LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Former Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Austin Beutner is expected to announce his plans to run for mayor of Los Angeles, Eyewitness News has learned.

Beutner, 65, is an investment banker and philanthropist who ran the city's school district from 2018-21. His expected candidacy means he will run against current Mayor Karen Bass, who is seeking a second four-year term in June.

Beutner questioned Bass' record on crime and development issues, but focused his most withering criticism on her response to January's devastating Palisades Fire, telling the Los Angeles Times that the city showed a "failure of leadership" as historically strong winds spread flames through the expensive coastal enclave, gutting thousands of homes and killing 12 people.

The f

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