Austin Beutner, the former Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, has officially entered the race to challenge incumbent Mayor Karen Bass.

“I’m running for LA Mayor. After 17 years in public life, I’ve learned how to get things done and how special LA is. But our city is adrift, and it’s time for us to work together to get LA back on track,” Beutner, running as a Democrat, said in a post on the social platform X Monday morning.

His decision to run comes amid a backdrop of challenges faced by Los Angeles, including the deployment of the National Guard under President Trump’s administration, contentious immigration policies, and devastating wildfires earlier this year.

Mayor Bass has faced criticism, particularly regarding her handling of the wildfire crisis, which was exacerbated by her decision to travel abroad at a critical moment, resulting in a dip in her approval ratings.

“I voted for Karen Bass last time. We had hopes, but now even she admits we need a citywide turnaround. I agree, Los Angeles needs change. This isn’t an ordinary time, and I’m not an ordinary candidate,” Beutner said in a video posted to YouTube Monday.

Earlier this month, Bass hit back at Trump’s suggestion of military use in American cities as “training grounds,” saying the president was “creating warfare within” these cities. 

During an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett, Bass discussed the president’s comments at a large gathering of the nation’s top generals and admirals.

“The statements that were made to the military yesterday, acknowledging that we are going to experiment with our cities and use our cities as training grounds for warfare, what that is saying is that the president of the United States wants to turn the U.S. military against the American people,” Bass said.

The Hill has reached out to the Bass campaign for comment.