Tuesday 7 June 2022 09:52 PM Gwyneth Paltrow votes for billionaire mall magnate Rick Caruso for LA Mayor ... trends now Actress Gwyneth Paltrow asked fans to vote for billionaire Rick Caruso, a Republican-turned-Democrat for mayor of Los Angels over his tough-on-crime stance. The celebrity entrepreneur, sporting disheveled hair, took to Instagram on Tuesday to reveal she place her ballot for the mall magnate, writing: 'My crazy hair and I voted for @rickcarusola for Los Angeles mayor today!' 'We need Rick desperately to get our streets cleaned up and functioning. Rick is a dear friend, a good man and a great business man who has always been dedicated to LA and can get things done,' Paltrow added. It's the latest endorsement from Paltrow, who was joined by Kim Kardashian, Elon Musk and Snoop Dogg, in supporting Caruso as he vows to crackdown on vagrancy and crime in LA, which continues to see a spree of violent crime and robberies. Gwyneth Paltrow (above) revealed she voted for billionaire Republican-turned-Democrat Rick Caruso for mayor of LA given his tough-on-crime stance Mall magnate Rick Caruso (left) fueled his campaign for mayor with $30 million of his own money to challenged U.S. Democratic U.S. Rep. Karen Bass (right). The two are expected to face off in a run-off election in November Fellow billionaire Kim Kardashian (pictured) also expressed support for Caruso last week REPUBLICAN MALL MAGNATE RICK CARUSO TURNS DEMOCRAT TO RUN FOR LA MAYOR Rick Caruso, 63, had been a long-time Republican who made his wealth through retail, best known for the Grove mall in Los Angeles and Americana mall in Glendale, California. He previously served as a former city police commissioner and as a former board member for the University of Southern California, and has made donations to both Democrat and Republican campaigns over the decades, CNN reported. Caruso entered the 2022 mayoral race to replace outgoing Mayor Eric Garcetti, vowing to crackdown on crime and vagrancy. He has said he would hire 1,500 new cops within his first term and build 30,000 shelter beds in his first 300 days. He also has plans to hire 500 trained mental health and addiction treatment professionals to assist the city's vagrant population, and hopes to hire 500 new sanitation workers to clean the streets and clear out homeless encampments. Caruso has invested $30 million of his own wealth into his campaign as early Tuesday polls show him neck-and-neck with U.S. Democratic U.S. Rep. Karen Bass. The two candidates are expected to head to a run-off election in November. Advertisement Caruso, 63, who has juiced his campaigned with $30 million of his own cash, has put crime at the heart of his campaign against U.S. Democratic U.S. Rep. Karen Bass. The two candidates, who are neck-and-neck in the polls, are expected to head to a run-off election in November. Caruso's plan to fix up the ailing city, where homicides are running at a 15-year high, includes hiring 1,500 more police officers by the end of his first term and building 30,000 shelter beds in his first 300 days, CNN reported. If he wins in the expected November run-off, Caruso also plans on hiring 500 people trained in mental health and addiction treatment to assist the city's vagrant population, along with hiring 500 new sanitation workers to clean the streets and clear out homeless encampments. Caruso, a former city police commissioner and former University of Southern California board member, has garnered support from many celebrities over his ambitious plan. Fellow billionaire Kim Kardashian voiced her support for Caruso on Instagram last week, telling her followers: 'I think that with him he can offer a better path to a better life for people that are homeless in California and in Los Angeles. 'I really believe in what he stands for. I was really inspired by him.' Earlier this week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk weighed in on the race to show his support for Caruso. 'Los Angeles is fortunate to have someone like Rick Caruso running for mayor,' the world's richest man tweeted. 'He's awesome. 'It is rare for me to endorse political candidates,' Musk added. 'My political leanings are moderate, so neither fully Republican nor Democrat, which I am confident is the case for most Americans. 'Executive competence is super underrated in politics – we should care about that a lot more!' Last month, rapper Snoop Dogg also came out to back Caruso in the mayor race, telling the candidate in a Zoom call, 'You got my support,' the LA Times reported. 'We're a part of whatever you're a part of, as far as bringing love to the community and keeping people there that were a part of the community,' the musician added. Elon Musk said he does not normally endorse political candidates but believes Los Angeles would thrive under Caruso Rapper Snoop Dogg (pictured) had also endorsed the Democrat last month Both Caruso and Bass have tried to push for a tough-on-crime stance following the backlash faced by outgoing LA Mayor Eric Garcetti, who oversaw a spike in crime amid California's zero-dollar bail policy. The policy, initiated by the Bail Project during the pandemic to reduce jail crowding, means that suspects are quickly released from custody after they are arrested and booked for misdemeanors and low-level felonies in California. Although much of the criticism has been aimed at LA District Attorney George Gascon, Garcetti had received part of the blame as the city has seen a more than 7 percent rise in violent crime over the last year. As of May 28, the LAPD reported 146 homicides, a 4.3 percent increase from the 140 reported by the same time last year. While the amount of shooting victims and rapes have gone down but 0.7 percent and 13.7 present, respectively, robberies have seen a dramatic uptick as daring thefts continue to plague the city. The LAPD reported 3,796 robberies so far this year, a 21 percent increase from the 3,137 reported by the same time last year. On Monday, Surveillance footage captured the moment a man threw his watch over a fence in a LA suburb after gang members leaped out of a car to mug him. The robbery, which was recorded on security footage, shows a man wearing a black T-shirt and shorts walking down a street and noticing a grey car pull up after. The victim, who observed the car until it came to a stop, then panics when he sees two men suddenly jump out of the vehicle. The victim, wearing a duffle bag over a black Givenchy t-shirt and dark sunglasses, takes off his lavish watch while running away from the two robbers in flip flops - before deciding to throw it over the fence of a home from the sidewalk. Video from a home's security camera captured the moment a man was being chased by two men wearing hoodies and throwing his expensive watch over a fence The two suspects, one wearing a black hoodie while the other was wearing a blue one, fled from the scene in a grey sedan The two unidentified suspects stop chasing the man after realizing he no longer has the watch on him. One of them then puts his hands on the gate, seemingly wanting to climb it to collect the expensive accessory, before running back to the car along with the other robber. Security footage then shows the victim approaching the getaway car and exchanging words with the perpetrators and gesturing at them. The exact location of the robbery and the victim's identity are unknown. The incident came days after Gascon backtracked on claims that the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department 'agreed with the felony charges' a teenager received after he was convicted of driving a car into a mother and her eight-month-old son. An earlier statement put out by Gascon suggested the Sheriff's Department had agreed with the charges, together with the DA's office. But on Saturday, Gascon reversed course saying that the Department had in fact not been consulted over the charges nor the punishment received by a 17-year-old driver who deliberately plowed into a mother who was pushing her baby in a stroller. The 17-year-old, who is only known as KB, has pleaded guilty to two felony counts of assault by means of force likely to produce bodily injury and a single felony count of hit-and-run, according to Fox News. The teen, only identified as KB, tested positive for drugs during the August accident and the victim, whose only been named as Rachel, said he accelerated at her before running her and her son Charlie over (pictured: post-hit) He tried to flee the scene after brutally running her over (pictured), but another driver hit him and caused the teen to crash into a pole The baby was unharmed but the mom suffered from extensive injuries, with some of her skin ripped almost to the bone and glass coming out of her skin for two months. The teen tested positive for drugs at the time and was driving down the one-way street in the wrong direction. Surveillance video shows the driver veering toward the side of the road, hitting the victim Rachel, who last name is unknown, and her son Charlie Rachel testified her victim impact statement that the teen accelerated as he approached her. The young criminal was seen trying to flee the scene before a pickup truck crashed into it and forced the teen to hit a pole. Rachel accused Gascon, of 'prioritizing the livelihood of rotten monsters' with his lenient sentencing, and added: 'George Gascon doesn't value my life or the life of my child, or any other victim out there.' She said she tried to get out of the way in the narrow alley, but the car veered towards her and smashed into her and the stroller, throwing her over the top of the car and crashing into the baby. 'I thought those were the last moments of our lives; we were dead,' she wrote. 'That feeling, along with the memory of a car accelerating directly into us, will haunt me forever.' All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility