The galloping race to become mayor of Los Angeles Mayor has lost another entry, with City Attorney. Mike Feuer spinning off the track. That leaves developer Rick Caruso, Rep. Karen Bass and Councilman Kevin de León leading a shrinking field of contenders as the end of the first lap nears.
Feuer, the first to declare his candidacy more than two years ago, dropped out and threw his support behind Rep. Karen Bass, the Los Angeles Times reported. His campaign failed to raise enough name recognition or money to vault him to the top two slots in the June 7 primary. He’d been polling at around 1 percent.
His exit follows City Councilman Joe Buscaino, who dropped out last week and threw his support to billionaire developer Rick Caruso.
Feuer, who served with Bass in the state Assembly, endorsed her at a public park in Encino, while accusing Caruso of making “false claims” about his ability to fix homelessness.
“There are core values, L.A. values, and experience that Karen Bass personifies,” Feuer said. “And then there’s Rick Caruso. Karen, not Caruso, should govern Los Angeles, and I am going to do everything I possibly can to assure that Karen Bass is our next mayor.”
With Feuer and Buscaino out of the race, the field has winnowed down to Caruso and Bass in the lead to replace Mayor Eric Garcetti, with Councilman Kevin de León a distant third in recent polling. Bass and Caruso are running neck-and-neck, with each polling at just under one-quarter of likely voters, according to a UC Berkeley poll, with 39 percent of likely voters remaining undecided.
Caruso has spent more than $23 million to gain recognition from likely voters, which put him in a strong position against Bass.
“It’s Caruso’s race to lose,” political consultant Dermot Givens told the newspaper. “Everyone in the city knows Caruso. Unfortunately, the voters are voting on name ID.”
De León, meanwhile, released two new television and digital advertisements, including one narrated by actor Danny Trejo that casts the councilman as the only candidate who has made progress on homelessness.
A top advisor to De León also urged supporters in a fundraising pitch to keep Caruso from advancing to the runoff.
“Whether you support Karen Bass or Kevin de León, there is only one way to prevent Rick from buying the mayor’s office — send Kevin to the runoff in his place,” wrote senior advisor Courtni Pugh.
[Los Angeles Times, LAT] – Dana Bartholomew
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