As the race heats up, the upcoming mayoral debate will be held at USC’s Bovard Auditorium on March 22 at 6 p.m. The moderators will be FOX 11′s Elex Michaelson and Los Angeles Times columnist Erika D. Smith.
The candidates that are expected to attend include Rick Caruso, Karen Bass, Kevin De León, Joe Buscaino, and Mike Feuer. A recent poll by L.A. Times shows Bass and De León as the two front-runners with the other candidates trailing. The current numbers also show that over 40% of those polled are uncertain of who they will vote for as the elections near.
Rick Caruso, a USC alum, is transferring out of his role as chairman of the board of trustees at the university and is the CEO of the Caruso real estate company. He is best known for his outdoor malls such as The Grove, the Glendale Galleria, and the Palisades Village. Caruso’s platform is focused on ending homelessness, corruption, and “making our communities safer.”
Karen Bass, a USC alumna and L.A. native, is currently the representative for California’s 37th Congressional District, which includes USC. She was previously speculated as being one of Joe Biden’s picks for vice president and has been endorsed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Karen Bass is running on the issues of homelessness, making housing more affordable, job opportunities more plentiful, and expanding treatment for alcohol and drug addiction.
Kevin De León, one of the front runners of the race and an L.A. native, has been a part of California politics since 2006 when he was elected to the California State Assembly. Since then, he has been a part of the state Senate and city council. De León’s primary priority is homelessness which he calls ”the moral issue of our lifetime” and notes that he is especially aware of it since his city council district has the most unhoused people in all of Los Angeles.
Joe Buscaino, an L.A. native and California State University, Dominguez Hills graduate, represents the 15th city council district, which includes Watts, San Pedro, and the Port of Los Angeles. Buscaino is running on a platform of clean streets, a strong homelessness program, and “a safer Los Angeles that lives up to its name.”
Mike Feuer, a San Bernardino native and Harvard graduate, is currently the Los Angeles city attorney and previously served as the executive director of Bet Tzedek, an organization that provides legal representation to low-income residents of Los Angeles. If elected mayor, Feuer plans to focus on homelessness, community safety, recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, housing, neighborhood empowerment, and sustainability.
These candidates are vying for a spot that will be left open by Los Angeles’ current mayor, Eric Garcetti. Garcetti has occupied the seat since 2013. He will be moving on to potentially serve as the United States ambassador to India, as nominated by President Joe Biden. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmed the nomination earlier this year but the nomination has yet to be confirmed by a majority of the U.S. Senate, according to ABC7 news.
The primary election will take place June 7. The top two candidates will move on to the general election on Nov. 8.