Two-thirds of Angelenos do not have a preference in the 2013 race for Los Angeles mayor, according to a poll released today.
Overall, 66 percent of the 1,605 people polled do not have a preference in the race, includes Controller Wendy Greuel, Councilman Eric Garcetti, former Deputy Mayor Austin Beutner, attorney Kevin James and Councilwoman Jan Perry. Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky was included in the poll.
Full results after the jump.
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The culture of City Hall, which begins with the city’s leadership, is what holds Los Angeles back from being a forward-thinking city that puts smart policies before bureaucratic rules, Austin Beutner said Friday at the American Institute of Architects’ second in a series of conversations with mayoral candidates.
While detailing the city’s governance problems, Beutner told the crowd of urban planners, architects and reporters that he supports the development of Farmers Field, while noting that the process has not been open enough. Last year, Beutner co-chaired Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s blue ribbon commission that analyzed the Anschutz Entertainment Group’s plans to knock down part of the Convention Center and build a professional football stadium.
“Has the process been transparent as far as the city is concerned? I don’t think it’s been transparent enough,” Beutner said, adding that city officials should be doing a better job of discussing community benefits and the stadium’s aesthetic. “Whatever gets eight votes or 15 votes is what gets done in this city.”
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When mayoral candidate Austin Beutner filed his campaign finance report with the Ethics Commission, it showed he raised $222,000 in a five-month period, putting him way behind most of the other serious candidates in the field. What the report also showed was that Beutner had more than $500,000 in expenses — significantly more than his competitors.
According to the Ethics Commission, the Beutner campaign had $131,117 in cash on hand as of Dec. 31, 2011. In comparison, Councilman Eric Garcetti had $953,535 and Controller Wendy Greuel had $943,996.
In a press release to reporters, Beutner tried to spin the fundraising report to say he was more focused on connecting with voters than doing the “ask.”
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Mayoral candidate Austin Beutner was let go by two high-profile political consultants Friday, and today Beutner said he wanted to focus on an upcoming policy speech rather than the personnel change.
Ace Smith and Sean Clegg of SCN Strategies were on board when Beutner announced his candidacy last April. The two, who have both worked for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other politicians inside City Hall, had urged Beutner to go further in his criticisms and critiques of Los Angeles city government, something that fell short in his recent speech to Town Hall Los Angeles. That difference of opinion was first reported by the LA Weekly.
“I don’t think there’s much of a story there,” Beutner told The City Maven. “You acknowledge it and move
on.”
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