Everyone is watching the Los Angeles mayoral election, which has a completely new set of candidates due to term limits for incumbent Eric Garcetti, a Democrat. And it looks like billionaire real estate tycoon Rick Caruso has a shot.
Caruso changed his party from Republican to Democrat right before the election, and he seems headed toward a runoff with Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA). A new poll co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times shows Bass at 38%, with Caruso at 32%. Councilman Kevin de Leon is in third place at 6%.
California has a jungle primary where the top two candidates advance. The state has long preferred career politicians who move from one office to the next, but this time could be different.
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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, discontent with the economy, homelessness, and crime has brought more people to leave California than any other state during the pandemic. Most of the exodus came from Los Angeles County. The mass migration caused California to lose a House seat for the first time in history.
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Caruso could be regarded as the candidate to save Los Angeles from a sheer decline, as homelessness seems to be on a perpetual increase in the number of city blocks and as $6 gallons of gasoline and $800,000 homes are now a bargain in many places.
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The billionaire has developed some of the city’s most luxurious shopping centers and has a bevy of celebrity friends, including rapper Snoop Dogg and socialite Kim Kardashian, who have given endorsements. Caruso has a war chest of $37.5 million in personal funds for his campaign, Politico reported.
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He has vowed to clean up Los Angeles and run the city more like a business, drawing ties to former President Donald Trump. The city has just two stars out of five on BestPlaces.net.
Last year, homicides increased 13% and robberies 6% despite a decrease statewide. To combat this, Caruso wants to refund the police and then some following a downward staffing trajectory in the wake of George Floyd’s death. He also wants to cut red tape at City Hall to get the economy moving.
Bass’s camp sees these as markedly conservative values and has said so during the campaign.
“He’s a fraud,” said one ad that compared him to Trump and highlighted his connection to Republican lawmakers. “We can’t trust Republican Rick Caruso.”
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