Austin Beutner, the former investment banker who led Los Angeles schools through the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, announced Monday he will challenge fellow Democrat Karen Bass in the Los Angeles mayor’s race, casting the city under her leadership as “adrift.”
His entry into the race comes after Bass was politically damaged by criticism of her response to the deadly fires in Los Angeles County earlier this year. Beutner, while criticizing the mayor’s handling of the crisis and her efforts to rebuild, said in a launch video that he voted for Bass when she first ran in 2022 but argued the city needs change.
“L.A. is adrift,” Beutner said. “It seems every day our city is becoming a more expensive, less safe and more difficult place to live. The city has spent billions to solve problems that have just become bigger problems: homelessness, the cost of housing, the loss of jobs and opportunity.”…