Mayor Villaraigosa’s business czar has joined a long list of aspirants for the City’s top job in 2013. Austin Beutner comes from the investment banking industry and would be expected to take Los Angeles in a more business friendly direction. However, he is seen as void of charismatic and lacks the name recognition of other possible candidates, including Controller Wendy Greuel, Council President Garcetti, developer Rick Caruso and state Senator Alex Padilla. It is a long way to June of 2013 and grocers can expect to get many calls from political fundraisers in the coming months.
