Beutner joins L.A. mayoral race, vows to fight Trump ‘injustices’

The philanthropist and ex-banker casts himself as a pragmatic problem solver.

- DAVID ZAHNISER AND JULIA WICK

THEN-LAUSD Supt. Austin Beutner speaks at a news conference at an elementary school in 2021.

Former L.A. schools Supt. Austin Beutner kicked off his campaign for mayor on Monday with a video message that hits not just Mayor Karen Bass but President Trump and his immigration crackdown.

Beutner, a philanthropist and former investment banker, uses the four-minute campaign video to describe L.A. as a city that is “under attack” - a message punctuated by footage of U.S. Border Patrol agents.

“I’ll never accept the Trump administration's assault on our values and our neighbors,” says Beutner, standing on a tree-lined residential street. “Targeting people solely based on the color of their skin is unacceptable and un-American.”

“I’ll counter these injustices and work to keep every person safe and build a better Los Angeles,” he adds.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson denounced Beutner’s statement as “a false and dangerous smear meant to incite violence against ICE officers." Immigration officers have experienced a huge increase in assaults, she said, "because of lies like this from Democrat leaders." "The Trump administration's top immigration enforcement priority is dangerous criminal illegal aliens," Jackson added.

Beutner's messaging on the ICE raids, and Trump more broadly, could help him reach voters who have soured on Bass but want a Democrat who will aggressively push back on the president's policies.

The video casts Beutner, 65, as a pragmatic problem solver, focusing on his nonprofit Vision to Learn, which provides eye exams and glasses to low-income children. It also highlights his work shepherding LAUSD through the pandemic and working to pass Proposition 28, the 2022 measure supporting arts education in California public schools.