Rick Caruso Is The Focus Of Rivals’ Attacks As He Participates In His First Los Angeles Mayoral Debate

deadline.com:

Developer Rick Caruso’s ads have blanketed the Los Angeles airwaves the message that he is just the non-career politician that the city needs to solve the homelessness crisis and crime, but on Tuesday, he for the first time faced his rivals in the race.He quickly became the focus of attacks at the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future/Los Angeles Times/Fox 11 debate.Councilman Joe Buscaino welcomed him to the debate, “finally.”City Attorney Mike Feuer chided him for not doing much to build affordable housing and opposing rent control, and then for owning a $100 million yacht registered in the Cayman Islands.City Councilman Kevin de Leon challenged his plan to build up the Los Angeles Police Department with additional officers as “malarkey.”Congresswoman Karen Bass, who is the frontrunner based on a recent poll, largely strayed from the potshots yet did take issue with Caruso’s attacks on career politicians.“I think it is important not to denigrate people who are in public service,” she said.Caruso, who has seemingly unlimited personal funds to run in the race, was making his debate debut and, in contrast to other wealthy neophytes to elective politics, came prepared with a host of attacks of his own on some of his rivals.

Responding to one of Buscaino’s criticisms, Caruso accused him of shady practices. That was based on a Los Angeles Times story on Buscaino’s spending of donor funds on trips for family members, albeit the practice is legal.When Feuer pressed Caruso to release his tax returns, the developer responded, “that’s a great question.

Good for you Mike. Good for you. I do have a nice boat. I do have a lot of nice things,” before saying that he would release his “everything I pay in taxes, including the