Pepperdine Caruso Law Benefactor and Alumnus Rick J. Caruso (JD ’83) Announces Bid for Los Angeles Mayor

Pepperdine Caruso Law alumnus Rick J. Caruso (JD ‘83) has announced that he is running for mayor of Los Angeles. Current mayor Eric Garcetti is completing his second and final term in office.

Caruso is a former Los Angeles city commissioner, becoming the youngest in the city’s history when Mayor Tom Bradley appointed him commissioner for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. He was selected as president of the Los Angeles Police Commission following his appointment in 2001 where he led the effort to overhaul the police department and recruited William Bratton as police chief.

A longtime member of the law school’s Board of Advisors, Caruso and his family have supported the school through numerous programs in the last three decades, including the Rick J. Caruso Research Fellows Program, the Caruso Family Chair in Law, and the Caruso Family Loan Forgiveness Fund.

In October 2019, Pepperdine University announced that Caruso and his wife, Tina, had made a $50 million commitment to the law school, which was renamed the Rick J. Caruso School of Law. The gift also established the Caruso Scholarship Program with a goal of expanding access to exceptional students from historically underserved populations. Caruso has partnered with Pepperdine Caruso Law to raise an additional $50 million in endowed funds within 10 years.

Caruso formally began the process of running for Los Angeles mayor on February 12 and announced his candidacy on Twitter.