Caruso and Bass appear together at Palisades groundbreaking. But will he endorse her?

Mayor Karen Bass and billionaire developer Rick Caruso appeared together at a groundbreaking for the new Palisades Recreation Center Tuesday, in a sign that the sometimes icy relationship between the two 2022 mayoral rivals is thawing.

Bass is now in a fight for re-election against challenger Nithya Raman. Caruso was complimentary of the mayor’s leadership at the groundbreaking for the new center, which will replace one destroyed in the 2025 Palisades fire.

“What was important about the mayor’s leadership is she rallied the troops together in the city. She set out to break new ground by forming this massive public private partnership that has never been done before,” Caruso said, adding that the mayor is a “great leader.”

But pressed by reporters on whether he would endorse Bass for re-election, Caruso demurred, calling both Bass and Councilmember Raman “tough choices.”

“I don’t think either option is great,” said Caruso.

Bass sidestepped the question when The Times asked her if she would welcome Caruso’s endorsement, saying the groundbreaking ceremony was “not political.” An aide cut her off before the mayor could say more.

Bass beat Caruso by nearly 10 percentage points in the 2022 election, even after Caruso spent more than $100 million of his own fortune on his doomed campaign.

Many thought Caruso would challenge Bass for re-election this year, as he continued to publicly criticize the mayor.

Caruso is a Palisades resident whose son and daughter lost their homes in the Palisades fire. He has called reporting from The Times that cited sources who said Bass softened the findings of an after-action report about the fire an “absolute outrage.”

“Karen Bass actively covered up a report meant to examine the most significant disaster in Los Angeles history,” he said. “This is a complete loss of public trust and an intentional act of covering up the actions that led to people dying.”

He eventually decided not to try for a second time, opening a path for Raman to make her last-minute bid. At the time, Caruso said he was “deeply disappointed to step back from an election I believe is so critical to California’s future.”

On Tuesday, he struck a brighter tone as he and the mayor celebrated breaking ground on the recreation center, which will include sports fields, tennis courts and a gym. The center will be built using 100% philanthropic donations from more than a half dozen groups — including Caruso’s nonprofit, Steadfast LA, helped raise more than $40 million.

JJ Redick, the Lakers coach, whose nonprofit LA Strong Sports is involved in the rebuilding and fundraising effort for the recreation center, compared Bass and Caruso’s relationship to an imperfect connection on a sports team.

“Let’s be honest, connections are not always perfect,” he said. “But I’m grateful that myself, Rick Caruso, Mayor Bass and her office, that we could all be connected on this project.”

Despite Caruso’s qualms with Bass’ tenure as mayor, he has softened toward the mayor as the election has approached — potentially signaling he might endorse her over a challenge from Bass’ left.

Caruso said Tuesday he hadn’t given much thought to endorsing and said he was meeting with Raman soon to discuss her run.

Caruso, a former Republican who registered as a Democrat in 2022, could help Bass attract more conservative voters who may have voted for Spencer Pratt or tech entrepreneur Adam Miller in the primary but are now up for grabs. But it could also potentially dent her standing with more liberal voters.

Caruso has started talking more online and on the news about the Democratic Socialists of America, a left-wing group that endorsed Raman for mayor.

“DSA policies will not solve LA’s problems,” he posted on X on Monday. They will only make them worse.” Los Angeles deserves common sense solutions.”