Candidates concerned that Mayor Garcetti will leave position midterm

Daily Bruin Candidates in Los Angeles’ mayoral race said they think incumbent Mayor Eric Garcetti will be too preoccupied with running for higher office in 2018 to tackle the city’s fundamental issues.
Although political consultant Bill Carrick said Garcetti has not yet decided about running for higher office, some candidates believe he will run for governor or senator when Gov. Jerry Brown or Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein steps down next year.
Mayoral candidate Mitchell Schwartz, who ran former President Barack Obama’s California campaign in 2008, said he thinks Garcetti is planning to run because he abandoned campaign finance programs that would set spending limits on political campaigns. Doing so allows him to raise an unlimited amount money for any campaign, he said.
Due to a change in election dates, the next mayor will serve five and a half years, rather than the standard four. Schwartz asked Garcetti last month to pledge that he will refrain from running for higher office in the first year of his term as mayor if he is re-elected. Since the election for governor or senator is in 2018, he said Garcetti would have to start campaigning immediately after being re-elected as mayor.
“Being elected as mayor is a commitment to serve,” he said. “If you have no intention of holding that position, you should not run.”
Garcetti refused to take the pledge, calling Schwartz’s demand a political stunt, the Los Angeles Times reported. Schwartz said he thinks Garcetti’s refusal to commit to just one year of being mayor without running for higher office is further proof of Garcetti’s intentions.
In his first term as mayor, Garcetti raised the minimum wage and lowered the business tax. He backed two measures, Measure M and Measure HHH, which voters approved to expand the city’s public transportation system and address homelessness, respectively.
The candidates said they think Garcetti’ ...


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