LOS ANGELES – Rick Caruso, a billionaire developer, has made an appointment for Friday afternoon to file a declaration with the city clerk’s office of his intent to run for mayor of Los Angeles, a sign that he might join the crowded field, the Los Angeles Times reported on Wednesday.
Caruso has a scheduled appointment with the city clerk’s office at 4 p.m. Friday, the Times confirmed.
The deadline to declare an intent to run for mayor is Saturday.
The Times reported that for months, Caruso, 63, has been assembling a roster of experienced political consultants to explore how he might win the election for mayor, even though he has never been elected to a public office.
Caruso developed the Grove shopping center and other high-end properties in Los Angeles and Southern California. He is the former president of the L.A. police commission and has publicly considered a run for mayor in the past, but ultimately decided not to run.
The race for mayor already includes Rep. Karen Bass, City Councilmen Kevin de Leon and Joe Buscaino and City Attorney Mike Feuer.
One of the more prominent candidates, downtown business leader Jessica Lall, dropped out of the race for mayor earlier this week.
Caruso changed his voting registration from no party preference to Democrat last month.
“No one believes that the same group of politicians who allowed our city to become this unsafe, corrupt and cruel can solve any of the problems we face,” Caruso said in a statement to The Times last month. “This unprecedented crisis calls for strong leaders who have track records of managing complex institutions and finding innovative solutions to build housing for our population and to protect our communities.”
