By: JOEL B. POLLAK
LOS ANGELES, California — L.A. mayoral candidate Rick Caruso, a billionaire real estate developer who is surging in the polls, told Breitbart News on Tuesday that an outsider candidate can win, and succeed, despite resistance from entrenched interests.
“Well, [former mayor] Dick Riordon was an outsider, and I think he was regarded as a very good mayor, accomplished a lot,” Caruso said. “And by the way, Tom Bradley was an outsider. He was a cop before he became mayor. So, yes, outsiders can win, outsiders can do a great job, and I’ve got a track record of accomplishing quite a bit.”
Caruso, a Republican-turned-independent-turned Democrat, is known for his high-end shopping malls, notably The Grove in Beverly Hills.
He has made the race for mayor a close one by spending heavily on advertising, catching up to establishment Democrat pick Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) in a race that polls suggest is neck-and-neck ahead of the June 7 primary to replace outgoing mayor Eric Garcetti. Neither candidate is expected to win a majority, in which case they will proceed to the November 8 general election.
Voters are also warming to Caruso’s pledge to be tough on crime and to solve the crisis of homelessness plaguing the city.
Caruso walked through the Pico-Robertson neighborhood on Tuesday, a heavily Jewish area. He visited the Beverly Hills Bagel Company, the Munchie’s candy store, and the Glatt Mart supermarket, all kosher food institutions in the community.
He greeted supporters — including a crowd of children in the candy store, who high-fived him and asked him to sign their yarmulkes. Local business owners spoke to Caruso about crime and fears of rising antisemitic violence in the neighborhood.
Source: Breitbart