California local political offices, such as Mayor of Los Angeles, are non-partisan. It is illegal for a candidate for such an office to say, "vote for me because I'm a Libertarian," or anything similar, and it is likewise illegal for a party to endorse a candidate for a local office, thus it is technically incorrect to state that Hahn is a Democrat, even if he's registered as one, as he has never held a partisan position. Gentgeen 08:29, 19 Jan 2004 (UTC)
you are entirely wrong in your analysis. a nonpartisan race means merely the all the candidates, regardless of party appear on the same primary election ballot and voters, without regard to their party affiliation, can vote for anyone on the ballot. instead of a general election pitting the candidates who won their partisan primaries against each other, there is a run-off election for the top two vote getters in the primary-regardless of party affiliation. finally, as a nonpartisan election, the political party of the candidates does not appear on the ballot... it is not illegal to say "vote for me, i'm a libertarian" and it is not illegal for a political party to endorse a candidate... saying that hahn is a democrat is a reference to his party affiliation and is correct...207.200.116.199 22:33, 12 December 2005 (UTC)
There should be some mention of Hahn's campaign in 2001 against Antonio Villaraigosa (then-Assemblyman and now Councilman) in which Hahn resorted to blatant ethnic-baiting on a scale not seen in an LA mayoral election since Sam Yorty's day, with the result of Hahn being elected by one of the odder coalitions in California history: African-Americans and white conservatives.
Considering that Hahn is currently in a close political race, this new material seems to be slanted rather strongly in a pro-Hahn direction. Let's NPOV it here and then put it back. Thanks -Willmcw 23:25, Mar 28, 2005 (UTC)
Here's a draft of a more NPOV version, at least cutting out some of the boasting and achievements that are not directly linked to Hahn. We should still work to find some independent sources to verify this info. -Willmcw 23:54, Mar 28, 2005 (UTC)
Although city offices are nonpartisan, it is not "illegal" for a candidate to state his affiliation. Hahn has sought the endorsement of the Democrat party, so it is fair to list him as one.