Austin Beutner Out of Mayoral Race: Opportunists Plan to Enter

Austin Beutner will not run for  L.A. Mayor.

L.A. Mayoral Candidate Austin Beutner announced today, February 5, that he would not be running for mayor and released the following statement:

I have made the difficult decision not to run for Mayor of Los Angeles.

My family has experienced the unimaginable loss of our beloved daughter Emily. She was a magical person, the light of our lives. We are still in mourning.

A successful campaign, and more importantly the job of Mayor, requires someone who is committed 24/7 to the job. Family has always come first for me. That is where I need to be at this time.

Los Angeles is a special place, but every day it’s becoming less affordable, less safe and a more difficult place to live. To solve these problems, new ideas are needed along with leadership capable of implementing them. I’m grateful for the many people from all walks of life who saw this in me and supported our campaign. In time, I hope to continue my efforts to make sure Los Angeles’ best days are ahead of us.

We ask you to respect our privacy and keep us in your prayers.

NEW MAYORAL CANDIDATES:

The day prior to Beutner’s announcement, developer Rick Caruso told KNX News that after a L.A. Times investigation about the mayor, he was reconsidering entering the race. Initially he said he wasn’t going to run. After speculation, today, once again he said he wasn’t going to run.

The L.A. Times Investigation bombshell that Caruso spoke about alleged that Karen Bass had seen the final Fire Report and had helped edit it. Initially it was reported that the Lede PR agency was paid to “freshen” it.

The Times story (“Fire Report Edits Were Ordered by Bass, sources said,”) explained that “sources told The Times that two people close to Bass informed the sources of the mayor’s behind-the-scenes role in watering down the report.” Once source heard from both people (close to Bass); the other heard from one of the people close to Bass.

To be clear, there were two sources and one of the two sources spoke to two people who said Bass had a part in watering down the report and one of those sources spoke to just one person close to Bass.

And the source said, “that both people (close to Bass) who spoke to the source would testify under oath.”

That means that neither reporter spoke to the people who made the initial allegations.

And we thought Nextdoor was tricky. (And no, I’m not a fan of Bass, nor are many in Pacific Palisades residents, but I am a fan of fairness.)

Also rising out of the ashes, so to speak – Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, Pacific Palisades activist Maryam Zar, and tech entrepreneur and founder of a nonprofit, Better Angels, Adam Miller. The three are weighing Mayoral bids as well.

The last day to file a Declaration of Intent to become a candidate is February 7. The last day to obtain and file nominating petitions is March 4, 2026 (the petition must have 1,000 valid signatures).

The primary election is June 2, and the general election is November 3. In Los Angeles, a candidate can win the election outright if they receive more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary.

CANDIDATES ALREADY ANNOUNCED:

Spencer Pratt

In addition to Bass and Rae Chen Huang, Spencer Pratt is also running.

A Pacific Palisades resident and strong community activist, Pratt announced his candidacy at the January 7, 2026, rally held in in town. He has been essential in leading the fire lawsuit, and exposing the “lies” around the fire. In an interview with NBC4, he said he questions the current approach to homelessness “We spend billions of dollars to clean the streets up, and there’s more homeless now then there have ever been,” he said.

Pratt promises to fight for accountability for the city and to expose corruption. He pledged to bring in the Internal Revenue Service to audit the city government to “see all the corruption.”