Chris Pratt joined a number of Hollywood celebrities with his endorsement of a Republican candidate in Los Angeles’s upcoming mayoral election.
The actor, who is known for his roles in Parks and Recreation, Zero Dark Thirty, Moneyball and The Terminal List, took to Instagram to endorse Rick Caruso for mayor.
“I don't normally support political candidates. But in this election, there's too much to lose,” Pratt said in a written message.
“I’ve lived in LA forever 20 years. It’s been great to me,” he wrote. “In that time I’ve seen what many residents here have seen, the city’s gradual decline into pain and utter disarray. If you live here, you know exactly what I’m talking about.”
"If you're an LA voter, I urge you to vote for @rickcarusola,” Pratt told his followers. “He knows how to get s--t done. He's the guy for our city. Rick Caruso for LA Mayor."
Caruso is a billionaire real estate mogul who has also served as the president of the Los Angeles Police Commission. Born in the city in 1959, he was the Chairman of the Board of Trustees at his alma mater, the University of Southern California.
He has stressed the importance of addressing homelessness and crime during his campaign. Caruso said, if elected, he would declare a State of Emergency in order to house 30,000 homeless people during his first 300 days in office.
"I take a complicated problem, distill it down into multiple solutions, build the best — and the brightest of a team — and work every day and never give up to solve it," said Caruso, per CBS News.
He has also pledged to increase the number of police officers on the streets by addressing recruitment and retention issues – including by changing the mayor’s office’s attitude toward law enforcement.
“We are the most under-policed large city in America per capita,” Caruso said. “We've got crime that's out of control."
Democrat Congresswoman Karen Bass has also focused her mayoral campaign on the city’s homelessness problem. She has advocated for a “comprehensive approach that addresses the immediate crisis along with the root causes: lack of affordable housing, health care, access to job opportunities and residential alcohol and drug treatment,” per The Sun.
Violent crime is on the rise in Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles Times reported in March that “robberies involving firearms were up 57% from 2020 and 60% from 2019 — with hundreds more incidents so far this year than last … property crime was up more than 5% over last year, with car thefts again a major concern,” and that “compared to this point in 2020, vehicle thefts are up nearly 44%.”
At a press conference in January, LAPD Chief Michel Moore reported an 11.8% increase in annual homicides and a 9% increase in shooting victims.
Pratt is the son-in-law of former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who appointed Caruso to take over management of the Los Angeles Coliseum during his tenure.
Pratt’s mother-in-law, Maria Shiver, has also publicly voiced her support for Caruso.
“This race is super tight and every vote matters. If you want Los Angeles to be different than it is today, the choice is clear with @RickCarusoLA,” she tweeted on Nov. 4. “Change is critical to the city’s future. It’s up to us - let’s go!”
Caruso has also been endorsed by Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos, Twitter CEO Elon Musk, rapper Snoop Dogg, actor George Lopez, actress Gwyneth Paltrow, pop star Katy Perry and reality television personality Kim Kardashian.
