In a city that typically falls in line behind one candidate, à la Biden vs. Trump, the Los Angeles mayor’s race between billionaire businessman Rick Caruso and six-term Congresswoman Karen Bass has Angelenos split.
It’s a race that’s been consumed by sprawling homeless encampments, rising crime, and the growing lack of affordable housing—the worst of which befalls the city’s poorest residents. But it’s perhaps the fissures among Hollywood’s A-list and industry professionals that have given this local contest a national profile, as they fight a sociopolitical battle that’s come to define so many cities with widening inequalities, this time with more glam and Instagram followers in the mix. It’s Netflix’s Ted Sarandos versus film producing giant Jeffrey Katzenberg. It’s Katy Perry, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kim Kardashian, Snoop Dogg, and Elon Musk vs. Ariana Grande, Tiffany Haddish, Jackson Browne, Ken Jeong, and Aloe Blacc.
If either Caruso, 63, or Bass, 68, receives more than 50% of the vote on Tuesday, he or she will become the city’s next mayor. If no clear outright majority is declared, the two top candidates would face each other in a general election matchup in November.
The dissymmetry in their campaigns and backgrounds couldn’t be more stark. Bass, a community activist, health care worker, and longtime Democratic public servant, including serving as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, has raised and relied on $3.6 million in contributions to make her case. Caruso, known for being a successful developer of properties, including three widely popular outdoor malls—the Grove, Americana, and Pacific Palisades—where celebrities mingle with locals and tourists, has pumped in $37.5 million of his own money and received $750,000 in campaign contributions, declined matching funds, and vowed to only take a $1 salary if elected. Kevin de León, 55, the only other serious contender who is still in the race, has raised $2.1 million.
It’s this A-list world that’s not only seemingly inspired Caruso to run but goes a long way to explain his campaign strategy. He wants the city to look like his cleaned-up, star-studded shopping malls.
“I’m not somebody that just dropped into town and wants to be mayor,” Caruso said. “I am so committed to the entertainment industry because it helps fuel and grow Los Angeles. It’s the sparkle for Los Angeles. It’s what the tourists think. You’ve got to have a mayor that understands business, understands that industry and is committed to supporting it but also committed to supporting the small businesses around Los Angeles.”
It was Caruso’s emphasis on homelessness and his idea to add more than 1,500 police officers that convinced Jay Sures, United Talent Agency (UTA) co-president and managing director. He said he was also moved after Caruso became visibly upset when the death of the 24-year-old Brianna Kupfer, one of Caruso’s daughters’ close friends, who was stabbed to death while working at an upscale furniture store on La Brea, was brought up at his fundraiser.
“A kid from my office was just robbed at gunpoint right near Universal Studios,” Sures said. “That’s kind of the state we’re living in right now. It’s in a very unsafe city where the police are afraid to do their job and where a district attorney refuses to prosecute anybody for just about anything. I want to be able to walk around and not be worried for my safety and I firmly believe he’s gonna make a difference on that.”
Brian Grazer, who was just about to board a helicopter in British Columbia, couldn’t say enough good things about why Caruso was the right pick to head the city.
“I just believe in his character and his personal integrity,” Grazer, 70, an Academy Award–winning producer, said. “I think if he really commits himself to something, he succeeds at it. He’s just really effective as a builder. He obviously transitioned the mall in L.A. with the Grove and Americana and the fact that he is a good businessman will translate into being a good mayor.”
Bass is also courting her share of Hollywood elite and has Jeffrey Katzenberg; J.J. Abrams; Dan Limerick, head of business affairs at Endeavor; Rick Rosen, cofounder of Endeavor/WME; and Ken Solomon, chairman and CEO at the Tennis Channel, behind her. Ariana Grande implored her 315 million Instagram followers on Sunday to vote for Bass. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Bass noted her solid backing from the entertainment world after working closely with the industry professionals located in her district from Apple Music to Amazon to Sony, Fox, and CAA for close to 30 years promoting diversity in jobs and pushing for tax credits and stricter piracy and copyright laws.
She said she decided to run for mayor “because of the crisis that our city is facing.”
“We have 60,000 people who are unhoused on our streets,” Bass said Saturday over the phone in between campaign appearances. “We have an increase in crime. In my opinion, the stage was set for L.A. to go in a direction that I do not think will be helpful for the people of this city.”
Activist Jane Wishon, vice president of the Stonewall Democratic Club dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights, said Bass is respected for using grassroots approaches to fixing things in the city. Another important plus, says Wishon, is that, if elected, Bass would also be the city’s first female mayor, and first Black female mayor.
“That’s the thing about Karen Bass is that she’s not going to be out there grabbing the attention, but she’s a doer and, at the most basic levels, getting and finding solutions,” said Wishon. “We need somebody who understands the average person’s concerns.”
A longtime Republican, Caruso changed his party affiliation from no preference to Democratic in January in the weeks before he announced he was entering the race. That alone had many people, including Los Angeles County Democratic Party chair Mark Gonzalez, questioning his motives. Gonzalez was further peeved when he said Caruso didn’t bother seeking the Democratic party’s endorsement.
“I took it as a big middle finger to our delegates who are elected by members of their community to represent them in the Democratic Party,” Gonzalez said. “I welcome any New Democrat when they see the light. Unfortunately, I think he did it more for strategy…. You can’t be a D in name only. You got to actually walk the walk and talk the talk. And, unfortunately, I think he doesn’t necessarily have a history.”
Instead of courting his party, Caruso isn’t shy about leaning on his A-list friends Gwyneth Paltrow, Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner, and Snoop Dogg. Just last week fellow billionaire Elon Musk, who recently said he would vote Republican, endorsed Caruso in the primary. His social media is littered with videos of him also glad-handing local business owners.
Still, Bass’s supporters contend that, despite Caruso outspending them, money doesn’t equate to votes in L.A., pointing to the fact that former eBay CEO Meg Whitman unsuccessfully made a $140 million bid to become California’s governor in 2010.
“I think that there’s more to being a Democrat than just registering,” Bass said. “I think being a Democrat is about your values. I think he has been a Republican the majority of his life and that’s probably a more accurate expression of his values.”
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The L.A. Mayor’s Race Is Tearing Hollywood Apart - Vanity Fair
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