Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath is expected to announce her decision Saturday — the final possible day — regarding whether or not she will join the race for L.A. city mayor.
“The outpouring of support has been extraordinary. Supervisor Horvath is taking today to consider the decision and will make an announcement tomorrow morning,” Eric Hacopian, a senior strategist for Horvath’s political team, said in a statement issued Friday
Saturday at 5 p.m. is the deadline for individuals to file a declaration of intention to become a candidate in the mayoral race. Incumbent Mayor Karen Bass is facing a crowded field of challengers seeking to replace her.
The latest filings show 26 people vying to unseat Bass, and to lead the second largest city in the nation with nearly four million residents.
This week the mayoral race took an unexpected turn of events in the wake of a bombshell story published Wednesday by the Los Angeles Times saying Bass directed the watering-down of an after-action report critical of the L.A. fire department’s handling of the deadly Palisades Fire. Bass vehemently denied the accusation.
Billionaire developer and former unsuccessful mayoral candidate Rick Caruso had contemplated another potential challenge to Bass in the wake of the Times’ story. He later announced he would not run — a decision that came on the same day that another prominent candidate announced he dropped out of the fray for personal reasons.
“Rick is incredibly moved by the outpouring of support but reached an earlier decision in a thoughtful process and it stands. He will not be a candidate for mayor,” Mike Murphy, a political consultant for Caruso, told the Times Thursday.
On the same day, former Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Austin Beutner dropped out of the race.
Beutner, whose 22-year-old daughter Emily died unexpectedly last month, was considered the top challenger to Bass in the upcoming election.
The Times, quoting “two sources with knowledge of Bass’ office,” reported that after receiving an early draft of the after-action report, the mayor told then-interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva the report could result in legal liabilities for those failures.
The paper said Bass held onto the original draft until after changes were made. It was unclear whether Villanueva or other LAFD officials, or anyone in the mayor’s office, made “line-by-line edits” at Bass’ specific instructions or if they imposed changes after receiving a general direction from the mayor.
Caruso said that any edits or efforts to water down the after-action report put residents at risk again and “violates the sacred duty that an elected official has to the residents.”
However, Bass’ office, in a statement Wednesday responding to The Times story, said neither the mayor nor her staff made changes to earlier report drafts — and that Bass reviewed an early draft and asked only that the LAFD make sure it was accurate on issues such as weather and budget.
Bass later spoke on KNX to again vehemently deny she directed edits to the after-action report.
“Absolutely false, 100%,” Bass said, referring to The Times story. “Just think about it for a minute. I’m the one who ordered the after-action report when the fire chief would not do it. I fired her. Why would I water down a report that essentially presented the information for why I fired her? That makes no sense.”
Horvath was a vocal critic of the city’s response to the Palisades Fire. The supervisor called on Gov. Gavin Newsom to fully investigate the true cause of the disaster.
“The city’s diluted report has lost all credibility,” Horvath wrote on social media.
Horvath wrote in a letter to Newsom that questions about the indicated cause of the fire still exist and deserve answers.
The supervisor previously told reporters she was seriously weighing a run, and was having conversations with friends and family.
Bass faces challengers Spencer Pratt, a reality television personality and Palisades Fire survivor; and Rae Huang, a community organizer; among others.
Adam Miller, founder and former CEO of workforce education company Cornerstone OnDemand, formally announced his bid for mayor Thursday as well.
Maryam Zar, who formed Palisades Recovery Coalition, told the Times that she was also weighing a mayoral bid, but would decide on the final day.