Austin Beutner, a former L.A. Unified superintendent, says City Hall has come up woefully short on wildfires, homelessness, housing and affordability.
Sometimes it seems the election season in California never ends.
Even while the final ballots for the Nov. 4 election are being counted, campaigns for the next election — the June 2, 2026 state primary — are already well underway.
With the new congressional maps approved by voters earlier this week, Californians are going to start hearing from Democrats launching challenges to oust the six vulnerable GOP House members. And in Los Angeles, voters will be choosing council members in several seats, as well as city controller, city attorney and mayor.
We will be delving into local and state legislative races over the next seven months, starting today with an in-depth discussion with Austin Beutner, a former superintendent of the L.A. Unified School District, who is challenging Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in her re-election bid.
We had a wide-ranging discussion about the issues facing Los Angeles and the markers of a good local leader.
I don’t want to give too much away, but I think there are definitely things that you haven’t heard in other, shorter interviews. Like that time when President Trump called for Beutner to be fired from L.A. Unified. And how he would handle enforcement of the new state law that makes it a crime for federal agents to hide behind masks as they confront people. And his approach to improving Los Angeles’ housing and affordability crises.
Please take a listen. And stay tuned for the another edition of Golden State Report Podcast soon.