night, first at Loyola University and then at Southwestern University, both in Los Angeles. In 1956 he received an LL.B. degree from Southwestern; five years later he retired from the police force to open a law practice.

Bradley credits his police experience with teaching him principles invaluable to his political career. "During my years on the police force I learned that hostility breeds hostility. I saw that every man was looking for some kind of warmth, whether he would admit it or not," Bradley related in the New York Times. "People, all people, are looking for respect, for human dignity. This is something we all nourish. I have faith in this element of human nature, faith that there is an underlying decency in every man."

Bradley campaigned for a spot on the Los Angeles City Council in 1963. He became the first black elected to the Council and found himself representing the 225,000-member 10th district, which was then one-third black, one-third white, and one-third of other origins. He was re-elected in 1967 and 1971, and gained a reputation as a hard-working, dedicated man.

In April of 1969 Bradley was one of 13 candidates running against incumbent Los Angeles mayor Sam Yorty, who was about to complete his third four-year term. Yorty--known as "Saigon Sam" for his unfailing support of the war in Vietnam--was elected mayor of Los Angeles in 1961. By the end of the decade voters had become increasingly disillusioned with corruption in his administration and with Yorty's "goodwill tours" around the world. The people of Los Angeles were ready for a change; but they were not quite ready for a black mayor in the person of Bradley--then a relative unknown--especially so close on the heels of rioting in the predominantly black Watts section of Los Angeles. The 1969 campaign carried bitter racial overtones, with Yorty playing on voters' fears by implying that a vote for Bradley meant a vote for black militancy. Bradley lost the election in the run-off campaign. Not one to let defeat get in his way, however, he immediately began to prepare for the next election. Bradley made himself highly visible to voters and demonstrated that he was committed to the well-being of the city--and anything but militant.

The 1973 election campaign was as acrimonious as the previous one, with Yorty again labeling Bradley a "radical black." But by this time voters were familiar with Bradley, and in his campaign he accentuated his concern with larger, more substantive issues than squabbling with Yorty. His opponent, he said, was a slacker mayor who ran a corrupt and wasteful city hall, and neglected the real problems of smog, crime, and the need for a rapid-transit system.

Despite Yorty's continued smear tactics, Bradley, with the support of young anti-war and civil-rights liberals, won the election handily, receiving 56 percent of the vote--95 percent of the black vote, and nearly half of the city-wide white vote. Faced with this stunning victory, the new mayor--six-foot-four and built like a quarterback--remained modest and soft-spoken, steady and "deliberate as a Sherman tank," as he wryly called himself. Once elected Bradley set out to prove himself, both as a black man in a city only 18 percent black, and as a novice mayor. His wife, Ethel, joked about his dedication during the 1969 election campaign, saying in the New York Times, "That man went to law school 18 years ago and I haven't seen him since."

Bradley entered the mayor's office determined to do what he contended his predecessor had not--lower the crime rate, complete the rapid-transit system, limit unrestrained urban sprawl, and reduce air and water pollution. Under the Los Angeles City Charter the mayor's power is limited, since policy decisions require a two- thirds vote of council. This slightly cumbersome, but doggedly democratic, system suited Bradley, a man who saw his role as mayor as that of an effective team leader. Describing himself as fiscally conservative, but liberal on all other issues, Bradley preferred to keep to the background and rely on a strong and loyal support team to take center stage.

According to most indicators, the status of Los Angeles improved visibly under Bradley's astute management. With a budget that grew from $623 million in 1973 to nearly $4 billion in the early 1990s, the city became an international business community and trading center second only to New York City. It is the main center for Asian trade on the Western seaboard. Its international airport and harbor have been expanded and, after many delays, the first leg of the city's rapid transit system has been completed. Downtown Los Angeles has been revitalized and has expanded to five times its 1973 size. Through Bradley's persistent efforts, Los Angeles made a successful bid for the 1984 Summer Olympics. The event was staged with a smoothness and flair that brought the city world-wide recognition. Bradley also adopted strong environmental programs to cut air and water pollution, slow development, and encourage waste recycling. At the same time he attempted to meet the demands of the Los Angeles business community who, with developers, contribute tax dollars crucial to the health of the city economy, and whose needs are often in opposition with those of environmentalists.

Decreased tax revenues meant serious budget cuts to Los Angeles social and essential services. These included the police and fire departments, housing, and education, which even without such reductions inevitably suffer under a stressed economy. Most of his constituents continued to support him; they attributed many of the city's social ills to forces beyond the control of Bradley's administration. "Bradley is unbeatable," claimed Zev Yaroslavsky after quitting the 1989 mayoral election campaign. Yaroslavsky, a committed and vocal environmentalist, was seen as Bradley's most serious opponent at the time. In the months prior to his election, Bradley took swift action to appoint environmentalists to the city board and to formulate strong ecological measures for Los Angeles; thus, Yaroslavsky's environmental platform lost its impact. Los Angeles's longest-running mayor earned the nickname "Teflon Tom" after the durable, non-stick frying-pan surface. Indeed, Bradley's greatest asset may have been his ability to weather the ups and downs of political life.

Bradley's mayoral years were not without controversy, however. Inner-city crime, drug-abuse, and racial tensions were on the rise in the 1980s and 1990s; the more prosperous of Los Angeles, fearing for their safety, sought reassurance that they would be protected. For some time the Los Angeles police force, under chief Daryl Gates, enforced the law with an efficiency that bordered on paramilitary. Alleged victims of such tactics accused the Los Angeles Police Department of brutality, often unprovoked. These accusations were not taken seriously, however, until the infamous videotaped police beating of Rodney King, a black man suspected of a traffic violation, came to public attention and caused a national furor. Many demanded that Gates be fired. Here Bradley came up against the sometimes frustrating limitations of his power; the most he could do was ask for Gates's resignation. In July of 1991-- thirteen days after an independent commission urged him to step aside--Gates announced that he would resign, though he did not plan to leave his post until April of the following year, and then only if an adequate replacement could be found. In 1992, the acquittal of the police officers involved in the King case set off massive riots in Los Angeles which resulted millions of dollars in damage to the city not to mention a serious loss of life which shocked the rest of the nation. Bradley faced the formidable task of calming down boiling racial tensions and of beginning the restoration project.

Not content to limit himself to municipal politics, Bradley twice entered the state political scene, running for governor of California. In 1982 and 1986 he ran against Republican George Deukmajian. Although he was narrowly defeated both times, the attempt in itself was remarkable as Bradley was the first black candidate to receive the primarily white state-wide support of the Democratic party. Had he been elected in 1982, Bradley would have been the first black governor in the United States.

As his campaigns for California's highest office indicate, Thomas Bradley believed strongly that individuals must work within the democratic system to effect change; his own track record serves as evidence that it can be done. In a speech to a largely black school in Los Angeles, reprinted in the New York Times, Bradley said: "The only thing that can stop you is you. Dream big dreams, work hard, study hard and listen to your teachers. Above all, get along with each other. You can be anything your heart wants you to be."

Bradley retired in 1993 and joined the law offices of Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, specializing in international trade issues. In March of 1996, he suffered a heart attack while driving his car, and a stroke shortly after undergoing surgery left him unable to speak clearly. On September 29, 1998, he died of a heart attack at the age of 80. Hailed as a "builder of bridges" in his obituary in U.S. News & World Report, he will be remembered as an effective mayor who left an important legacy to the city of Los Angeles.

Awards

Thurgood Marshall Award; Sword of the Haganah from the State of Israel and David Ben Gurion Award for outstanding achievement, both 1974; MEDIC International Humanitarian Award, 1978; Award of Merit, National Council of Negro Women, 1978; John F. Kennedy Fellowship award from the government of New Zealand, 1978; Magnin Award 1984; NAACP Spingarn Medal 1984; numerous honorary doctorates of law.

Further Reading

• Ebony, July 1973.
• Los Angeles Times, April 14, 1991; July 7, 1991; July 21, 1991.
• New Yorker, April 24, 1989.
• New York Times, April 3, 1977; April 28, 1981; July 23, 1991.
• Time, June 15, 1981; June 7, 1982.
• U.S. News & World Report, October 12, 1998.

— Heather Paterson Rhodes

Quotes:

"Never give up. Keep your thoughts and your mind always on the goal."

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2008)

For other persons named Tom Bradley, see Tom Bradley (disambiguation).

Thomas J. Bradley
Tom Bradley speaking at the 1988 Aids Walk Los Angeles
38th Mayor of Los Angeles
In office 1973 – 1993
Preceded by	Sam Yorty
Succeeded by	Richard Riordan
Born	December 29, 1917(1917-12-29) Calvert, Texas
Died	September 29, 1998 (aged 80) Los Angeles, California
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Ethel Arnold
Residence	Los Angeles, California

Thomas J. "Tom" Bradley (December 29, 1917 – September 29, 1998) was a five-term mayor of Los Angeles, California, serving in that office from 1973 to 1993. He was the first and to date only African American mayor of Los Angeles. His 20 years in office mark the longest tenure by any mayor in the city's history. His 1973 election made him only the second African American mayor of a major U.S. city.

Bradley unsuccessfully ran for Governor of California in 1982 and 1986 and was defeated each time by the Republican George Deukmejian. The racial dynamics that appeared to underlie his narrow and unexpected loss in 1982 gave rise to the political term "the Bradley effect."

Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Entering politics 3 Mayor of Los Angeles, California 3.1 Gubernatorial campaigns 4 Post-political life 5 Personal life 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

Early life and education

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2008)

Tom Bradley was born to Lee and Crenner Bradley in Calvert near Bryan-College Station in Central Texas. Bradley was a son of a sharecropper and the grandson of former slaves. The family moved to Arizona to pick cotton, and young Tom had to help. Half a century later, as he rode through California's Central Valley cotton fields on a gubernatorial campaign trip, Bradley looked out the window and recalled how he picked cotton as a young boy. "That was enough," he said. "I never did fill that 25-pound sack."

In 1924, the family moved to Los Angeles, near Temple and Alvarado streets. His father was a porter for the Santa Fe railroad and worked on crews that traveled the West Coast. His mother worked as a maid. The Bradleys were divorced and, at one point, their son recalled, the family went on public assistance. Bradley attended Rosemont Elementary School and Lafayette Junior High School, where he was counseled against going to college. But he was a promising athlete at the neighborhood Central Recreation Center, and he was recruited by Ed Leahy, track coach at Polytechnic High School in Los Angeles, a mostly white school. His success there foreshadowed the accomplishments to come.

By the time he attended Polytechnic High School, Bradley starred in both American football and track. At the mostly white campus he became the first African American to be elected president of the Poly Boys' League and the first to be inducted into the Ephebians, a national honor society. Bradley also was captain of the track team and made the all-city football team as a tackle. He graduated in the winter of 1937. Later he attended University of California, Los Angeles on a track scholarship. One of the jobs that he had while at UCLA was as a photographer for comedian Jimmy Durante. He dropped out of UCLA during his junior year to attend the Los Angeles Police Academy, after placing near the top on a recruitment exam. He became a member of the Los Angeles Police Department in 1940 and became a lieutenant, the highest rank held by an African American police officer in Los Angeles at that time. While working on the force, he studied at night at Southwestern University School of Law and received his law degree. Bradley later passed the bar exam to become a lawyer.

Entering politics

His entry into politics came when he decided to become the president of the united Club. The club was part of the California Democratic Council, a liberal, reformist group organized in the 1950s by young Democrats energized by Adlai E. Stevenson's presidential campaigns. It was predominantly white and had many Jewish members, thus marking the beginnings of the coalition, which along with Latinos, that would carry him to electoral victory so many times.

His choice of a Democratic circle also put him at odds with another political force in the African American community, representatives of poor, all-black areas who were associated with the political organization of Jesse M. Unruh, then an up-and-coming state assemblyman. The early stage of Bradley's political career was marked by clashes with African American leaders like onetime California Lieutenant Governor and former U.S. Representative Mervyn Dymally, an Unruh ally.

He served on the Los Angeles City Council from 1963 to 1972. In 1963, he, along with Billy G. Mills, would become the first African Americans elected to the City Council in modern times. His 10th District was centered in the multi-ethnic Crenshaw area, the majority of whose voters were white. During his tenure, he spoke out against racial segregation within the LAPD, as well as the department’s handling of the Watts Riots in 1965.

Years later, when a student, commenting on Bradley's lack of personal charisma and his caution, wondered aloud whether Los Angeles had elected a black Gerald Ford rather than a black John Kennedy, Bradley replied: "I'm not a black this or a black that. I'm just Tom Bradley."

In 1969, Bradley first challenged incumbent Mayor Sam Yorty, a conservative Democrat (later Republican) though the election was nonpartisan. Armed with key endorsements (including the Los Angeles Times), Bradley held a substantial lead over Yorty in the primary, but was a few percentage points shy of winning the race outright. However, in the runoff, to the dismay of supporters such as Abigail Folger, Yorty pulled an amazing come from behind victory to win reelection primarily because he played racial politics. Yorty questioned Bradley's credibility in fighting crime and painted a picture of Bradley, his fellow Democrat, as a threat to Los Angeles because he would supposedly open up the city to feared Black Nationalists. Bradley did not use his record as a police officer in the election. With the racial factor, even many liberal white voters became hesitant to support Bradley.

It would be another four years in 1973, when Bradley would unseat Yorty.

Mayor of Los Angeles, California

Bradley in 1984

Powerful downtown business interests at first opposed him. But with passage of the 1974 redevelopment plan and the inclusion of business leaders on influential committees, corporate chiefs moved comfortably in behind him. During Bradley's tenure as mayor, Los Angeles hosted the 1984 Summer Olympic Games and passed Chicago to become the second most populous city in the country. The 1992 Los Angeles riots and the formation of the Christopher Commission also occurred on his watch. Tom Bradley helped contribute to the financial success of the city by helping develop the satellite business hubs at Century City and Warner Center. Bradley was a driving force behind the construction of Los Angeles' light rail network. He also pushed for expansion of Los Angeles International Airport and development of the terminals which are in use today. The Tom Bradley International Terminal is named in his honor.

Bradley served for twenty years as mayor of Los Angeles, surpassing Fletcher Bowron with the longest tenure in that office. Bradley was offered a cabinet-level position in the administration of President Jimmy Carter, which he turned down. In 1984, Democratic presidential candidate Walter Mondale considered Bradley as a finalist for the vice presidential nomination, which eventually went to U.S. Representative Geraldine Ferraro of Queens, New York.^[1]

Although Bradley was a political liberal, he believed that business prosperity was good for the entire city and would generate jobs, an outlook not unlike that of his successor, Riordan. For most of Bradley's long administration, the city appeared to agree with him. But in his fourth term, with traffic congestion, air pollution and the condition of Santa Monica Bay worsening, and with residential neighborhoods threatened by commercial development, the tide began to turn. In 1989, he was elected to a fifth term, but the ability of opponent Nate Holden to attract one-third of the vote,^[2] despite being a neophyte to the Los Angeles City Council and a very late entrant to the mayoral race, signaled that Bradley's era was drawing to a close.

Other factors in the waning of his political strength were his decision to reverse himself and support a controversial oil drilling project near the Pacific Palisades and his reluctance to condemn Louis Farrakhan, the Black Muslim minister who made speeches in Los Angeles and elsewhere that many considered anti-Semitic. Further, some key Bradley supporters lost their City Council reelection bids, among them veteran Westside Councilwoman Pat Russell. Bradley chose to leave office, rather than seek election to a sixth term in 1993.

Gubernatorial campaigns

Bradley ran for Governor of California twice, in 1982 and 1986, but lost both times to Republican George Deukmejian. He was the first African American to head a gubernatorial ticket in California.

In 1982, the election was extremely close. Bradley led in the polls going into Election Day, and in the initial hours after the polls closed, some news organizations projected him as the winner.^[3] Ultimately, Bradley lost the election by about 100,000 votes, about 1.2% of the 7.5 million votes cast.

These circumstances gave rise to the term the "Bradley effect" which refers to a tendency of voters to tell interviewers or pollsters that they are undecided or likely to vote for a black candidate, but then actually vote for his white opponent. In 1986, Bradley lost the governorship to Deukmejian by a margin of 61-37 percent.^{[citation needed]}

Post-political life

Tom Bradley speaking at AIDS Walk LA at the Paramount Studios lot in 1988.

Bradley joined the law offices of Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, specializing in international trade issues. Bradley suffered a heart attack while driving his car in March 1996. Doctors performed triple bypass surgery and he appeared to be recovering, but suffered a stroke the next day that left him unable to speak clearly for the rest of his life. His condition limited his public appearances.

Bradley died of a heart attack at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Los Angeles at age 80 in 1998.

Personal life

Bradley married Ethel Arnold in 1941 and the two remained married for the remainder of his life. The couple had two surviving daughters, Phyllis and Lorraine, and a third daughter who died shortly after birth. Ethel Arnold-Bradley died on November 25, 2008, at Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles Medical Center. In the years before her death, in 2003, the Tom and Ethel Bradley Foundation was created, and in 2006 the Ethel Bradley Early Education and Health Career Center opened. Tom are Ethel Bradley are interred in Inglewood Park Cemetery, in Inglewood, California.

See also

• List of African Americans
• Mayors
• Los Angeles, California

References

1. ^ Trying to Win the Peace
2. ^ Rick Orlov, "L.A.'S `GENTLE GIANT' REMEMBERED." Daily News, found at The Free Library website. Accessed September 15, 2009.
3. ^ Fighting the Last War - TIME

External links

• Tribute to Bradley with biographical information
• Southwestern University School of Law
• Tom Bradley's IMDB profile
• The Bradley Effect by Raphael Sonenshein

Political offices
Preceded by Joe E. Hollingsworth	Los Angeles City Councilman 10th district 1963—1973	Succeeded by David S. Cunningham, Jr.
Preceded by Sam Yorty	Mayor of Los Angeles, California 1973—1993	Succeeded by Richard Riordan
Party political offices
Preceded by Jerry Brown	Democratic Party nominee for Governor of California 1982, 1986	Succeeded by Dianne Feinstein

v • d • e Mayors of Los Angeles, California S. Foster · Hodges · Wilson · Nichols · Coronel · S. Foster · Dr. Foster · S. Foster · Requena · Nichols · Marchessault · Mellus · Woodworth · Marchessault · Mascarel · Aguilar · Turner · Aguilar · Toberman · Beaudry · MacDougal · Cohn · Toberman · Thom · Spence · Workman · Bryson · Hazard · Bonsali · Rowan · Rader · Snyder · Eaton · Snyder · McAleer · Harper · Stephens · Alexander · Rose · Sebastian · Woodman · Snyder · Cryer · Porter · Shaw · Bowron · Poulson · Yorty · Bradley · Riordan · Hahn · Villaraigosa

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)