Fed up with the response of local officials in the wake of last year's devastating wildfires, reality TV personality Spencer Pratt said he is running to be the next mayor of Los Angeles.
Pratt, 42, and his wife, Heidi Montag, lost their home in the Pacific Palisades fire, which destroyed more than 6,800 structures and resulted in 12 fatalities.
"This isn't just a campaign, this is a mission," Pratt told those gathered at Wednesday's "They Let Us Burn" event. "We're going to expose the system."
"We're going into every dark corner of L.A. politics and disinfecting the city with our light," he said. "And when we are done, L.A. is going to be camera-ready again."
The event was organized by residents affected by the Palisades fire who say they're frustrated by the response of L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and the city council to the crisis.
The blaze, part of a series of wildfires that ravaged Southern California last year, began Jan. 7, 2025, and caused damage estimated at $25 billion.
Pratt has reportedly never held public office before.
In a statement to Entertainment Weekly, Bass campaign strategist Douglas Herman dismissed Pratt's candidacy.
"It's no shock that in advance of his imminent book release, a reality TV 'villain' who once staged a fake divorce to boost ratings and spent the last summer spewing post-fire misinformation and disinformation to pump up his social media following, would now announce he's running for Mayor," Herman said.
Pratt revealed that he and Montag had lost their home in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood on Jan. 8, 2025, posting a video from the scene the day after the inferno began and captioning it "Nightmare came true."
Since then, Pratt has regularly criticized Bass, the Los Angeles City Council, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom over their handling of the fire response.
In the weeks after the couple's home burned down, they joined 20 other residents in a lawsuit against the city, claiming the Department of Water and Power mismanaged water supplies in the area, contributing to preventable damage.
On his campaign website, Pratt is described as a "Pacific Palisades resident and Karen Bass' worst nightmare."
His announcement followed the launch of another reality TV figure's campaign for City Hall, albeit on the opposite coast.
On Monday, "The Traitors" star Michael Rapaport said he plans to run for mayor of New York City, airing his own complaints about the city's newly elected leader, Zohran Mamdani.
"People are like, 'It's upcoming, it's in 2029,'" he said on his "I Am Rapaport" podcast. "'You've got to prepare now. What would Kobe [Bryant] do? If Kobe was running for mayor of New York City, what would he do?'"
"He'd be preparing right now," Rapaport continued. "He'd be waking up 4:30 in the morning. Did I wake up at 4:30 this morning? F*ck no. But we are preparing."
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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