I have decided to withdraw from the Los Angeles Mayoral race.
While everything I’ve learned exploring the possibility for next March’s election has reinforced my view of how much our city needs leadership who will solve problems, it has also reminded me of my responsibilities as a husband and father.
My family has been my biggest supporter in this effort, but my own needs at this time are for me to be engaged with my family in a way that is at odds with the demands of a campaign. I am grateful to many people who have supported this effort with thoughts, efforts and resources. It has been a privilege to work with old friends and make many new ones.
I owe a special thanks to those who made an effort to ask their friends, colleagues and neighbors to engage with us.
We will return all of the money contributed to our campaign and hope you feel your time has made a difference. Together, we raised the dialogue and started a real conversation in Los Angeles about the need to do things differently.
Our city is a special place – blessed with diversity and many unique neighborhoods that together make one of the great cities in the world, America’s window to Asia and Latin America.
Los Angeles has a bright future because of the wonderful people who have chosen to call it home, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to have met with so many of them and share ideas on how we can work together to make things better.
Los Angeles will only realize its potential if city leaders face up to the challenges and make the right choices. We need to fix our schools because good public education is a civil right and the foundation of our future.
We need to create solutions to the problems of traffic, broken streets and sidewalks, and the lack of adequate public transportation.
We need a city that can live within its means and can effectively provide core services like police and fire. We need once again to make Los Angeles a city where private sector employers can prosper, creating good paying jobs and providing the tax base to pay for the services the city has to provide.
I intend to keep working to make a difference in our community. We can’t settle for the same old promises only to find nothing gets done. We face tough choices ahead. We will need elected leadership who will make the right ones.
Real change in Los Angeles is only going to happen if you stay engaged.
In the words of the great philosopher, the Lorax, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
Thank you for your support and engagement.
Mr. Beutner may be contacted AustinForLA.org
