Billionaire real estate developer Rick Caruso has now poured more than $80m of his own fortune into the race to become the next mayor of Los Angeles, according to campaign records. Caruso’s spending is unprecedented in the race to lead America’s second most populous city, political experts have said, but the luxury mall developer has not yet broken the record of New York City billionaire Michael Bloomberg, who spent $102m to win his third term as mayor in 2009.
Republican-turned Democrat billionaire developer Caruso will face Democratic U.S. Rep Karen Bass in the race for Los Angeles mayor. Caruso, who was once registered as a Republican, upended the mayoral primary this spring with tough-on-crime rhetoric, pledges to get unhoused people off the streets, and a wave of advertisements funded with more than $40m of his estimated net worth of $5.3bn.
After coming in second to Democratic congresswoman Karen Bass in the nonpartisan primary, Caruso has doubled that investment, crossing the $80m threshold of contributions to his own campaign three weeks before election day, according to campaign records from the city’s ethics commission.
The fundraising and spending disparity between Caruso and Bass is stark, even as Hollywood power brokers have backed the progressive lawmaker’s campaign. As of late September, Caruso had raised more than $60m, including his own contributions, while Bass had raised only $6m.
Caruso’s campaign continues to face attacks over what critics and his opponents decry as his attempt to “buy the election,” and by the stark contrast between the tens of millions being spent on the mayoral race and the humanitarian crisis of homelessness in the city.
- Headline & some copy courtesy of https://www.theguardian.com/us
What are the odds he's spending all that cash to be mayor "out of the goodness of his heart"?
ReplyDeleteIt's a virtual certainty that he wants to win because he expects to make even MORE money
from being in office.