LOS ANGELES: Leading candidates for mayor of Los Angeles are trumpeting the need to reduce business taxes to grow the city's economy, even as the nation's second-largest metropolis scrounges for new revenue to plug a budget hole set to top $1 billion over the next four years.
A non-partisan primary will be held on Tuesday, and if no candidate secures a majority, the top two will advance to a May runoff to decide who will replace Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
One of the nation's most high-profile Latino politicians, Villaraigosa has held the office for eight years and cannot run for re-election due to term limits.
A recent independent poll shows that two Democratic elected officials from inside City Hall, Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti, and conservative talk-show host Kevin James are the top three contenders for the post.
Greuel and Garcetti have at times borrowed a theme promoted by Republican candidates at the national level by calling for a reduction in business taxes to promote economic growth and increase city revenues. James, the only Republican among the top candidates, has taken a similar position.
This follows years of complaints by business groups that Los Angeles imposes too many burdens on commerce.
The top contenders are also opposing a half-cent sales tax increase that is on the March 5 ballot and is backed by Villaraigosa.
"Somewhere along the line, the ghost of Ronald Reagan took over the campaign for mayor of Los Angeles," said Dan Schnur, who has been one of California's top Republican political and media strategists.
Elections in Los Angeles are non-partisan, which reduces the role of party politics. The city has 3.8 million residents.
All three top contenders have said they want to overhaul the city's gross receipts tax on businesses. The tax varies by type of commerce, with Internet-based companies charged $1 per $1,000 in revenue, and professional service firms docked $5 per $1,000.
James, a former federal prosecutor and local AM radio host, said the tax should be eliminated because it takes money "right off the top."
"There's two groups that get away with that: The city of Los Angeles and the mafia, so we ought to be able to reform that," he said.
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