SouthernWorldwide.com – Reality television personality Spencer Pratt has candidly discussed his mayoral campaign for Los Angeles and his strategic vision for the city during an exclusive interview with CBS News.
At 42 years old, Pratt is currently positioned second in the race to lead the United States’ second-largest city. His potential election would mark a significant shift, as he would be the first Republican mayor of Los Angeles since Richard Riordan concluded his second term in 2001.
Despite lacking prior political experience, Pratt articulated to CBS News’ Adam Yamaguchi his conviction that his straightforward, “common sense” approach will resonate with the electorate. He stated his belief that voters are seeking authenticity, remarking, “I don’t do the politician talk, and I think it’s refreshing to people to hear somebody speak from the heart, be authentic.”
When questioned about a recent UCLA poll indicating a substantial 40% of voters remain undecided, Pratt interpreted this as a clear sign that Angelenos are prepared to move beyond the incumbent Mayor Karen Bass. He referenced the mayor’s handling of the previous year’s devastating wildfires, an event that personally impacted him as he was among the celebrities whose homes were destroyed by the Palisades Fire.
Pratt conveyed that he does not place excessive reliance on polling data, suggesting that his supporters might not be accessible to pollsters. However, he asserted that the poll results underscore a critical sentiment: “What it shows is that Mayor Bass has the worst record in LA history.”
The mayoral contest features Pratt, Bass, and Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman, who recently participated in a contentious debate. Pratt, widely recognized for his portrayal of a villain on MTV’s “The Hills,” believes that this platform and his campaign are enabling a re-evaluation of his public persona.
“People know when I was a reality villain, I was doing it to get paid. It was strategic. I was working with producers,” he explained. “I’m being very strategic to win and save LA, but there’s no strategy when you’re standing in an Airstream on your burned out town. You can’t fake that.”
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Drawing parallels to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who achieved a surprise victory over former Governor Andrew Cuomo, Pratt acknowledged a shared promise of change, though their policy platforms diverge significantly.
“The one thing I connect with is I know he promised his voters (buses) will be free, and I’m promising my voters the metro, Metro buses, the Metro trains, they will be free from urine, feces, stabbing, attacks,” Pratt stated. “So that’s kind of similar. We both had free things for public transportation.”
He further elaborated on the connection: “But you know, I think he connected with people because they felt like change. They wanted change. That message would never connect here because we’ve already been doing the socialist experiment pretty much for six plus years, and it’s failed here in Los Angeles. So I think my message is, why it’s resonating on social media, is it’s the truth. It’s authentic. It’s from my heart. I didn’t want to be a politician. I’m standing in what happened because of failed politicians. That’s why I’m here.”
Pratt also drew a comparison to former President Barack Obama, highlighting Obama’s background as a “community organizer” prior to his Senate career and noting that he had “no experience running the whole entire country” before his presidential run.
“When people have passion and they care and they have common sense and they have humility to know ‘I don’t know everything,’ but what I do know is all these very smart, successful people in Los Angeles want to get around me, get behind me, and make sure that LA is the number-one city in the world,” Pratt expressed.
The election for Mayor of Los Angeles is scheduled for June 2. Should no candidate secure a majority of the votes, the top two contenders will proceed to a runoff election on November 3.
The full interview with Spencer Pratt can be viewed above.
