Billionaire developer Rick Caruso ran against Karen Bass as Los Angeles' law-and-order alternative — and now he's endorsing her for re-election while attacking the candidate who wants to fund police. The flip tells working Angelenos everything: when the establishment faces a challenge, the money class closes ranks.
Eight days before the Nov. 3 election, Caruso announced on Instagram that he would cast his ballot for Bass after working alongside her on wildfire recovery. "For the love of LA, I must put the past behind me," Caruso said. He acknowledged disagreements with Bass but credited her with learning on the job.
Then came the hammer — not on Bass, but on her challenger. Caruso warned that Councilwoman Nithya Raman's pledge to replace LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell would turn the department into "a laboratory for risky DSA social experimentation." He also slammed Raman's record on homelessness: "She's led the city's homeless policy. Does anybody think that is a success?"
Caruso isn't alone in closing ranks. Councilwoman Traci Park, whose district includes the Pacific Palisades fire zone, told constituents last week she'd vote for Bass despite reservations. "I hear you — I want some change too, but the alternative does not actually get us where we want to be," Park said.
Hollywood's donor class is falling in line too. Samuel L. Jackson, Jane Fonda, and Anthony Anderson all cut videos for Bass. Jackson accused Raman of worsening homelessness and closed with his signature profanity. Fonda — whose Climate PAC has spent millions backing DSA candidates elsewhere — backed Bass because she "knows how to govern." Anderson praised Bass for Hollywood tax credits.
Follow the money and the picture sharpens. According to the New York Post, Raman's biggest outside spender is Estamos Con Nithya, a committee bankrolled by organized labor and hedge fund manager Aaron Sosnick, who has poured $6 million into the race and pushes LA bike-lane expansion. The Western States Regional Council of Carpenters kicked in more than $10 million. Bass has raised roughly $3.4 million to Raman's $3 million, but Raman holds nearly $1.4 million cash on hand — almost double Bass's reserves.
So the choice presented to LA voters: an incumbent mayor backed by billionaires, Hollywood elites, and the establishment, or a DSA-backed challenger funded by hedge-fund cash and carpenter unions who wants to replace the police chief. Caruso ran as the guy who'd clean up City Hall. Now he's defending it. The question for voters is whether either side represents them — or just different factions of the same ruling class.
The election is Nov. 3.
