Incumbent Sam Yorty was defeated by councilman Tom Bradley in a rematch of the 1969 mayoral election.

[2] Municipal elections in California, including Mayor of Los Angeles, are officially nonpartisan; candidates' party affiliations do not appear on the ballot.

[3] Although Yorty was re-elected in 1969, he started to show boredom in his position as Mayor as he had travelled out of the city for most of his tenure.

He was again challenged by Councilman Tom Bradley, making his second run for the office, as well as Unruh, LAPD Chief Thomas Reddin, councilmember Joel Wachs, and actor Bob Dornan.

[7][8] In the ensuing campaign, Bradley criticized Yorty for visiting convicted income tax evader Josn Alessio alongside Phil Regan, who would later be convicted of bribery; Yorty attacked Bradley for allegedly "accepting loans tied to gambling interests.