Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos shocked members of the entertainment industry with his full-page ad on The Hollywood Reporter’s website just two days before Election Day. Sarandos asked fellow residents of Los Angeles to vote for Rick Caruso for Mayor of Los Angeles. This puts him at odds with some big names in Hollywood, as well as a former president.

I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a full digital/mobile page takeover on The Hollywood Reporter (maybe they’ve done it before and I’ve just missed it). But here’s Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos asking people of LA to vote Rick Caruso for Mayor of Los Angeles on Nov. 8th. pic.twitter.com/GDliFru1L3

— julia alexander (@loudmouthjulia) November 6, 2022

It’s interesting that Sarandos calls Caruso “the Democrat I’ve been waiting for” because up until three years ago, Caruso was a Republican. Caruso has flipped back and forth from Republican to Independent before he landed on Democrat in recent years. For most of his adult life, he was a Republican. Sarandos is a “lifetime Democrat” as he says in the ad. The issues affecting American voters in other races also affect voters in the L.A. race and Sarandos lists them, especially crime, which has personally affected his family.

In the ad, Sarandos told voters to cast their ballot for Caruso if they are “tired of the inhumane way the homeless population lives in this city, the filth that goes uncleaned, the corruption in city hall, shrinking law enforcement and rising crime and now, the threat of even high taxes.” His mother-in-law, philanthropist Jacqueline Avant, was killed during a burglary at her Beverly Hills home in December 2021.

“This city is at an inflection point,” the ad continued. “This election is the most important in memory. There are problems in the world and in the country that need to be solved, but it starts locally.”

Sarandos endorsed Caruso in late May and listed Caruso’s success as a businessman as a key reason for his support.

Honored to have the endorsement of Ted Sarandos, the visionary businessman and Netflix's Co-CEO and Chief Content Officer. It feels great to know that others share a passion for our communities and want to meaningfully contribute to their improvement. Thank you, Ted. #CarusoCan pic.twitter.com/dMANoYjOAu

— Rick J. Caruso (@RickCarusoLA) May 28, 2022

Sarandos is joined by other public figures such as Chris Pratt, Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry, Snoop Dog, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Elon Musk in their support for Caruso. The billionaire real estate developer is in a tight race with Rep. Karen Bass. She is endorsed by Barack Obama, director Steven Speilberg, and actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The Obamas, you may remember, were given a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract with Netflix after he left office. That’s got to be a little awkward now.

Caruso is endorsed by the city’s police union.

Bass is a member of the US House, an office she’s held since 2013 after starting her career in the California State Assembly. Her platform issues include addressing the city’s growing homelessness crisis and public safety concerns.

Caruso, a billionaire luxury real estate and shopping center developer, is similarly focused on the homelessness crisis and housing affordability in the area. Caruso, who previously served as president of the Los Angeles Police Commission, has also promised to tackle rising crime rates in LA.

The race between Bass and Caruso is also turning out to be one of this year’s most expensive races. The billionaire has poured an astronomical amount of his own money into his mayoral campaign. So far, he’s spent nearly $100 million.

If I had to bet, I’d bet that Bass is toast. She’s too tied to the Biden administration and voters are fed up with Biden and his failures. Remember when Bass was reported to be on Biden’s short list of possible vice-president candidates? Caruso switched to the Democrat Party because he knew a Republican has not been elected mayor in many years. The last Republican mayor, Richard Riordan, endorsed Caruso in May.

Bass may not have earned support from law enforcement as Caruso has because when she was the Congressional Black Caucus chair, she supported reducing police department budgets to fund social service agencies. She’s careful to say she doesn’t support defunding the police, but if you’re reducing their budgets, it’s the same result. Politicians think voters are stupid.

The mayor’s race is supposed to be non-partisan, like in other cities, but everyone knows the candidate’s political affiliation. If it didn’t matter, Caruso wouldn’t have switched parties, right?

It’s Election Day in America. It’s going to be a great day. L.A. may even get a Republican pretending to be a Democrat as its mayor.