Former L.A. schools Supt. Austin Beutner kicked off his campaign for mayor on Monday with a video message that hits not just Mayor Karen Bass but President Trump and his immigration crackdown.
Beutner, a philanthropist and former investment banker, uses the four-minute campaign video to describe L.A. as a city that is “under attack” — a message punctuated by footage of U.S. Border Patrol agents.
“I’ll never accept the Trump administration’s assault on our values and our neighbors,” says Beutner, standing on a tree-lined residential street. “Targeting people solely based on the color of their skin is unacceptable and un-American.”
“I’ll counter these injustices and work to keep every person safe and build a better Los Angeles,” he adds.
The White House did not immediately respond to an inquiry from The Times about Beutner’s video. Four months ago, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin denied that immigration agents were engaged in racial profiling, calling claims of people being targeted because of their skin color “disgusting and categorically FALSE.”
Beutner’s messaging on the ICE raids, and Trump more broadly, could help him reach voters who have soured on Bass but want a Democrat who will aggressively push back on the president’s policies.
The video casts Beutner, 65, as a pragmatic problem solver, focusing on his nonprofit Vision to Learn, which provides eye exams and glasses to low-income children. It also highlights his work shepherding L.A. Unified through the COVID-19 pandemic and working to pass Proposition 28, the 2022 measure supporting arts education in California public schools.
Beutner, 65, opens the video by describing a major biking accident that upended his life about 17 years ago, leading him to enter public service and “take a different path.” Not long after, he became Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s “jobs czar,” taking on the elevated title of first deputy mayor and striking business deals on the mayor’s behalf.
In the video, Beutner also turns his aim at City Hall, pointing to high housing costs, rising parking meter rates and a big increase in trash pickup fees for homeowners and smaller apartment buildings. Calling L.A. a city that is “adrift,” Beutner criticized the mayor’s push to reduce homelessness — one of her signature initiatives.
“The city spent billions to solve problems that have just become bigger problems,” he says.
Beutner, whose home was seriously damaged in the Palisades fire, also dings the mayor over the city’s handling of that catastrophe.
“Fire hydrants that don’t work are a metaphor for the failure of leadership in City Hall,” he says in the video.
A Bass campaign spokesperson, Douglas Herman, pushed back on the criticism, saying the city needs to “move past divisive attacks.” He said violent crime is down across the city, with homicides falling to the lowest levels in 60 years.
“When Karen Bass ran for mayor, homelessness and public safety were the top concerns of Angelenos. And she has delivered in a big way,” he said in a statement. “Today, homelessness has decreased two consecutive years for the first time in Los Angeles. Thousands of people have been moved off our streets and into housing.”
“There’s more work ahead, but this administration has proven it can deliver,” Herman added. “Mayor Bass is committed to building on this historic momentum in her second term.”
Beutner, who voted for Bass in the 2022 election, may not end up being the only wealthy Westside resident to mount a challenge against the mayor. Developer Rick Caruso, who lost to Bass in 2022 after spending $108 million on his campaign, has been publicly flirting with either a mayoral bid or a run for governor.
“Rick will be making a decision after the November special election. He’s very seriously considering [running for L.A. mayor] and being urged to run from people all across the city,” said Mike Murphy, a longtime Caruso friend and advisor.
In deep blue Los Angeles, Caruso’s lengthy history as a Republican proved to be an albatross during his campaign. Although he changed his voter registration to Democrat before filing to run, the Bass campaign cast him as a conservative, highlighting his past support for Republicans.
Beutner, a Democrat who spent two years working in the Clinton administration, does not have the same baggage. However, he has much less name recognition than Caruso.
A poll commissioned by Caruso in early September asked voters who they would choose in a head-to-head matchup between Bass and Beutner. Bass had a significant lead, with 41% of respondents backing her, according to survey results shared with The Times. About 25% said they would support Beutner, with one in three undecided.
If both Beutner and Caruso were to run for mayor, they would likely draw from the same base of support, said Pomona College politics professor Sara Sadhwani.
“Both would be pulling from the same population of voters who are concerned or fed up with Mayor Bass’ performance” on the Palisades fire, housing affordability and other issues, she said. “Because on the other side of that, Karen Bass has a strong and loyal base of support, though there are certainly detractors.”
Beutner’s video posted two days after he confirmed his plan to run for mayor, leveling blistering criticism at the city’s preparation for, and response to, the Palisades fire, which destroyed thousands of homes and left 12 people dead.
Beutner’s criticism of Trump’s immigration crackdown in many ways echoes Bass’ assessment several months ago, when federal agents were seizing street vendors, day laborers and other workers, prompting protests in downtown L.A. and elsewhere.
Bass, 72, said in June that the Trump administration was waging an “all-out assault on Los Angeles,” with federal agents “randomly grabbing people” off the street, “chasing Angelenos through parking lots” and arresting immigrants who showed up at court for annual check-ins. Her approach to the issue helped her regain her political footing after she had faltered in the wake of the Palisades fire.
In early September, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Trump administration, agreeing that immigration agents can stop and detain individuals they suspect may be illegally in the U.S., merely on the basis of speaking Spanish or having brown skin.
The high court ruling set aside a Los Angeles judge’s temporary restraining order that barred agents from stopping people based in part on their race or apparent ethnicity.
Caruso, 66, has also weighed in on the immigration crackdown, saying last month that the Supreme Court’s ruling “raises very serious concerns for our community, leaving Los Angeles residents in fear of ICE.”
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