Billionaire Rick Caruso is standing by his decision to stay out of the Los Angeles mayoral race, despite raising the possibility that he will reconsider after news that Mayor Karen Bass asked to soften the probe into the aftermath of last year’s deadly wildfires.
“Rick is considering entering the race,” a spokesman said in an emailed message Thursday. The earlier decision has been reached and it stands.” “He will not be a mayoral candidate.”
Bass’ re-election bid has faced renewed scrutiny following the publication of a Los Angeles Times report that he asked the city’s then-fire chief to remove key findings from a report on the aftermath of the fire. The mayor has refused to do so.
The news has shaken up the mayoral campaign for the leadership of America’s second-largest city.
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According to the LA Times, tech entrepreneur Adam Miller filed Wednesday to run against Boss, while Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath has also publicly hinted at entering the race. Candidates have until February 7 to file a declaration of candidacy for mayor.
Other contenders in the L.A. mayoral race include reality TV star Spencer Pratt, whose Pacific Palisades home was destroyed in a fire, and progressive housing activist Roy Huang.
On Thursday, another expected L.A. candidate, former investment banker and former law school district superintendent Austin Beutner, announced he was dropping out of the mayoral race, citing the death of his 22-year-old daughter last month.
“My family has experienced the unimaginable loss of our beloved daughter Emily,” Bitner said in a statement. “She was a magical person, the light of our lives. We are still in mourning.”
A real estate developer who is worth $5.8 billion and who spent more than $100 million in a losing effort against Boss in the last mayoral election, announced last month that he would not run again. Although he said Wednesday he was reconsidering the decision in light of the Times report, he ultimately decided to stay out of the race.
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Bass, who is running for re-election, launched his campaign earlier this week, emphasizing the city’s recovery from the wildfires and its upcoming role in hosting sporting events, including this year’s World Cup soccer games and the 2028 Olympics.
Yet questions about his responsibility for the fire, and the city’s recovery, have weighed on his campaign.
At least 12 people died in the Palisades fire, which spread through western Los Angeles County, and 19 died in the Eaton fire in Altadena, an unincorporated area east of the city.
According to a poll by the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, almost half of Angelenos gave the boss an unfavorable rating.
Those concerns were revived Wednesday when the LA Times, citing people familiar with the matter, said the final report watered down accounts of the city’s failure to pre-deploy resources ahead of the January 2025 Palisades fire, fearing it could expose the city to legal liability.
The boss denied that he or his staff ordered changes to the report and cited his record of criticizing fire responses, including the firing of the fire chief.
“This is dehumanizing journalism in its lowest form,” the mayor’s office said in a statement. “It is dangerous and irresponsible for Los Angeles Times reporters to rely on unsecured third-hand information to make unprovoked character attacks to push a false narrative.”
Caruso called the situation “absolute outrage” in a post on X.
Today’s @Latimes report is an absolute outrage. Karen Bass actively covered a report examining the most significant disaster in Los Angeles history. When it comes to matters of life safety, it’s no longer a case of poor judgment, apologies and moves… https://t.co/yt6ql0iift
— Rick Jay Caruso (@RickCarsola) February 4, 2026
If no candidate receives more than 50% in the June primary, the top two vote-getters will face off in the November general election.
Top photo: Rick Caruso and Karen Bass Photographer: /Bloomberg.
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