With one day left to declare candidacy in the race for Los Angeles mayor, all eyes are on Rick Caruso, the billionaire developer behind outdoor shopping meccas like The Grove. Caruso ran and narrowly lost to Karen Bass in the last election, then became a fierce critic of the mayor — never more so than in the aftermath of the devastating wildfires that wiped out the Pacific Palisades and Altadena in early 2025. Caruso famously hired private firefighters to save his Palisades Village, successfully sparing it from the flames. Bass, alternately, was in Ghana for a diplomatic trip as L.A. burned, a decision she later admitted to regretting. Caruso announced several weeks ago he would not be seeking public office. As the minutes tick away to the campaign deadline, however, chatter has grown that he could be lured back into the race. The chatter has grown even louder due to his outrage over a Los Angeles Times report that Bass — who is running for reelection — directed officials to soften details in a fires report, in …