The City Elections : The Race for Mayor : The Evening Tom Bradley Almost Faced the Music

Ten minutes after the polls closed Tuesday night, supporters of Mayor Tom Bradley had begun gathering in an elegant Biltmore ballroom, listening to Captain Cardiac and the Coronaries belt out the oldies hit “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg.”

With a seemingly inevitable victory at hand, begging was the last thing on the mind of the 200 stylishly dressed guests. Indeed, Bradley staffers were so confident that they told reporters the mayor would likely claim victory at 10 p.m.

By midnight, however, Bradley had still not come downstairs. The crowd had thinned out dramatically. And those still on hand looked shaken as the band launched into “Tossin’ and Turnin’.”

Few Bradley supporters could have anticipated the startling election returns that, at one point, showed the mayor barely clinging to the 50%-plus-1 vote lead to avoid a runoff. Nor did they expect the emotional roller coaster ride that saw them wait until 1 a.m. before he finally emerged from his suite to declare victory.

The mayor’s frazzled chief of staff, Mike Gage, compared the evening to having fought a war. “But in two hours,” he added.

Danger Signs

It was shortly after 10 p.m., with the ballroom packed and Bradley upstairs, calmly watching the Dodgers game, that the first signs of danger emerged.

Gage, a drink in hand, acknowledged that no discernible trend had yet developed.

Despite the uncertainty, a campaign aide reassured the scribes that Bradley would stride onto the stage at 11. She even handed out copies of his victory speech.

Just before 11, however, top staffers retreated to the mayor’s suite.

It was nail-biting time, with late returns showing Bradley slipping badly.

The only person that remained unperturbed, Gage later said, was Bradley himself. He sat alone, placidly watching TV, as his aides frantically awaited further results.

By midnight, the ballroom was half-empty and the dwindling crowd had gathered around three TV screens to monitor results.

Bradley Nods

When the final 2% of the returns were posted, the mayor, who at times had seemed oblivious to the goings-on, “sort of nodded as if he was waiting for that,” an aide said.

Bradley aides emerged from the mayor’s suite, making their way to the podium where the band was playing “Secret Agent Man.”

When the mayor arrived, he grinned widely, appearing genuinely touched that 100 of his supporters had waited up for him.

“Thanks for your patience, he said exuberantly. . . . I made a mistake during the campaign. I didn’t wage the kind of vigorous, all-out effort I could have or should have, but tonight I pledge this: During the next four years, I will be a vigorous, all-out mayor.”