The Brief

Austin Beutner, a businessman who was the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District through the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, is planning to run for mayor of the city of Los Angeles.

Beutner’s plans, which he officially announced Monday, complicate Mayor Karen Bass’ bid to retain her position in the 2026 election. Beutner is the first high-profile competitor officially facing off with Bass, who, since the Palisades Fire, has faced a barrage of criticism over her capability to lead the second-largest city in the United States.

His intention to run was first reported over the weekend.

In an interview with LAist last week, Beutner characterized L.A. as a city “adrift” that he wants to help get “back on track.”

“ How long have we been talking about the same problems? A long, long time,” Beutner, who has lived in the city for 26 years, said. “Let's get beyond talking about the same problems and start solving them.”

In response to Beutner's entry into the race, Doug Herman, the spokesperson for Bass' re-election campaign, said the mayor's "administration has proven it can deliver" on key issues like homelessness and crime.

"Mayor Bass is committed to building on this historic momentum in her second term," Herman said in the statement.

The 2026 race gets a shake up

Bass announced her intention to run for re-election last year.

The L.A. City Ethics Commission website currently lists a total of eight candidates for the 2026 mayoral race. Apart from Bass, only Asaad Y. Alnajjar, a civil engineer who has worked for the city for more than 35 years, has raised money, according to the website.

Beutner's experience in local government could set him apart from the pack and position him as a serious challenger to Bass.

Beutner, born to German immigrant parents in 1960, founded an investment bank early in his career before transitioning to work in the public sector. He became L.A.’s first deputy mayor in 2010, serving under Antonio Villaraigosa, briefly ran for mayor in 2013 and later served as superintendent of L.A. Unified between 2018 and 2021.

Before becoming superintendent, Beutner was the publisher and CEO of the L.A. Times for a year.

More recently, Beutner authored and successfully campaigned for the passage of Proposition 28, which secured arts education funding in California’s public schools.

Beutner also founded Vision to Learn, a nonprofit that since its inception in 2012 has provided free eyeglasses to hundreds of thousands of kids across the country.

Beutner said he knows how to lead through crisis

Whether it’s earthquakes, civil unrest or fires, L.A.’s no stranger to crises. With 17 years in public service, Beutner said he’s the kind of leader who knows how to prepare and overcome whatever challenges the city might face.

“At the end of the day, the buck stops with the mayor,” Beutner said.

Beutner recalled his time leading the second-largest school district in the country through the early years of the pandemic as an example of how he leads. Under his direction, Beutner said the district provided 140 million meals to children and adults, provided computer and internet access to every student and offered on-campus vaccinations when they became available.

“That’s the type of leadership I bring, which is problem solving focused on getting results,” Beutner said.

Beutner on the issues facing Angelenos

Beutner said one of the “greatest challenges” the city is grappling with is homelessness.

“ We've got to find a way to make sure people who are on the street get the support they need, get the services they need and start moving things in the right direction,” Beutner said.

Beutner criticized Bass’ efforts to block an independent audit of Inside Safe, the mayor’s landmark homelessness initiative that her office said has provided shelter to thousands who were living outside in street encampments.

“ Let's start with the facts,” Beutner said. “Let's start with what we know about where the money's being spent.”

Herman, the spokesperson for the Bass campaign, said official counts over the last two years show homelessness decreasing in the city.

Beutner said he's not sure he trusts point-in-time counts because they  don't show "the true dimension of the problem."

On the federal government’s immigration enforcement, Beutner said he would “fight  to make sure that everybody's safe.”

A DACA recipient died in ICE custody in the Imperial Valley earlier this month, marking the second reported death of an immigrant in ICE custody in the state in two weeks.

“The Trump administration's attack not only on our values, but on our neighbors, is absolutely unacceptable,” Beutner said.

Driven in part by labor negotiations, soaring legal liability costs and lower-than-expected tax revenue, Bass and the City Council agreed to slash jobs and services to make up for a billion dollar shortfall in this year’s budget.

Beutner sees the city’s budget crisis as a result of a series of “bad decisions.”

 ”Who's surprised that we're still spending more in legal settlements on sidewalks than to actually fix the broken sidewalk? That shouldn't be a surprise to anybody,” Beutner said. “It's an unfortunate set of circumstances, but ultimately it's the decisions that were made and the consequences of those decisions.”

Beutner was critical of the city's transportation and mobility investments in the past, saying the sloganeering and promises of initiatives like Vision Zero have failed to keep people safe on city roads.

 "We've got to do something different, and it starts with making sure that the investments we're making have pedestrians and cyclists and other forms of transit in mind, not just cars," Beutner said.

The new mayoral candidate was a supporter of Measure HLA, which aims to speed up road safety projects. Michael Schneider, who, along with his nonprofit Streets for All, led the campaign on Measure HLA, said he is excited Beutner entered the race.

"I think he has the leadership chops on both housing and transportation that unfortunately has been sorely missing from our current mayor," Schneider said over email.

Amid all its complexities, L.A. is a city of talented and diverse people, Beutner said. He added that he hopes that he can help elevate the city’s government to meet the standards of the people in it.

East Bay Rep. Eric Swalwell resigned from Congress on Tuesday, days after sexual assault and misconduct allegations against the Democratic front-runner upended California’s wide-open governor’s race.

Swalwell dropped out of the race Sunday and resigned from Congress on Tuesday. His exit comes as a new accuser came forward Tuesday, alleging that Swalwell drugged and raped her in 2018. Gov. Gavin Newsom quickly set Aug. 18 as the date for a special election to fill Swalwell’s seat.

Here’s what happened and what it means for the June 2 statewide primary and the future of Swalwell’s congressional seat.

Why did Swalwell resign from Congress and drop out of the governor’s race?

Swalwell, 45, is accused of sexually assaulting two women and harassing others.

On Friday, he was accused of raping a former staff member twice, when she was too intoxicated to consent, and of harassing three other women, including by sending nude photos and making unwanted physical advances.

Those allegations were detailed in a San Francisco Chronicle investigation and a subsequent report by CNN. The latest allegation was made by another woman, Lonna Drewes, who told reporters at a press conference Tuesday that Swalwell drugged and raped her in 2018 in a West Hollywood hotel.

Attorney Lisa Bloom (right) comforts Lonna Drewes during a press conference in which Drewes accused U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell of sexual assault Tuesday in Beverly Hills.

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Swalwell has denied the allegations since they broke April 10, and his lawyers sent the women accusing him cease-and-desist letters demanding they retract their claims. In a video message Swalwell posted late Friday, he seemed to acknowledge he’d been unfaithful to his wife.

On Tuesday, after the second allegation of rape, Swalwell issued a statement through an attorney, which the lawyer posted on social media. It said that Swalwell “categorically and unequivocally denies each and every allegation of sexual misconduct and assault” and calls them a “calculated and transparent political hit job." His lawyer, Sara Azari, also went on News Nation on Tuesday night and said that “regret is not rape.”

The most serious allegations involve a woman who worked for Swalwell’s presidential campaign and in his congressional office, a job she began at age 21. She told the Chronicle that Swalwell, who is 17 years older than she, began pursuing her within weeks of joining his office in 2019, sending her explicit pictures on Snapchat and asking for nude photos in return.

She alleged that in September 2019, she went out drinking with a group, including Swalwell, in Pleasanton and woke up the next day naked in his hotel room, feeling the effects of vaginal intercourse.

The woman also described a similar alleged assault in 2024 in New York City after a night of drinking, recalling portions of the night, including being in Swalwell’s hotel room, pushing him off of her and telling him no. She said she woke up alone in his hotel room with vaginal bleeding and bruising.

Swalwell is also facing possible criminal investigations in both New York and California. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said Saturday that it is looking into the alleged 2024 assault, and the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office said over the weekend that prosecutors there are “evaluating whether any alleged criminal conduct occurred within Alameda County.” And on Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said it is investigating Drewe’s allegations.

What happens to Eric Swalwell’s seat now?

Swalwell represented California’s 14th Congressional District, which includes the East Bay cities of Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore and Hayward. He submitted his resignation Tuesday. The seat is now vacant.

Gov. Gavin Newsom quickly called a special election this summer to replace him. Whoever wins will fill the seat for the remaining months of Swalwell’s term, which ends in January. In the meantime, the district has no voting representation in Congress, only the staff who have remained to assist constituents.

Meanwhile, the election cycle for the next term, beginning in January, continues on its regular schedule, with the June 2 primary and a potential runoff in the November general election.

Swalwell is not on the ballot for his congressional seat because he was running for governor. However, his name will still appear on the June ballot for governor, since it’s legally too late to remove it.

When is the special election for Swalwell’s seat and who might run?

Newsom has scheduled a special election to fill the remainder of Swalwell’s term. First, a special primary election will be held June 16. If a candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, they would win outright and immediately take his seat in Congress.

A frontrunner for California governor, U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell suspended his campaign Sunday after a series of women accused him of sexual assault and harassment.

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If no candidate clears that threshold, the top two finishers will advance to a runoff election Aug. 18. Whoever wins will serve only the remainder of Swalwell’s term until January.

That means that if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in both the statewide primary and the special primary, voters in Swalwell’s East Bay district could potentially cast four separate ballots for their congressional representative this year.

Nine candidates already were running to succeed Swalwell in the 14th District in the June 2 primary for the full term set to begin in January. State Sen. Aisha Wahab is the only one with statewide elected experience. Former Dublin Mayor Melissa Hernandez, who serves as president of the BART Board of Directors, also is running.

Those candidates also may run in the special primary election.

Who is running for governor of California now?

The top-polling candidates in the crowded field include two Republicans: businessman Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco. Two Democrats other than Swalwell also have been enjoying double-digit support in most polls: former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter and billionaire Democratic activist Tom Steyer.

Other Democratic candidates include Xavier Becerra, who previously served as U.S. Health and Human Services secretary and California attorney general; San José Mayor Matt Mahan; former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; California Superintendent for Public Instruction Tony Thurmond; and former state Controller Betty Yee.

Swalwell’s departure stands to further shake up what has long been an unsettled race — and California’s first wide-open campaign for governor in two decades.

How does Swalwell dropping out affect the California governor’s race?

Prior to Swalwell dropping out, he, Porter and Steyer were the top-polling Democrats. It seems likely that Porter and Steyer could now attract some of his supporters.

California has a “top-two” primary system, meaning the two candidates who receive the most votes in June, regardless of party, will move on to a November runoff. That means two Republicans or two Democrats could face each other in a runoff election.

There’s been concern among Democrats that because no Democratic candidate has consolidated support, Hilton and Bianco could make it into the runoff, shutting out Democrats and resulting in a Republican governor. That seems less likely now, especially since Hilton recently received President Donald Trump’s endorsement, which is likely to play well among Republican voters. The state GOP failed to endorse either candidate at their convention this weekend, though Bianco did get more votes than Hilton from party insiders.

If Hilton surges ahead of Bianco, the race could come down to a contest between Porter and Steyer for a second spot in the runoff.

When is the primary for California governor, and for whom will I be able to vote?

Election Day is June 2. The last day to register to vote is May 18.

Counties will begin sending out mail-in ballots May 4, and in-person early voting starts May 23.

To register to vote, contact your county elections office. The official state information guide is available here.

After about two decades of planning, six years of construction and a cost of $720 million, L.A. County Museum of Art officials gave a preview of the new David Geffen museum galleries on Wednesday.

“This museum is very experimental,” said Michael Govan, LACMA’s CEO. “It's very new, it's very fresh. It's a new way to think about our history and being more accessible at the same time that I think it's more meditative."

Gone is LACMA’s 1965 iconic, boxy gallery building, replaced by an exposed concrete and glass structure distinguished by a soft, curved profile.

“You can stand in the building and know where you are, not in a box… you are here in the city, you can look around the perimeter and know exactly where you are,” said Diana Magaloni, LACMA’s senior deputy director overseeing conservation, curatorial and exhibitions.

LACMA's new David Geffen galleries have floor to ceiling windows and are more open than traditional museum art galleries.

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The feeling of knowing where you are is due largely to the acres of open space and plazas next to the building and ground level, as well as the floor to ceiling windows in the galleries’ second level that allow you to see L.A.’s mountains and urban skylines.

LACMA officials say the design by renowned minimalist Swiss architect Peter Zumthor will better serve the public’s interaction with its massive art collection that spans 6,000 years and cultures from around the globe. The collection includes Southeast Asian sculptures, paintings by Diego Rivera, as well as contemporary art by Southern California artists.

LACMA CEO Michael Govan, left, with Peter Zumthor, the architect who designed LACMA's new David Geffen galleries.

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“One of the nice things about this building is there are many new works of art and then there are old friends,” said Stephanie Barron, head of modern art at LACMA, as she stood next to a 12-foot-tall by 18-foot-wide piece by Henri Matisse.

The 2,000-pound work features multicolored leaves made of ceramic. It’s well known to LACMA’s visitors because it hung for years near the old gallery’s entrance. Now, the work faces northwest toward the Hollywood Hills and the Pacific Ocean.

LACMA opens its new David Geffen galleries to members on April 19 and to the general public on May 4.

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Success, Govan said, will be measured by visitors’ reactions to seeing art in this new setting, as well as what the setting does to people visiting by themselves or with groups of people.

“The way this building works, the way you can wander through galleries, the way the light works, the way it brings collections and thinking together, the way we’re collaborating” centers human interactions, Govan said. “It’s a launch pad, not an end point.”

LACMA’s David Geffen galleries are open to members from Sunday April 19 to Sunday May 3, then to the general public after that.