Kyle Richards’ ex Mauricio Umansky talks about running for Los Angeles mayor
Mauricio Umansky has been thinking about getting into politics. The longtime The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member, who was previously married to Kyle Richards, said he wants to “do something great” for Los Angeles.
“I’m not running for mayor yet. I never said never,” Umansky noted on the Monday, August 10, episode of the “Money Rehab” podcast.
“Maybe one day. I’ve thought about it a lot — but not yet. I’m a registered independent, and I believe in the middle. I think we’ve lost the middle. I think it’s kind of gone, which is kind of sad,” he added.
Middle ground
The confounder of The Agency said things are “so extremist right now,” adding that people need to focus on “finding balance and finding that middle again.”
Podcast host Nicole Lapin asked why she should vote for him, prompting Umansky to share a few causes he’s passionate about. “Because I’m going to make L.A. great again,” he quipped.
“Look, we need to do a lot of great things for L.A.,” he continued. “On the financial side, I’m definitely more on the Republican side. [Ronald] Reagan was an L.A. guy and an L.A. native, and I do believe in Reaganomics. If you took Reaganomics today, they’re certainly not a Republican side. That’s more of a middle thing.”
Bring back Hollywood
Umansky said L.A. needs to bring more businesses and jobs back to the city. He also wants to see Hollywood become a priority again.
“We’ve lost so much of Hollywood. We need to give Hollywood incentives,” he argued. “What put Los Angeles on the map was television and movies.”
“The reason we have people come from all over the world to visit L.A. is because of the movies. If we stop filming movies and television here, it’s not only about the employment that’s coming, it’s about the tourism,” he continued.
Spencer Pratt’s run for mayor
Umansky is also worried about L.A.’s real estate market, saying international buyers are “gone.” The real estate agent added, “If we don’t start fixing that now, that’s going to affect us.”
He isn’t the first reality star to get into L.A. politics. Earlier this summer, The Hills alum Spencer Pratt ran for mayor. Umansky said he voted for Pratt in the primaries, but Pratt didn’t receive enough votes to move on to the November general election.
When asked if Pratt’s loss made him reconsider his political future, Umansky said he’s still figuring things out.
Working on L.A.’s ‘bad PR’
“I haven’t decided whether I want to run or not. It’s a major commitment, and it’s also very difficult to run against the Democratic Party in Los Angeles, which is also kind of sad,” Umansky said.
“They’re making promises that are unsustainable in order to win votes and they’re not good for the city just to win votes,” he added.
Umansky also wants city leaders to work on L.A.’s “bad PR,” explaining that changing the way the city is perceived could help.
“[We need to] change the PR that’s out there — but actually change it [so] that we are safe here,” he said. “We cannot have criminals get out of jail in three days. We just can’t do that because what happens is more crime happens. They’re not scared of being in jail. They’re not scared of being put away.”