L.A. Now Live: Garcetti leads Greuel in poll as election nears

Mayoral candidates Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel are hitting the campaign trail hard as the mayoral race winds down in what has been a long and expensive fight to become the next leader of Los Angeles.

Times political reporter Michael Finnegan will join L.A. Now Live at 9 a.m. to discuss the latest poll numbers, the key issues and the final push before voters head to the polls on Tuesday.

In a race in which she has had the financial advantage because of massive expenditures by organized labor, Greuel has been fighting to make up the 4 percentage points she trailed Garcetti by when the two emerged from a March primary to become the finalists for mayor. Greuel still lagged seven percentage points behind City Councilman Garcetti, 48% to 41%, according to a USC Price/Los Angeles Times poll released Saturday night.

On Sunday, the two candidates reached out to voters in churches, at a pizza parlor and in a bowling alley on a long day of campaigning — their last extended opportunity to connect directly to voters before Tuesday’s election. Both focused on African American voters, who polls show have tended to favor Greuel, the city controller, though many remained undecided.

The two-year campaign has drawn record spending and will see either the first woman or the first Jew elected as Los Angeles mayor. The candidates are also trying to avoid another distinction: drawing the lowest turnout for an open mayoral seat in modern history.