Los Angeles Mayoral candidate Austin Beutner says it's "time we change" leadership for city

Former Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent and Deputy Mayor Austin Beutner says current city leadership is "not addressing our problems" as he begins his campaign in the 2026 mayoral race.

During an interview with CBS LA's Ross Palombo on Sunday morning, Beutner discussed city issues like homelessness and leaderships' rift with the Trump administration, as well as the upcoming Olympics and his previous relationship with Mayor Karen Bass, who he's challenging in the race.

On homelessness

Beutner called the homelessness problem in LA a "humanitarian crisis," and said firefighters have told him that homeless-related calls have increased year-over-year.

While this summer's 2025 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count found a decrease by 4% in the amount of people experiencing homelessness in the county over the last year, Beutner expressed skepticism over the count. He cited a recent study from thinktank RAND that claims that thousands may have been missed in an undercount.

"We all know [homelessness] is up because we see it," he said. "It's a humanitarian crisis."

Beutner called for an audit on the programs designed to aid in the homelessness crisis and see how they can be improved.

In her own interview with Palombo, Bass disputed the RAND report and pointed to a decrease in homeless encampments in neighborhoods like Hollywood and Venice, which have often been used as examples during the crisis.

"Hollywood Boulevard, Sunset Boulevard were draped in very large encampments," she said. "Those are all gone."

On the Trump administration

Beutner said it's key to stand up to "bullies" who come into the community to arrest "neighbors" in the ongoing immigration enforcement operations that have been highly publicized since June, but claimed he wants to focus on fixing the city's problems, taking away the president's reasons for fixating on LA.

"Part of what is happening is because we are not addressing our problems," Beutner said. "That's when people like Donald Trump and his administration come in to our community and say 'well, if you're that rudderless, I'll come in.' We shouldn't be rudderless."

When asked by Palombo on how Beutner would handle pressure from Mr. Trump, he recalled his time as LAUSD superintendent during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Mr. Trump called for Beutner to be fired as the two disagreed over LAUSD's response to the pandemic.

Mayor Bass, on the other hand, said she'd continue to "defend" the city from the Trump administration and its immigration enforcement.

"Our city was under assault from the federal government and it was important that we stood up," Bass said.

 On Monday, Bass publicly called for a federal investigation into the alleged detainment of U.S. citizens and immigrants during the raids, which she called "unlawful" and "unconstitutional."

When asked about Mr. Trump's recent claim that he could take the 2028 Summer Olympics away from LA, Beutner said that as mayor, he would "put on the greatest Olympics."

"We welcome the President of the United States to participate but this is about Los Angeles," Beutner said. "These are our Olympics and we're going to do a heck of a job."

On Mayor Bass

Beutner said he helped raise money for Bass in her 2022 bid for mayor, and previously said he voted for her, but claimed there's been "no apparent progress" on important issues like affordability during her tenure.

"I've known [Bass] a long time. I supported her," Beutner said. "She did a great job in Congress. She was effective in the Assembly. Mayor is a different job."

"It's time we change," he added.

Mayor Bass' interview can be found here.