Austin Beutner, a former investment banker and arts education advocate who spent three years leading the Los Angeles Unified School District, appears to be preparing to run against Mayor Karen Bass in next year’s election, according to his social media accounts.
At some point Saturday, Beutner’s longtime account on X posted a banner image that read “AUSTIN for LA MAYOR,” along with the words, “This account is being used for campaign purposes by Austin Beutner for the 2026 Los Angeles Mayoral Election.”
Both text and banner images resembling the campaign logo were removed Saturday just before 1 p.m. Beutner did not immediately comment after being contacted by the Times.
A new “AustinforLA” account also debuted on Saturday, displaying the same campaign text and logo as Instagram. These messages were also quickly deleted and converted to Beutner’s general account.
It’s still unclear when Beutner, 65, plans to launch or even run a campaign. Rumors about his intentions have been widespread in political circles in recent weeks.
Mr. Beutner, who at one time served as a senior aide to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, is expected to be the front-runner against Mr. Bass, who is seeking a second four-year term in June.
Seven other people have filed papers to run for her seat, but none have the fundraising strength or name recognition to pose a threat. Rick Caruso, a real estate developer whom Bass defeated in 2022, has publicly announced his intention to run again for the city’s top office, but has not yet announced a decision.
Representatives for Bass’ campaign did not immediately comment.
Beutner’s announcement comes during a year of crisis for the mayor and the city. Bass was out of the country in January on a diplomatic mission to Ghana when the Palisades fire destroyed thousands of homes and killed 12 people.
When Bass returned, he faced withering criticism about the city’s preparedness for the high winds, the fire department’s operations and emergency response in general.
In the months that followed, the city faced a $1 billion budget shortfall, due in part to raises approved by Bass for city employees. To close the gap, the City Council eliminated about 1,600 vacancies, delayed Los Angeles Police Department hiring, and rejected Mr. Bass’ proposal to add dozens of firefighters.
By June, Bass faced another emergency. Waves of masked and heavily armed federal agents arrested immigrants at car washes, hardware stores and other locations, sparking violent street protests.
Bass was politically weakened by the Palisades fire. But after President Trump set his sights on the city, the mayor regained his political footing and responded quickly and sharply. She rallied allies against immigration crackdowns and slammed the president’s deployment of the National Guard, claiming the soldiers were “used as props.”
Mr. Beutner comes into the race with a wide range of experience, including work in the fragile financial world, struggling journalism and the chaotic world of local government. He is also passionate about philanthropy and founded Vision to Learn, a nonprofit organization that provides vision screenings, eye exams, and glasses to children in low-income communities.
He is co-founder and former president of Evercore Partners, a financial services firm that advises clients on mergers, acquisitions, and other transactions. In 2008, he was seriously injured in a bicycle accident and now simply calls himself Evercore Inc.
In 2010, he became employment advisor to the city of Villaraigosa, assuming the lofty title of first vice mayor and being given broad discretion to enter into business deals on Villaraigosa’s behalf at a time when the city was struggling to emerge from its worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
Beutner worked closely with Chinese electric vehicle company BYD to make LA its North American headquarters, while also overseeing decisions by the Department of Water and Power and other agencies.
After a little more than a year on the job, Beutner filed his paperwork to start the job. He had the backing of former Mayor Richard Riordan and many in the business community, but withdrew in 2012.
In 2014, Beutner became publisher of the Los Angeles Times, focusing on digital experimentation and building deeper connections with readers. He held the position for about a year before joining the Times’ parent company, Tribune Publishing Company.
Three years later, Mr. Beutner was hired as superintendent of LA Unified, which serves school children in Los Angeles and more than 20 cities and unincorporated areas. He soon found himself at odds with the teachers’ union, which went on a six-day strike.
The union agreed to a total pay increase of 6% over two years. Beutner signed a parcel tax to generate additional education funding, but voters.
Beutner’s biggest impact may have been his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. The district distributed millions of meals to needy families and worked to upgrade air filtration systems in schools once campuses reopened.
After leaving the district in 2022, Beutner led a successful campaign to require a portion of California’s general fund to go toward visual and performing arts education.
Earlier this year, Beutner and several others sued L.A. Unified, alleging the district misused state arts funds and denied students legally required arts instruction.
