Story comes courtesy of The City Maven.
By Alice M. Walton
After 15 months on the job, Austin Beutner is out as first deputy mayor and CEO of the Office of Economic and Business Policy, according to a statement from the mayor's office.
There was no immediate word from Beutner, who is expected to file papers by the end of today to start raising money for a 2013 mayoral run.
A statement from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa calls the leave a retirement and suggests that the massive undertaking of turning around Los Angeles' economy is done:
At the start of my second term, I promised to make job creation job number one. Austin Beutner accepted the challenge and together we transformed the way this City approaches job creation. As a result, we no longer let the palm trees do our marketing. Together, we've made LA more business-friendly, from cutting red tape to providing tax breaks for job creation to engaging in sales calls to our customers.
We have also developed an affluence of innovative economic business policies that have expanded State Enterprise Zones, empowered small businesses, created tax relief for internet companies and new businesses, and designated more investment towards local businesses. Finally, we have had large employers with ripe potential for job growth such as Google, Target, and Mission Foods move to Los Angeles.
The Office of Economic and Business Policy will continue to leverage every City resource at our disposal to attract businesses and the jobs that come with them to Los Angeles. I thank Austin for all of his hard work and wish him well."
Beutner joined the mayor's office in January 2010, and was immediately tasked with overseeing the three proprietary departments -- Water and Power, LAX, Port of Los Angeles -- creating jobs and making the city business-friendly.