*Austin Beutner to explore run for mayor

L.A.'s first deputy mayor is submitting papers to the City Ethics Commission, reports the LAT, which will allow him to raise money for a campaign. Beutner, who has hinted at a mayoral run for several months, is a former investment banker with limited visibility and zero campaign experience. That could be a problem next to other potential candidates, including City Controller Wendy Greuel, Council members Jan Perry and Eric Garcetti, and Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who all have established constituencies. On the other hand, a crowded field might serve to splinter the vote and give someone like Beutner a chance of sneaking into a runoff. So who knows. With Beutner getting into the race, one obvious question is what happens to developer Rick Caruso, who has been considering a run and would likely campaign on a similar business-focused agenda.

*Beutner is certainly at odds with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on the state of the economy. Here's the mayor at yesterday's State of the City Address:

Despite the global recession, our local economy is growing stronger. We can now see clear evidence of a gathering recovery in Los Angeles. Unemployment is down from its August peak .... Our housing and construction markets are coming to life - with a 67 percent surge in housing starts and a 22 percent increase in planning revenues, both early indicators of future construction jobs. At the start of my second term, I promised to make job creation job number one - and we have.

Now here's Beutner in an interview with Bloomberg:

The Golden State's unemployment rate "is more intractable than folks want to acknowledge," said Austin Beutner, a former investment banker who heads economic development for Los Angeles, the nation's second most-populous city. "I think we've got a longer way to go than we might have thought two years ago."

**Update: The mayor's office has just announced the "retirement" of Beutner as first deputy mayor. "I thank Austin for all of his hard work and wish him well," said Villaraigosa. There's no mention of his possible run for mayor. From the statement:

"At the start of my second term, I promised to make job creation job number one. Austin Beutner accepted the challenge and together we transformed the way this City approaches job creation. As a result, we no longer let the palm trees do our marketing. Together, we've made LA more business-friendly, from cutting red tape to providing tax breaks for job creation to engaging in sales calls to our customers.