Caruso and Bass appear together at Palisades groundbreaking. But will he endorse her?

This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

See more from the L.A.Times in Google Search.

Set us as preferred Mayor Karen Bass and billionaire developer Rick Caruso appeared together at a groundbreaking for the new Palisades Recreation Center Tuesday, in a sign that the sometimes icy relationship between the two 2022 mayoral rivals is thawing.Bass is now in a fight for re-election against challenger Nithya Raman.

Caruso was complimentary of the mayor’s leadership at the groundbreaking for the new center, which will replace one destroyed in the 2025 Palisades fire.“What was important about the mayor’s leadership is she rallied the troops together in the city.

She set out to break new ground by forming this massive public private partnership that has never been done before,” Caruso said, adding that the mayor is a “great leader.”But pressed by reporters on whether he would endorse Bass for re-election, Caruso demurred, calling both Bass and Councilmember Raman “tough choices.” “I don’t think either option is great,” said Caruso.Bass sidestepped the question when The Times asked her if she would welcome Caruso’s endorsement, saying the groundbreaking ceremony was “not political.” An aide cut her off before the mayor could say more.Bass beat Caruso by nearly 10 percentage points in the 2022 election, even after Caruso spent more than $100 million of his own fortune on his doomed campaign.Many thought Caruso would challenge Bass for re-election this year, as he continued to publicly criticize the mayor.

Caruso is a Palisades resident whose son and daughter lost their homes in the Palisades fire.He has called reporting from The Times that cited sources who said Bass softened the findings of an after-action report about the fire an “absolute outrage.”“Karen Bass actively covered up a report meant to examine the most significant disaster in Los Angeles history,” he said.

“This is a ...