Why former LAUSD superintendent and businessman Austin Beutner wants to be LA's next mayor

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 have not been formally announced but were first reported by the New York Times on Saturday, 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.

In an interview with LAist this 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.”

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.”

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

On Monday, a DACA recipient died in ICE custody in the Imperial Valley, 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.”

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.