Caruso rules out run against Villaraigosa
Rick Orlov
Contra Costa Times
November 7, 2008
Leaving Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa with a clear path to re-election, billionaire developer Rick Caruso announced Friday that he will not run for the city's highest office in the March election.
Caruso, developer of the popular Grove shopping center in the Fairfax District as well as the Americana at Brand in Glendale, cited the effect such a campaign would have on his family.
"I think I could have won," Caruso said in a telephone interview. "And I really am disappointed that I came to this decision. It all came down to family. I have four great kids and a great wife and they were all for it.
"But I've been around local officials, and I've seen the impact on their families. I know I disappointed a lot of people, but maybe sometime in the future."
Caruso, who reportedly said he was willing to commit some $10 million to the race, has been active in civic affairs for nearly two decades. He served in appointed positions for former Mayors Tom Bradley, Richard Riordan and James Hahn.
Among his posts was president of the Police Commission and the Board of Water and Power Commissioners.
"The mayor is in," said Jaime Regalado, director of the Edmund G. "Pat" Brown Institute of Public Affairs at California State University, Los Angeles. "Rick Caruso represented the only real challenger he would have faced. Even if he was running only for a one-year term, the mayor should easily win re-election."
There has been wide speculation that Villaraigosa is looking to run for governor of California in 2010. He has not issued a declarative statement that he would serve out a full term as mayor.
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