How did Tom Bradley get to last long as LA mayor?

[Suburbia]

Tom Bradley was the first Black mayor of Los Angeles from 1973 to 1993. He lasted longer than Harold Washington (Chicago) and David Dinkins (New York City).....ran for California Governor in 1982 and 1986 and lost....that is where the political term "Bradley effect" came from......

How did he get to be in office and reelected so many times, when Dinkins couldn't even win a second term?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Bradley_(American_politician)

[Fuzzy Bear]

Harold Washington died in office.

David Dinkins presided over both a financial downturn and a crime increase in NYC that ushered in Rudy Giuliani.  Lots of folks may forget now (and some may want people to forget, for that matter), but Giuliani was supported in the GE by a large swath of the Establishment Democrats in NY, which included Robert F. Wagner III (Manhattan Borough President), former Mayor Ed Koch (who did endorse Dinkins after he beat Koch in the 1989 primary) amongst others.  Giuliani was not only the nominee of the Republican Party; he was the nominee of the LIBERAL Party as well.  (NY allows for fusion tickets and parties giving cross-endorsements; voting for Giuliani on the Liberal Line made many Democrats feel better.)  He had been the candidate against Dinkins in 1989 before that time, and the problems Giuliani cited then only became worse.

Bradley ran in 1969 and narrowly lost before winning in 1973.  He lost the Governor's race in 1982 in part because California was a swing state back then and Californians were tired of Jerry Brown.  He was the first black Mayor of LA, but LA was a white-majority city and Bradley was a pro-business mayor who presided over a period of relative prosperity in LA.  His popularity waned in his 5th term; he was getting old and there were growing controversies that allowed for the election of a Republican Mayor in a non-partisan race.  (Bradley was getting heat from the Left and the Right in his last term.) 

I would say that Tom Bradley's success was due to the fact that he was (A) the most COMPETENT Black Mayor elected in the 1970s and 1980s of a major city who (B) was the Mayor of a city that was still prosperous.  Coleman Young was Mayor of Detroit for the same period Bradley was, almost, and is roughly the same age and died in the same year, but he left Detroit far more problematic than Young did, plus Young had a legacy of corruption that Bradley never had.  One could only speculate what would have happened if Bradley had been Mayor of Detroit and Young the Mayor of Los Angeles.  I do think that Bradley was the Mayor of the most prosperous city to elect a Black Mayor in the 1970s.

[kwabbit]

Interestingly, Bradley had a big underperformance in LA County itself. Despite being a popular mayor, perhaps the 'Bradley Effect' was strongest in the San Fernando Valley and other suburban areas of LA County. Despite regional polarization, Diane Feinstein, in her failed 1990 gubernatorial run, did about as good in LA County as Bradley did.

[Suburbia]

Harold Washington died in office.

David Dinkins presided over both a financial downturn and a crime increase in NYC that ushered in Rudy Giuliani.  Lots of folks may forget now (and some may want people to forget, for that matter), but Giuliani was supported in the GE by a large swath of the Establishment Democrats in NY, which included Robert F. Wagner III (Manhattan Borough President), former Mayor Ed Koch (who did endorse Dinkins after he beat Koch in the 1989 primary) amongst others.  Giuliani was not only the nominee of the Republican Party; he was the nominee of the LIBERAL Party as well.  (NY allows for fusion tickets and parties giving cross-endorsements; voting for Giuliani on the Liberal Line made many Democrats feel better.)  He had been the candidate against Dinkins in 1989 before that time, and the problems Giuliani cited then only became worse.

Bradley ran in 1969 and narrowly lost before winning in 1973.  He lost the Governor's race in 1982 in part because California was a swing state back then and Californians were tired of Jerry Brown.  He was the first black Mayor of LA, but LA was a white-majority city and Bradley was a pro-business mayor who presided over a period of relative prosperity in LA.  His popularity waned in his 5th term; he was getting old and there were growing controversies that allowed for the election of a Republican Mayor in a non-partisan race.  (Bradley was getting heat from the Left and the Right in his last term.) 

I would say that Tom Bradley's success was due to the fact that he was (A) the most COMPETENT Black Mayor elected in the 1970s and 1980s of a major city who (B) was the Mayor of a city that was still prosperous.  Coleman Young was Mayor of Detroit for the same period Bradley was, almost, and is roughly the same age and died in the same year, but he left Detroit far more problematic than Young did, plus Young had a legacy of corruption that Bradley never had.  One could only speculate what would have happened if Bradley had been Mayor of Detroit and Young the Mayor of Los Angeles.  I do think that Bradley was the Mayor of the most prosperous city to elect a Black Mayor in the 1970s.

The establishment white Democrats like Koch, etc. endorsing Giuliani angered Sharpton, etc. After Dinkins loss, a lot of black Democrats were angered that white citywide candidates like Alan Hevesi and Mark Green won while Dinkins lost, while being on the same ticket....it almost led to a black third party...