Former LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner is expected to challenge Mayor Karen Bass when she runs for reelection in 2026, according to multiple reports.

The 65-year-old investment banker and philanthropist, who ran the city's school district from 2018-21, is planning to announce his candidacy Monday.

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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 newspaper 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 fire damaged Beutner's house, and his mother-in-law's

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