Rick Caruso, center, with Mayor Karen Bass on Tuesday in Pacific Palisades. (Matt Hamilton / L.A. Material)
IF YOU CROSSED PATHS WITH Rick Caruso in the last few months, chances are he asked you some version of the following question: Who should be L.A.’s next mayor?
The developer behind The Grove, who lost a nasty and bitter 2022 mayoral election to Karen Bass and considered jumping into the race to unseat her, has been openly deliberating about whether to endorse her or her challenger, Councilmember Nithya Raman — or whether to endorse at all.
“I don’t think either option is great,” Caruso said in September, when he appeared with Bass at the groundbreaking of a new rec center in Pacific Palisades.
The billionaire’s distinct lack of enthusiasm hasn’t stopped either Bass or Raman from courting him. Both campaigns asked for his endorsement. Recent polling explains why: In a tight election between two progressive candidates in which nearly a third of the electorate is undecided, Caruso is a bold-faced name with moderate political bona fides — a one-man permission structure that Bass and Raman are eager to nab, even if neither wants to necessarily admit it.
On Tuesday afternoon, Caruso signaled a choice — sort of.
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