LOS ANGELES, CA – Developer Rick Caruso declined again Tuesday to endorse either Mayor Karen Bass or City Councilmember Nithya Raman in the Nov. 3 Los Angeles mayoral runoff, but said he has “extreme concern” about Raman’s stated plan to replace Police Chief Jim McDonnell, Caruso said at an appearance in Pacific Palisades.
Caruso spoke Tuesday, Oct. 20, at Palisades Village, his shopping center in Pacific Palisades, where he appeared alongside Bass to promote progress on her Executive Directive 19, which is aimed at streamlining development services. The event included the announcement of a new Los Angeles Department of Water and Power program called Power Ready LA.
Caruso lost to Bass in the 2022 mayoral election and later criticized her response to the January 2025 Palisades fire. He did not run in 2026, although many had expected him to challenge her again.
Pressed by reporters about a possible endorsement, Caruso said, “I can’t answer that tonight or today. I’ll let you know.”
Caruso praises Bass but withholds endorsement
Caruso complimented the mayor’s work with his team in Pacific Palisades. “She’s done her work, and she’s worked with the team, and I compliment this,” he said of Bass.
He said he and Bass have not always agreed on policy but came together to help the Palisades in a time of crisis. In the mayor’s announcement, Caruso is quoted saying, “We haven’t agreed on policy but I know what I’ve seen in the last year and a half: real partnership from Mayor Bass in rebuilding the Palisades.”
Caruso said the relationship had to “transcend politics,” and he and Bass both acknowledged their longstanding relationship, which dates to her years in Sacramento.
Concern over plan to replace the chief
Caruso contrasted Bass with Raman, saying the councilmember “has made statements that we should all ask for an explanation to.” He cited her plan to replace McDonnell.
“I do show extreme concern when a candidate is talking about firing a chief of police,” Caruso said.
He also applauded Bass for supporting the chief. “I don’t think we need LAPD being a lab experiment for the DSA,” Caruso said, referring to the Democratic Socialists of America, which has endorsed Raman.
Raman’s position from the debate
Raman said at the Oct. 13 televised mayoral debate that she would replace McDonnell if elected, saying he had “lost the trust of Angelenos, especially in response to the ICE raids.” She said the Los Angeles Police Department appeared to be protecting federal immigration agents during their operations in the city.
She gave no clear timeline for acting. She acknowledged that a mayor cannot make the decision alone and would need to work with the Police Commission.
Raman represents Council District 4. Her council office says the City Council unanimously voted to establish Los Angeles as a sanctuary city and bar city resources from being used for immigration enforcement, under a motion she introduced with two council colleagues.
How a police chief can be removed
Under the City Charter, the Board of Police Commissioners or the City Council, not the mayor alone, can start the removal of a police chief. That framework is the reason Raman’s acknowledgment that she would need the commission carries weight in the debate over the chief’s future.
McDonnell was sworn in Nov. 8, 2024, as the 59th chief of the LAPD. The mayor’s office announced that the City Council had confirmed him after Bass named him as her pick on Oct. 4, 2024, according to the mayor’s announcement of his confirmation.
Bass, McDonnell and the Olympics argument
Bass has publicly backed the chief she hired. At the debate, she said, “We are 640 days away from the largest sporting event to ever take place,” and warned that replacing him would “send the department in disarray.”
McDonnell addressed the issue in remarks to reporters earlier this month. He called a Raman campaign social media post “disappointing” and said 52 officers were injured during the summer 2025 anti-ICE unrest, with commercial-grade fireworks and Molotov cocktails used against them.
Raman’s campaign said the tagline in that post referred to ICE and the Trump administration, not Bass or McDonnell, and the post was deleted.
Palisades Village and the rebuilding effort
Palisades Village reopened Aug. 15 after 19 months and more than $100 million in renovations, Caruso said. The shopping center first opened in 2018 and closed after the January 2025 fires destroyed much of the Palisades business district. The mayor’s office issued a release marking the reopening.
Caruso and Bass also attended a groundbreaking in September for a new Palisades Recreation Center, which the mayor’s office described in its announcement of the event. Caruso declined to endorse there as well, calling Bass and Raman “tough choices.”
Bass sidestepped questions at the September event about whether she would welcome his endorsement. Caruso has also played a prominent role in rebuilding Pacific Palisades and Altadena after the fires.
Caruso spent more than $100 million of his own money on the 2022 campaign, outspending Bass 11 to 1, and lost by nearly 10 percentage points.
Executive Directive 19 progress announced
Bass issued Executive Directive 19, Development Services Streamlining and Modernization, with an issue date of April 27, 2026, according to the directive posted by the mayor’s office. The directive is aimed at speeding housing construction and business openings.
The mayor’s announcement lists actions taken since April. They include expanded self-certification for eligible commercial tenant improvement projects citywide through the Department of Building and Safety, and pre-approved standard plans for single-family homes, first used for Palisades rebuilding and now available citywide.
The announcement also cites Executive Directive 1 on affordable housing, with nearly 50,000 units in the pipeline, and the Citywide Housing Incentive Program, with capacity for 500,000 new homes. Bass said in the release that she took immediate action on the issue when she took office and that collaboration with business leaders such as Caruso and Palisades residents had produced change citywide.
Power Ready LA and LADWP changes
The Department of Water and Power is launching Power Ready LA to lower upfront utility costs for eligible housing and commercial projects, according to the mayor’s announcement. LADWP’s page on the directive says the department launched initiatives to streamline housing and business development-related service connections in response to Bass’s order, and it ties Power Ready LA to Executive Directive 19.
The same page says the department’s Project Powerhouse cut review and approval cycle times by 65 percent for 100 percent affordable housing projects. It says LADWP is “removing bottlenecks in new power service connections” and creating “a more transparent, efficient experience for developers and customers.”
LADWP also issued a news release describing pre-engineered design templates and updated Construction Work Area Standards intended to speed power connections for developers under the directive.
Interim General Manager David W. Hanson said in the mayor’s announcement, “These achievements reflect our commitment to mobilize quickly to create necessary, lasting change in our New Business processes.”
Horvath endorses Raman
Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath endorsed Raman on Tuesday morning at a news conference at Gloria Molina Grand Park. “Nithya and I don’t agree on everything,” Horvath said, adding that Raman will shake up the status quo.
Horvath is the only member of the county Board of Supervisors backing Raman. Her four colleagues support Bass.
According to initial reports, other Raman endorsers include City Controller Kenneth Mejia, Los Angeles Unified School District board member Rocio Rivas, former Police Chief Bernard Parks and former Controller Laura Chick. Thirteen of Raman’s 14 City Council colleagues are reported to support Bass.
Election date is Nov. 3
Neither candidate won a majority in the June 2 primary, which led to the runoff. According to the City Clerk’s general information listing, the city’s General Municipal Election is Nov. 3, consolidated with the State General Election.
Offices on the ballot include mayor, city attorney, Council Districts 3 and 9, and eight city measures. The mayor’s next four-year term begins Dec. 14.
Caruso has not said whether he will endorse before Election Day.
