Incumbent Tom Bradley was re-elected over councilmember John Ferraro.

[1] Bradley's re-election would give him a fourth term, an unprecedented feat in the office as no mayor except for James R. Toberman (from 1878 to 1882) had been re-elected to a fourth consecutive term.

[2][a] Bradley had previously run for Governor of California in 1982, a year after his re-election in 1981, but lost to George Deukmejian.

[3][4] He was mainly challenged by councilman Ferraro, who was viewed as a more moderate option to Bradley.

[8] Bradley won outright and won election to a fourth term in office, the first time in Los Angeles history that someone was elected to a fourth full term.