Spencer Pratt faces Los Angeles reality: power and repairs

A sharp column urges Spencer Pratt to think hard about what running for mayor of Los Angeles would actually require—especially when basic problems like long-broken infrastructure persist, budgets tighten, and public safety and homelessness demands collide.

Spencer Pratt is being told, directly, to call back and think through what he’s actually stepping into.

The message is blunt: Los Angeles mayoral work is not a spotlight gig. If he runs—and if he wins—he would have to show up at City Hall five. six. or seven days a week. and then deal with the kind of problems that don’t yield to press cycles. The writer points to one specific, stubborn example: the fountain on the south lawn has not worked in about 60 years.

There are also the city’s streets and sidewalks. More than 30. 000 people are waiting for broken sidewalks to be fixed. the column says. but “there’s no money.” And the political math is unforgiving. The writer argues that if Pratt follows through on a pledge to hire several thousand more police officers. the city would be bankrupt for the next decade or so—leaving leaders needing to take out a loan even for basic. everyday priorities described with biting sarcasm.

The column frames the campaign and possible governing as a collision of forces. It describes unions as likely pressing for their demands. It suggests socialists on the City Council will be waiting with leverage. It also references President Trump’s appearance with Pratt. saying Trump “blew you a cross-country air kiss” and certified Pratt’s MAGA credentials.

Underneath the policy claims is a deeper concern about whether Pratt would be prepared for the day-to-day reality of power. The writer warns that the mayor’s job hours are long. and wherever Pratt goes. someone will want him to fix this problem or that. If Pratt’s campaign proceeds. the writer suggests it may end up feeling like a sequel to the reality show “I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here,” and that he may find himself “praying the show gets canceled.”.

The column also turns personal. The writer says there’s guilt involved—“I’m feeling guilty about all of this”—and argues the writer is partly responsible for Pratt finding himself in contention for the job. The writer says he’s spent years calling out management issues in Los Angeles, but chose not to run.

That decision is tied to an earlier conversation with then-candidate Karen Bass about homelessness. The writer recalls a “long talk” with Bass during Bass’s first run. describing homelessness planning as well as other issues. and notes that Bass asked for the writer’s input. In response. the writer says he reminded Bass that the mayor’s authority is limited by shared power with the City Council. He also cites restrictions and pressures: drug epidemics and untreated mental illness are described as largely under county authority; the writer points to uncertain funding from the nation’s capital; and he says global forces reshaped the economy. creating staggering levels of inequality made worse by the high cost of housing.

Bass, the column says, acknowledged those limits but believed her experience building relationships with county supervisors in Sacramento and Washington would let her create better systems and produce better outcomes.

Then the writer’s assessment shifts to the performance of that approach. “Not great,” the column says. The fire is used as another critical example. The writer claims leaving the country despite forecasts of elevated wildfire risk was “probably the worst mistake” of Bass’s political career. He says the writer does not need to remind Bass’s record because Pratt’s opposition is facing her. and the writer stresses Bass “lost your house in the Palisades. ” adding that the writer says Bass badly underreacted. then stumbled on rebuilding. and then had a hand in downplaying the Fire Department’s failure to adequately deploy and extinguish the fire that became an inferno.

Because of that perceived vulnerability. the column suggests Bass could be left wide open to a challenge—and that she may be depending on luck. It lays out a political path the writer thinks Pratt might exploit: Bass may be competing in November if the two of them “bounce out” Councilmember Nithya Raman and the other candidates in the June 2 primary.

The writer also questions Pratt’s background for the specific demands of governing. He doesn’t say voters won’t be drawn to an outsider; he says they often are. But he adds that it might have helped if Pratt had done something of purpose earlier in life—running a successful business or volunteering at a food bank. for instance. He asks whether Pratt was junior high class president or in the Boy Scouts.

The column also points to a different kind of public-life resume: being the boyfriend and later husband of someone on an MTV reality show called “The Hills.” The show. the writer says. chronicled that woman’s work from “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County” to an internship at Teen Vogue. The writer argues that being connected to that kind of television arc doesn’t prepare a young man for statesmanship—though he also acknowledges that. in a culture that consumes fame. that kind of visibility can carry someone far.

From there, the column ties the criticism back to Pratt’s campaign tactics. It says Pratt’s social media-driven potshots at Bass have not offered anything of substance. It then offers a demand that is simple on its face but heavy in implication: “Let’s arrest drug zombies. OK, then what?”

The column advises Pratt to study what a mayor in Los Angeles can and can’t do about homelessness. pointing specifically to a “primer” written by Doug Smith and Andrew Khouri. It also uses a line from a Philadelphia columnist. describing a politician who wasn’t up to the job as someone who has stood in shallow water so long that he doesn’t realize he can’t swim.

A warning about political promises follows. The writer points to President Trump’s record of offering easy fixes—promising a massive infrastructure program. healthcare reform that would be better and cheaper for everyone. and lowering consumer prices on Day One. The column says that. instead. millions of people are left wondering how they’re going to pay their bills. while describing a claim that Trump “rigs it so he doesn’t have to pay the IRS.”.

And yet the writer says he’s still glad Pratt decided to run. He argues elected officials need constant reminders that their jobs are not secure. even when challengers are “way in over their heads.” He says he would almost like to see Pratt win because it would mean at least one reality show would be worth watching.

The column ends with a personal detail and a lingering fear about preparedness. It notes that Pratt once told his talk show buddy Alex Jones—who insisted that 9/11 was an inside job and that the Sandy Hook massacre of 20 children was a hoax—that “melting ice caps are overrated.” The writer quotes Pratt’s explanation to Jones about polar bears swimming to new pieces of ice.

Then the question tightens to a single test: when the general election rolls around and “the ice begins to break,” will Pratt know how to swim?

Spencer Pratt Los Angeles mayoral race Karen Bass homelessness city council police hiring wildfires City Hall sidewalks fountain