Light turnout caps low-profile race for LA mayor

Councilwoman Jan Perry with a group of people.

Photo Courtesy of www.janperry.com

Controller Wendy Greuel and a group of children.

Photo Courtesy of www.wendygreuel.org

Councilman Eric Garcetti speaks with a family.

Photo Courtesy of www.ericgarcetti.com

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The contest to pick a new Los Angeles mayor is attracting only a light voter turnout.

The vote Tuesday caps a low-profile campaign to succeed Democrat Antonio Villaraigosa, in which no single issue or candidate riveted voters' attention.

Strategists doubt that more than one-in-four of the city's 1.8 million voters will cast ballots.

Only about 22 percent of 660,000 mail-in ballots had been returned by Tuesday morning.

The likely outcome in the heavily Democratic city will send Councilman Eric Garcetti and Controller Wendy Greuel to a May 21 runoff, since it's unlikely any candidate will clear the majority needed to win outright Tuesday.

But a low turnout could produce surprises, possibly opening the way for Councilwoman Jan Perry or former prosecutor Kevin James to slip into the two-person runoff.

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