By Catherine Saillant, Los Angeles Times

Three-term City Councilman Eric Garcetti’s relentless campaigning paid off early Wednesday as he decisively won a hard-fought race to become Los Angeles’ next mayor, scoring well with voters across the sprawling city and even challenging rival Wendy Greuel on her home turf in the San Fernando Valley.

Garcetti took 54% of the vote compared with 46% for Greuel in preliminary results, ending speculation that the race was so tight that a winner might not be known for weeks. Some mail-in ballots must still be counted, but they are not expected to significantly change the results.

“We have sent a message tonight and that message is that L.A. is ready to put the recession in the rear-view mirror and to become the city of opportunity that I grew up in once again,” Garcetti said early Wednesday in thanking his supporters.

via L.A. mayor’s race: It’s Eric Garcetti by wide margin – latimes.com.