December 10, 2024 The Best Source of News, Culture, Lifestyle for Culver City, Mar Vista, Del Rey, Palms and West Los Angeles

$87,581,047.01: Candidate Rick Caruso on Pace to Smash All Spending Records in His Bid to Become Mayor of Los Angeles

Caruso overwhelming Bass nearly 10-1!

By Nick Antonicello

According to the LA Ethics Commission as of October 31st, billionaire developer Rick Caruso has spent over $90 million dollars, mostly his own fortune and is on pace to exceed the $100 million dollar total by Election Day, November 8th.

The newly minted Democrat, sometimes independent and former Republican has already spent $92,272,088, with roughly $1 million dollars cash on hand.

In comparison, US Representative Karen Bass, the longtime liberal Democratic leader in Congress who was vetted for both vice-president and a cabinet position has raised just $6,789,328 and has expenditures of $8.1 million with roughly $1.1 million cash on hand and has received $2.3 million in city matching funds placing her total fundraising at $9 million dollars.

Because Caruso has largely self-funded his campaign, he has rejected LA’s matching fund program.

With less than a week to go, in reaction to the spending avalanche by Caruso, Bass has lined up some political heavyweights supporting her candidacy including Vermont US Senator Bernie Sanders who appeared at a recent rally, President Joe Biden who appeared in one her television spots as well as former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle.

The campaign has taken on the theme of change versus the status quo, insider versus outsider as Caruso assumes the mantle of the change candidate and outsider while Bass sees it as “them versus us” with the former California Assembly Speaker stressing her coalition of working families, union members, African-Americans and Latinos as she seeks to become the first black mayor since Tom Bradley. Caruso, who runs as a Democrat has spent large sums of money pushing that narrative, as he now states he is unquestionably pro-choice despite his long ties to the Catholic Church here in LA County.

Caruso has pointedly distanced himself from any political comparisons to former President Donald Trump, despite the similarities as billionaire builders who have been part of the political process in more ways than one for decades with Trump in New York City and Caruso here in Los Angeles.

In Bass, who worked her way to the halls of Congress from a not-for-profit community advocate and organizer, finds herself in this David & Goliath contest in a city where Democrats are the predominant majority but issues like homelessness have questioned the direction of Los Angeles and if an outsider/businessman is what the doctor ordered.

Caruso’s gargantuan ad purchase across cable and broadcast television cannot be matched or even remotely competitive in these final days and further complicating the Bass campaign has been the USC scandal in which the candidate finds herself in a similar scenario that saw longtime political insider and LA Council member Mark Ridley-Thomas indicted on federal corruption charges. While Bass is not a target in any new probe, the issue of free tuition for an elected official in wake of the Ridley-Thomas debacle has allowed Caruso to use the issue of scandal and corruption to his favor in his ads and messaging.

Caruso has indicated he will not draw a mayor’s salary, the same way Trump did not accept his presidential salary during his term of office. Caruso’s homelessness plan has been seen as more substantial than the one offered by Bass and a saturation ad purchase by the billionaire developer points out the Los Angeles Times prefers his plan even though they endorsed Bass in what is the only real issue on the minds of most voters.

Many see the race as a rerun of former Mayor Richard Riordan’s win in 1993 when he ran under the slogan, “Tough enough to turn LA around,” but others believe the demographics of 1993 and today are much different and that favors Bass who despite being massively outspent in the June Primary captured just a shade over 43% of the vote. Others say had not Caruso invested some $45 million in the primary, Bass would have won the race on the first ballot.

In that June Primary, Bass bested Caruso here in Venice, despite the support given to LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva and CD-11 and council hopeful Traci Park, the two law and order, right of center Democrats

While Caruso has never held public office, he has deep roots in LA and his personal wealth and fortune are unmatched and without peer in political circles. His heading of the LA Police Commission, his long involvement with USC and proposals to hire more cops, firefighters and sanitation workers is a message of political clarity while Bass has offered an optimistic version of LA lacking any real detail or specifics.

The race seems to be a toss-up, but most observers see Caruso surging in the final days and his overwhelming media buy and message the clear difference in a race where he has never held public office, and is borrowing the “businessman/builder” reasoning for election we all saw in the 2016 presidential race between Trump and former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.

Nick Antonicello is a longtime Venetian who is covering the race for Mayor of Los Angeles and how it effects the neighborhood of Venice. Have a take or tip on the race? Contact Antonicello via e-mail at nantoni@mindspring.com

in Opinion
Related Posts

Letter to the Editor: Criticizing Israeli Policy Is Not Antisemitic

July 10, 2024

July 10, 2024

In the past several months, we’ve seen increasing protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza. We have also seen these protests...

Opinion: Toxic Exposure May Impact Veterans’ Health Even Today

April 29, 2024

April 29, 2024

By Cristina Johnson  Military service members spend years in hazardous environments unknowingly, often developing fatal illnesses decades after their service....

If You Have a Loved One Experiencing Severe Mental Illness, We Can Help

February 15, 2024

February 15, 2024

By Lisa H. Wong, Psy. D Many families across Los Angeles County know what it’s like to watch a loved...

New Program Can Help Protect Southern California Homes in the Event of an Earthquake

May 13, 2023

May 13, 2023

Residents Have Until May 31 To Apply For Seismic Retrofit Grants By Janiele Maffei, Chief Mitigation Officer for the California...

Column: Install at LAX Tiny Homes From The State Grant

April 7, 2023

April 7, 2023

By Clark Brown On March 16  Governor Newsom announced in Sacramento, his first stop on his State of the State of...

Column: SB 9 Ended R-1 Zoning, but It’s Not Meeting Goals

March 11, 2023

March 11, 2023

By Tom Elias More than a year after it took effect, the landmark housing density law known as SB 9...

Column: The Inevitable Conversions Begin Multiplying

February 25, 2023

February 25, 2023

By Tom Elias It’s a phenomenon from New York to Dallas to Fresno and Los Angeles, one that seemed inevitable...

Column: The Fantasy World of California Housing Policy

February 20, 2023

February 20, 2023

By Tom Elias If you’re looking for sure things among bills under consideration in the state Legislature, think of one...

Column: State Usurping Key Powers From Cities

January 28, 2023

January 28, 2023

By Tom Elias All over California last fall, hundreds of the civic minded spent thousands of hours and millions of...

Column – A California Positive: Kids Swarm Extra Classes

January 24, 2023

January 24, 2023

By Tom Elias It’s become a cliché, the shibboleth that California has lousy public schools and most of the kids...

​​Column: No One Very Pleased as New Rooftop Solar Rules Improve

December 9, 2022

December 9, 2022

By Tom Elias, Columnist Only rarely does the California Public Utilities Commission, long known as the least responsive agency in...

Column: Will New Political Players Offer More Effective Local Government for Los Angeles & Venice?

December 5, 2022

December 5, 2022

Bass, Park could become unlikely allies in fighting homelessness, rising crime and the quality-of-life issues that plague both Angelenos and...

Column – Gas Gougers Beware: California Is Onto You at Last

November 11, 2022

November 11, 2022

By Tom Elias It has taken more than 50 years of on-and-off gasoline price gouging, but at long last California...

“Ten Takes” to Watch as CD-11 Hopefuls Park & Darling Close out the Campaign in a Mad Dash to the Finish Line!

November 4, 2022

November 4, 2022

By Nick Antonicello And after some sixteen months of posturing, positioning and intensive campaigning be it door to door, shaking...

Column: Who’s the ‘True’ Democrat in CD-11?

October 30, 2022

October 30, 2022

So who is the true Democrat in this race to succeed Mike Bonin in CD-11? While the campaign for city...