Developer Rick Caruso could make Los Angeles mayoral race a real contest

Having spent his summer flirting with the idea of running for mayor, Caruso has until the Nov. 8 filing deadline to commit to a campaign. The man who gave Los Angeles the upscale shopping mecca the Grove has been consulting with political advisors and is expected to announce a decision next week.

Caruso's political dalliance has added a hint of drama to what was promising to be a sleepy campaign. Villaraigosa thus far faces no well-funded opposition. His supporters and detractors say that is due either to his successes as mayor or potential challengers' decisions to wait for an easier, wide-open race when term limits will force Villaraigosa to leave office in 2013. Or perhaps sooner, should he run for governor or go to Washington in a possible Democratic administration.

Even if Caruso relied on his considerable fortune to fund his campaign, he would face many challenges, and not just because he would be jumping into the race five months before election day. A longtime supporter of President Bush and fundraiser for GOP candidates, Caruso would have to win over a city where the vast majority of voters are neither rich nor Republican.

Caruso is also a real estate developer -- not a popular title for many of the city's most politically active residents, said Cal State Fullerton political scientist Raphael Sonenshein

"That said, I wouldn't write off Caruso," he added. "First of all, when you have lots of money, you can control your own fate in many ways. . . . The question is: Is the disappointment with Villaraigosa so widespread?"

Richard Riordan, the last Republican elected mayor of Los Angeles, believes that the deteriorating economy has created enough voter discontent to provide an opening for a fiscally astute, successful businessman like Caruso.

Riordan, a venture capitalist, swept into office in 1993 on the heels of the riots the previous year, running on the slogan "Tough enough to turn L.A. around" and a strategy to rescue the city from its economic slide and racial strife.

"Today, it's not as bad as it was when I ran. By the same token . . . people don't feel as confident as they did four years ago," Riordan said this week.

Riordan did not challenge an incumbent, however, waiting until the retirement of five-term Mayor Tom Bradley.