LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles City Councilman Joe Buscaino dropped out of the mayor's race on Thursday and threw his support behind billionaire developer Rick Caruso.
Buscaino, a former L.A. police officer and one of the contest's earliest entrants, saw the message he planned to run on — homelessness and public safety — seized by Caruso after he entered the race.
Both had been running on a platform of cleaning up the city's streets with an intense focus on quickly expanding shelter for homeless people and aggressively clearing encampments. Both also advocated hiring 1,500 new police officers and supporting the recall of District Attorney George Gascón.
