The George Gascón factor in L.A. mayor’s race: Caruso, Buscaino back the recall

George Gascón, shown in December, is the target of a second recall drive. On Monday, real estate developer Rick Caruso joined City Councilman Joe Buscaino in backing the second attempt to recall the county’s top prosecutor in as many years. USC law professor Jody David Armour said the Gascón recall campaign was playing a kind of proxy role in the race, with supporters aiming to show that they’re “a traditional, tough-on-crime, law-and-order candidate” by calling for Gascón’s ouster. “As I’ve said, many times, I firmly believe that George Gascón needed to stand up, admit that many of his policies have put the city of Los Angeles in peril, crime is rising, change those policies, or he should step down, and if he doesn’t step down, he should be recalled,” Caruso said in a video released Monday. “Nothing should distract us from the real work of bringing our unhoused neighbors indoors, keeping our neighborhoods safe, and creating good-paying jobs.” While Caruso and Buscaino’s broadsides of Gascón certainly won’t help the embattled district attorney, they also weren’t entirely unexpected from the two candidates who lean furthest to the right in the mayoral field.