by Jason Rzucidlo americajr@americajr.com

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LOS ANGELES -- Austin Beutner was born in Grand Rapids, Mich. He is the son of a public school teacher and a manufacturing engineer. The mayoral candidate graduated from Dartmouth in 1982. He was a successful businessman as a partner at The Blackstone Group and as co-founder of Evercore Partners. In the 1990s, he worked in the State Department under President Clinton. Beutner gave his first policy address as a candidate for mayor on Thursday at Town Hall Los Angeles.

Incumbent Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa is being term-limited out. The primary election will take place on March 5, 2013 and the general election will be held on May 21, 2013. Beutner is the current leader in fundraising for the mayoral race. Other candidates include City Controller Wendy Greuel, City Council President Eric Garcetti, City Councilwoman Jan Perry, Neighborhood Council Boardmember YJ Draiman, Talk Show Host Kevin James, Filmmaker Malcom Mays, Jose F. Di Raimondo and Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt.

“Before Henry Ford made cars affordable a century ago – if you asked government what we needed, they would have told you a faster horse,” he said in his speech. “Los Angeles city government needs to stop trying to sell us on the promise of faster horses. It’s time to do things differently. I grew up in Michigan and remember family trips to Detroit – a city of almost 2 million – where schools were good, city services worked and people had good-paying jobs. Today, Detroit’s a shell of itself, barely 700,000 people. The story is simple – the jobs went away, the tax base disappeared and people left.”

He outlined several areas for job creation in Los Angeles including trade, technology and education.

“One example – electric buses…as first Deputy Mayor, I brought the headquarters of the Chinese electric carmaker BYD to Los Angeles,” Beutner added. “It was the first time in years a company opened its headquarters in L.A. and it opened the door to something even bigger. The future is not buses we buy today, the buses that run on compressed natural gas – it’s electric buses. They’re cheaper to operate – and cheaper means our dollars will go further and bus riders will save money. Electric buses run cleaner, reducing greenhouse gas. These reasons are why, as first deputy mayor, I created a pilot program at MTA to test electric buses in L.A.”

In regards to trade, the mayoral candidate said he would modernize the LAX airport, accelerate investment in port infrastructure, support local exporters, unlock EB-5 money for the filming industry and hire veterans as TSA screeners at LAX. Beutner hopes to embrace L.A.’s universities and partner with USC, UCLA and CSUN as New York City did with Cornell. He said he will better align community college resources with the jobs of today.

In terms of tourism, the mayoral candidate said he would replace LA Inc. with a public-private partnership between the cities of Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica. It will encourage collaboration among cities, businesses and cultural institutions. Finally, Beutner said he would make sure that Farmer’s Field does get built.

“Another piece is Farmer’s Field – that project is a winner,” he explained. “It starts with our convention center. Currently, the two halls are not connected. Have you ever tried to book convention customers in the South Hall? It’s like telling your teenagers they have to sit at the kids’ table at Thanksgiving. Farmers Field will change that – giving Los Angeles the nation’s fifth largest convention center. The covered stadium will allow us to compete for Final Fours, World Cups, and the 2017 Super Bowl. Imagine the 50th anniversary of the big game, being played in the city of its birth. Farmer’s Field means at least 20,000 jobs and it won’t cost taxpayers a penny. Not one penny.”

Beutner hopes to pursue the jobs of the future. He would leverage L.A.’s assets with an experienced workforce and a large market. He would follow-up on the opportunity in electric buses.

“I really appreciated it…it’s good when a candidate can list out the areas to focus on,” said audience member Jason Crockett of Los Angeles. “I will definitely follow his progress. I would love to know more about his education and financial aid plans.”

In regards to transportation, the mayoral candidate said he would stop high-speed rail and spend the money in the Los Angeles community instead. In addition, he would put together a transportation plan based on common sense and technology. However, no further details were given.

“I am an advocate for improving water and power,” said Chuck Ray, who lives in the Mar Vista district of L.A. “He asked me about formal oversight. He put me on an advisory committee. The guy’s brilliant, not the ordinary politician. I met him when he was doing an internship. If he didn’t break his back, he wouldn’t be here now. Villiagosa made him deputy mayor. Other candidates are outsiders. I know all of the other candidates.”

Beutner hopes to support the needs of small businesses by cutting business taxes and regulations, opening regional business centers and by working to get state government in Sacramento in line.

The next meeting of Town Hall Los Angeles will be a partner's event called "California's Prisoners Dilemma." It will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 24th at 6 p.m. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.townhall-la.org.

For more information about L.A. Mayoral Candidate Austin Beutner, visit www.austinforla.org.

Related Story: Mayor Villaraigosa announces plans to reduce traffic congestion in L.A.

PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com