LOS ANGELES (KNX) — The wealthiest candidate in the race for mayor of Los Angeles says he wants to see the state of California return its record $98 billion surplus to taxpayers, Bloomberg first reported.
“I’d return the money to the taxpayers. It’s their money. It’s not the state’s,” Caruso told the outlet during an interview at The Grove, one of several shopping plazas the billionaire owns.
Gov. Newsom and the state legislature are debating how to spend the staggering surplus.
Caruso is campaigning on his keen business savviness, promising to address homelessness and housing, improve transportation, and bolster safety. His slogan touts that Caruso “can clean up L.A.”
But Caruso and six-term Congresswoman Karen Bass are neck-and-neck in the polls at 24% and 23%, respectively, CBS News reported. In addition, at least 40% of voters in Los Angeles remain undecided, according to an L.A. Times-U.C. Berkeley study.
If no candidate earns more than 50% of the votes during the June 7 primary, the top two candidates will face off in November.
Garcetti, whose appointment to be the U.S. ambassador to India is stalled in Congress, has served the maximum terms allowed by law and cannot run again.
Contrastingly, Bass has spent a small fraction but has raised more money through fundraising from donors.
If no single person receives more than 50% of the vote to secure an outright win in the June 7 nonpartisan primary, the two leading candidates will square off in November. Term limits bar Mayor Eric Garcetti from seeking re-election.
Critics say Caruso’s record reflects extreme capitalism through luxury, and high-end real estate, noting he’s done little to address affordable housing concerns in the Golden State.
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