2022 Los Angeles mayoral election

The 2022 Los Angeles mayoral election will take place on November 8, 2022, to elect the Mayor of Los Angeles. The primary for this election, a top-two primary by California law, will take place on June 7, 2022.[1] Incumbent Mayor Eric Garcetti will be ineligible to seek a third term due to term limits, but is serving an extended second term due to a law moving election dates.[2]

2022 Los Angeles mayoral election
November 8, 2022
Mayor before election

Eric Garcetti
Democratic

 Elected Mayor

TBD

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Candidates

Major declared candidates

The following candidates (listed alphabetically) have held office, have been included in polls, or have been the subject of significant media coverage.

Candidate Experience Announced Ref

Mike Feuer		 18th Los Angeles City Attorney
Member of the California State Assembly from the 42nd district
Member of the Los Angeles City Council from the 5th district		 March 9, 2020

(Website)		 [3][4]

Other declared candidates
  • Eden Cristo, grassroots founder of We Humyns (a group intending to get humans to Mars)[5]
  • YJ Draiman, perennial candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles and father of Disturbed lead singer David Draiman[6]
  • G. Juan Johnson, legal advocate[7]
  • Helan Mahmood, co-founder of fashion brand Don Kaka[8]
  • William Rodriguez Morrison, community organizer and perennial candidate[1]
  • Alestar Van Mater, real estate agent (party preference: Republican)[9]

Potential

Issues

Black Lives Matter

Black Lives Matter has continually brought race relations and police brutality to the forefront of political discussion in Los Angeles. Feuer was caught up in controversy when he was involved in prosecuting Black Lives Matter activists on battery charges that many deemed to be untrue. (In the face of public outcry, Feuer's office dropped the charges.)[17] This attempted prosecution came back into the public eye in 2020, when a Black Lives Matter leader Feuer tried to prosecute—Cal State LA professor Melina Abdullah—announced that she would sue the city over her wrongful arrest.[18]

Feuer's battle with Black Lives Matter occurs amidst an environment in which, critics charge, the city attorney's office has been involved in protecting violent police officers and prosecuting nonviolent African-Americans.[19] His heavy-handed prosecution of Patricia Beers for blocking a sidewalk drew criticism, as did his attempts to block the release of a video depicting the beating of Clinton Alford in South Los Angeles.[20]

Jackie Lacey

Though no current mayoral candidates were involved, the husband of Jackie Lacey pulling a gun on Black Lives Matter protesters drew attention to the controversies surrounding Jackie Lacey.[21][22] Lacey having been endorsed by Feuer, Wesson, and other potential mayoral candidates has been much discussed.[23]

COVID-19

It has been suggested that the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic will play a major role in the election. In early 2020, the disease became the top killer in Los Angeles. Potential frontrunner Feuer was in charge of prosecuting businesses refusing to obey the pandemic "Safer At Home" order, which gained mixed reception from medical professionals and small business owners.[24][25] Caruso, though he has yet to declare a candidacy, gave multiple media statements in regard to recovery after COVID-19 that many believe are a precursor to his mayoral declaration.[26]

George Floyd protests

The killing of George Floyd led to national and international backlash and protests. Protests swept Los Angeles, with many protesters calling to defund the police or abolish them. The actions of Mayor Eric Garcetti and Chief of Police Michel Moore provoked significant criticism.[27][28] The implementation of a citywide curfew was also hotly debated. Mike Feuer was originally involved in trying to prosecute protesters who violated curfew, but he later dropped this plan.[29][30] Defunding the police or abolishing the LAPD, once a fringe political belief, has now taken center stage thanks to Black Lives Matter protests.[31]

Controversies

This list of controversies has been compiled from those impacting those candidates who have declared or expressed public interest. If a potential candidate declines running for mayor, their controversies will be removed as well. Many of these are taken verbatim from their Wikipedia pages, while others are unique to this one.

Accusations of corruption generally (Feuer)

In July 2019, FBI agents raided the offices of Mike Feuer and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The raid stemmed from the City Attorney's handling of the DWP overbilling scandal that dates back to 2013. There were reports that Feuer's own outside defense counsel recruited a plaintiff to sue the city over the DWP billing errors.[32][33][34]

Accusations of corruption in relation to USC (Ridley-Thomas, Caruso)

Rick Caruso is the chairman of the board of trustees at his alma mater, the University of Southern California.[35][36] Olivia Jade Giannulli, one of the USC students involved in the federal indictments regarding USC admissions, was aboard Caruso's $100 million yacht, Invictus,[37] in the Bahamas at the time the scandal broke. Giannulli is daughter of actress Lori Loughlin and a friend of Caruso's daughter, Gianna.[38][39][40][41] Gianna Caruso, like her other siblings, was accepted to USC during a period in which her father donated millions of dollars to the university.[42]

In Spring 2018, Mark Ridley-Thomas's political campaign fund — Mark Ridley-Thomas Committee for a Better L.A. — gave $100,000 to the USC School of Social Work, according to reporting by the Los Angeles Times. "After USC received the money, the school’s dean, Marilyn Flynn, reached out to Peter Manzo, the chief executive of United Ways of California. She told him USC was sending a $100,000 donation to be put in the account of PRPI, the think tank run by [his son and recently resigned Assemblymember] Sebastian Ridley-Thomas." The Times reported that a "concerned employee went to the university’s compliance office in June [2018] and reported “alleged inappropriate financial transactions and agreements” involving [USC Dean of Social Work Marilyn] Flynn and an elected official." After consulting legal counsel, USC administrators subsequently referred the $100,000 donation by Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas to federal authorities for a criminal investigation.[43]

Though neither candidate has officially entered the race, the widespread speculation of their candidacies has brought these USC controversies back into the public eye.

City Hall bribery scandal (Feuer)

Mike Feuer was among many politicians in the City of Los Angeles who took money from campaign donor Justin Kim.[44] When Kim plead guilty to bribing city councilmembers to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars, Feuer was disclosed as a recipient of these donations. Feuer's campaign has said there was nothing suspicious in his conduct, and he has returned the more than $13,000 raised by Kim. Nonetheless, it has been stated that this citywide scandal could play a role in the 2022 election.[45]

Influence peddling (de León)

In 2015, the Los Angeles Times reported that De León called the Greenlining Institute, a nonprofit organization based in Berkeley, and asked if his daughter could apply to work there.[46] At the time his daughter started work at Greenlining in June 2014, De León was guiding a bill, SB 1275, supported by Greenlining through the legislature that he had introduced in February of that year.

A Loyola Law School professor, who was vice president of the Los Angeles Ethics Commission, was cited by the Los Angeles Times as stating that the action appeared inappropriate for an elected official.

Ed Buck was a prominent LGBTQ advocate and wealthy political activist in California. In 2017, two African-American men were found dead of overdoses of methamphetamine at Buck's home. In 2019, Buck was finally arrested and charged in connection to the deaths, suspected to have had at least ten victims. Buck stands accused of drugging and assaulting unconscious gay men who struggled with drug addiction and homelessness.[47][48]

Buck's large donations to prominent political figures, including Eric Garcetti and Jackie Lacey, have drawn controversy. According to the Los Angeles Times, Mike Feuer was the second largest recipient of donations from Buck.[49]

Sexual harassment legislation and alleged failure to report (de León)

Between 2014 and 2017, the California State Legislature failed to pass several bills which would create whistle-blower protections for state legislative employees who reported "unethical, immoral, or inappropriate behavior." Speculated candidate De León did not support these bills and was accused of protecting political allies by activists and his then-opponent for U.S. Senate, Dianne Feinstein.[50][51] In November 2017, more than 300 women in and around the state Capitol signed a published letter, exposing misconduct in California politics as part of the Me Too movement.[52] Though De León soon reversed his position and dropped his opposition to proposed whistleblower legislation, he received criticism over his motives in not supporting previous bills.[53]

At the time, De León shared a residence with California State Senator Tony Mendoza, who was accused of sexually harassing three women who previously worked in his office. Attorneys representing Mendoza's accusers also argued that they had reported harassment to State Senate officials several times in September 2017 before detailing their allegations in a meeting on September 22 — when they were promptly fired by being handed a letter on Rules Committee letterhead.[54] In February 2018, De León called for a vote of the legislature to expel Mendoza. Mendoza resigned before a vote could be called, claiming the vote was politically motivated.[55] Nonetheless, many speculate De León's past record could haunt him in the mayoral race.

See also

References
  1. "LA City Attorney Mike Feuer says he wants to be mayor, kicking off early group of entrants in 2022 races". March 12, 2020.
  2. "Los Angeles mayor wins re-election in landslide". March 8, 2017 – via www.reuters.com.
  3. Smith, Dakota. "City Atty. Mike Feuer says he's running for L.A. mayor". Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  4. Stuart, Gwynedd (March 10, 2020). "City Attorney Mike Feuer Is Running for Mayor of Los Angeles".
  5. "Eden Cristo mayoral campaign announcement".
  6. "Los Angeles Elections - Los Angeles Elections 2022". losangeleselections.com.
  7. "A Letter of Thanks". Random Lengths News. September 8, 2020.
  8. Spectrum1News - "Student Drops Out of College to Run for LA Mayor & Uses TikTok to Campaign"
  9. Van Mater for Mayor Los Angeles
  10. "LA councilman for San Pedro, Joe Buscaino, elected to lead National League of Cities, raising his political profile". November 26, 2019.
  11. Blum, Steven (April 22, 2019). "Mall Mogul Rick Caruso Is Considering Running for Mayor".
  12. DeFranco, Philip (January 20, 2021). "My wife has officially given me her blessing to run for Mayor of LA". Twitter.
  13. Feb. 10, David Zahniser Staff Writer; Am, 20205 (February 10, 2020). "They're running for L.A. City Council — but not ruling out a bid for mayor in 2022". Los Angeles Times.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. Preston, Stefan; Articles, More; March 17, 2020 (March 17, 2020). "'The Office' Star B.J. Novak Confirms He May Run for Mayor of LA Someday".CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. "In South L.A., a veteran Democrat finds himself facing candidates on his left". Los Angeles Times. February 28, 2020.
  17. "L.A. city attorney agrees to drop charges against Black Lives Matter leader amid public outcry". Los Angeles Times. February 8, 2019.
  18. "L.A. Black Lives Matter leader sues city, ex-LAPD Chief Beck, alleging wrongful arrest". Los Angeles Times. February 11, 2020.
  19. "Why Angelenos Need to Pay Closer Attention to their City Attorney's Office". December 20, 2015.
  20. "LAPD officer charged with assault in videotaped beating". Los Angeles Times. April 21, 2015.
  21. Stella Chan; Cheri Mossburg. "Los Angeles County DA's husband points gun toward Black Lives Matter protesters". CNN.
  22. Betz, Bradford (March 2, 2020). "Los Angeles DA apologizes after husband points gun at Black Lives Matter protesters". Fox News.
  23. "Garcetti, Feuer, LA City Councilmen Urged To Withdraw Endorsements Of District Attorney Jackie Lacey". June 22, 2020.
  24. "LA charges 29 businesses for refusing to close amid stay-at-home order". April 23, 2020.
  25. staff, ABC7 com (April 15, 2020). "City of Los Angeles prosecuting businesses that violate safer-at-home orders". ABC7 Los Angeles.
  26. "Los Angeles Developer Rick Caruso Shares Vision For Coronavirus Recovery". www.msn.com.
  27. "LAPD Chief Moore under fire over looting remarks, police treatment of protesters". news.yahoo.com.
  28. Woodyard, Jordan Culver and Chris. "Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore apologizes after saying George Floyd's death is on the 'hands' of looters". USA TODAY.
  29. "L.A. city attorney drops mandatory meetings for curfew violators". www.msn.com.
  30. "LA Protesters Arrested For Violating Curfew Won't Be Charged". NPR.org.
  31. Richards, Erin. "Defund police in schools? How the movement got momentum after George Floyd's death". USA TODAY.
  32. Radio, Southern California Public (July 22, 2019). "FBI Searches City Attorney, LADWP Records". Southern California Public Radio. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  33. "FBI raids at DWP, L.A. City Hall related to fallout from billing debacle". Los Angeles Times. July 23, 2019. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  34. "FBI raids and DWP scandal pose a political threat to L.A.'s ambitious city attorney". Los Angeles Times. July 25, 2019. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  35. "Board of Trustees | USC". University of Southern California.
  36. Moore, Annette (February 9, 2011). "Rick J. Caruso Elected to USC Board". USC News. University of Southern California. Archived from the original on August 26, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  37. Invictus at Super Yacht Fan.com
  38. Schmidt, Ingrid (March 13, 2019). "Lori Loughlin's Daughter Vacationed on Billionaire USC Official's Yacht". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 14, 2019. Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli's 19-year-old daughter was on the yacht of billionaire Rick Caruso, the chairman of USC's board of trustees, during Tuesday's indictment that charged the couple in a nationwide college cheating scandal.
  39. "Lori Loughlin Daughter Olivia Leaves Yacht Owned By Top USC Official". TMZ. March 13, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019. As Lori Loughlin traveled from Vancouver to L.A. Tuesday night to surrender to federal authorities in the college bribery scandal -- which got her daughter, Olivia Jade, into USC -- Olivia spent the night on the yacht of the Chairman of USC's Board of Trustees
  40. Blum, Steven (March 13, 2019). "Olivia Jade Found Out Her Mom Had Schemed Her Into USC While On Rick Caruso's Yacht". Los Angeles. Retrieved March 14, 2019. Olivia Jade, social media influencer and daughter of actress Lori Loughlin, was apparently spending her spring break on a yacht owned by USC board of trustees member Rick Caruso when the news broke that her mother was part of an epic college bribery case.
  41. Ross, Martha (March 13, 2019). "Will Lori Loughlin's Instagram-famous daughters get kicked out of USC, face other fallout because of parents?". The Mercury News. Retrieved March 14, 2019. TMZ reported late Wednesday afternoon that Lori Loughlin's daughter Olivia Jade Giannulli had been traveling in the Bahamas on a yacht owned by Rick Caruso, the chairman of the USC Board of Trustees
  42. Yakowicz, Will (March 15, 2019). "College Admissions: How Billionaires (Legally) Pump Millions Of Dollars Into Their Children's Schools". Forbes Magazine. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  43. Ryan, Matt Hamilton, Harriet. "Donation from prominent L.A. politician roils USC, which referred case to federal prosecutors". latimes.com. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  44. Stuart, Gwynedd (April 9, 2020). "The Investigation into City Hall Corruption May Soon Take a New, Bigger Step".
  45. "L.A.'s politicians took his campaign donations. Then he admitted arranging a bribe". news.yahoo.com.
  46. "Kevin de León called about job for daughter at nonprofit he helped with bill". Los Angeles Times. May 12, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  47. Levin, Sam (September 20, 2019). "LA 'predator' Ed Buck had at least 10 victims and drugged unconscious men, complaint says" – via www.theguardian.com.
  48. Madeline Holcombe; Christina Maxouris. "Democratic donor Ed Buck charged with a felony for running a drug den". CNN.
  49. The Los Angeles Times - "All the California politicians who took money from Ed Buck"
  50. "State Senate passes long-stalled whistle-blower protection for Capitol workers". SFChronicle.com. February 2, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  51. "Feinstein critic Kevin de León failed his own #MeToo test, activists say". SFChronicle.com. September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  52. "Push For Whistleblower Laws At California Capitol Has New Life". November 14, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  53. "De León pressured as sexual misconduct scandal creeps into U.S. Senate race". SFChronicle.com. December 4, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  54. "Sexual harassment controversy threatens to ensnare Kevin de León". The Mercury News. November 11, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  55. "LA-area State Sen. Tony Mendoza resigns before facing expulsion vote". Daily Breeze. February 22, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
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