Comments
NICK’S VIEW - Los Angeles City Hall has often served as a stage for political theater, a place where activists have performed stunts on its elaborate steps and where protests have turned to spectacles. It is a city that often turns the political landscape on its head, a metropolis of novelty and imagination where politics can sometimes reach the twilight zone.
In a more recent exaggerated display, Spencer Pratt, the reality television figure and current candidate for mayor, sent billboard trucks around City Hall with the message “Spencer, take out the trash.” It was an anti-establishment exhibition, and it went viral.
Fueled by anger over the 2025 Palisades Fire which destroyed his home, he has identified himself as an outsider, and to gain attention he uses Artificial Intelligence-generated advertisements and confrontational messages to create social-media theatrics. Obviously, they are working. His recent strong debate resulted in a fundraising surge, outpacing his rivals, according to the most recent disclosure reports.
Raman has publicly labeled Pratt a “MAGA Republican” during the mayoral debates and on social media, although he has stated he is a Republican and represents all of Los Angeles and not a party. In the last general election, President Trump received 26.87% of the Los Angeles County vote, making it one of the most Democratic‑leaning counties in the nation.
Up until 2010 he was a tabloid sensation thanks to his villainous four-season run on MTV’s reality series “The Hills.” According to the Daily Beast, the spotlight quickly faded and Pratt was slipping into obscurity. Jobless and broke, he was living at his parents’ vacation home in Santa Barbara.
It was at a “They Let Us Burn” rally marking the one-year anniversary of the Palisades Fire, according to ABC7 Los Angeles, where Pratt attacked the state and city’s mishandling of the fire and said: “Business as usual is a death sentence for Los Angeles. That is why I am running for mayor.”
Pratt is Hollywood-inspired and has turned campaign events into performance art. He publicly agonizes over his destroyed home, his lawsuit against the city and state, and his anger at city governance. Bass and Raman tenaciously abide by the traditional campaign scenario addressing the complex, divided and intricate issues of Los Angeles, while Pratt tells a story: his house burned down; Incompetence and irresponsibility at all city government levels are the reasons. As always, the story wins the spotlight.
Today, social media and influencer cultures often function like reality TV: they build audiences by putting conflict, drama, and personality first. His AI‑produced videos blur the line between political messaging and parody.
His sister, Stephanie Pratt, opposes his mayoral candidacy. She has repeatedly argued that Spencer is not suited for citywide leadership and is running for mayor to stay famous, not to serve Los Angeles. According to People Magazine, she said, “A vote for him is a vote for stupidity.”
Pratt’s swell is also a product of Los Angeles’ media ecosystem which is built around entertainment, not politics. In fact, entertainment reporters here outnumber political reporters, and celebrity news receives more attention than civic news. Celebrity candidates receive more coverage than conventional candidates.
Pratt says he is an outsider, and like all political outsiders they promise to change the system. Arnold Schwarzenegger, in his first State of the State address in January 2004, declared: “Every governor proposes moving boxes around to reorganize government. I don’t want to move the boxes around; I want to blow them up." Arnold failed because he did not know where the boxes were.
My thesis is promising to change the system, if you don’t know the system, is delusional and nonsensical. The truth is that systems resist uninformed change.
Pratt may be benefiting from a news vacuum that has resulted over the last decade. Investigative political coverage has been greatly reduced at local television stations, and the LA Times shrank its City Hall bureau. Policies once occupied news interest, now spectacle and drama receive disproportional attention. Antics by celebrities are easy to cover, and more widely followed.
Consequently, facts are often overlooked. Because his house burned down, he lives in an Airstream trailer, he says. But is he? Local reporting found he was staying at the Hotel Bel‑Air, one of the most expensive hotels in Los Angeles, said to be about $2,000 per night. Based on the reporting, he sometimes stays at the Hotel Bel‑Air (for security), and he does not sleep in the Airstream on his burned property because of threats.
Where Pratt really lives is a mystery. He has emphasized that currently he has no permanent address. Rumors persist that he could not run for mayor because he does not live in Los Angeles. TMZ confirmed that his wife Heidi Montag and their children are living in Carpinteria, a coastal town in Santa Barbara County, while Pratt stays elsewhere for security reasons.
My careful review of each candidate indicates that we have in Los Angeles a “punish the incumbent” mood where Bass is facing unusually high dissatisfaction, as indicated in multiple reporting. Her approval ratings tumbled after the 2025 Palisades Fire. Also, prominent issues such as homelessness, crumbling infrastructure, crime, and city services remain top concerns, and voters feel progress is slow.
Raman is also facing voter discontent, but for reasons different from Bass. Her dissatisfaction is targeted and not citywide. Valley residents have expressed concern that she is too slow on public safety, and renters object that her housing policies are not providing enough relief. Moderate Democrats see her as being too ideological.
Consider this: Los Angeles defines itself through storytelling, where personal narrative matters, reinvention is expected, and spectacle holds value. That is why Pratt tells a story, “My house burned down, now I’m running.” It is a narrative that sits well with the cultural logic of the city.
Playwright and satirist Aristophanes famously mocked how demagogues realized their power relied on the ignorance and gullibility of the mob. He wrote; "A demagogue must be neither an educated nor an honest man; he has to be an ignoramus and a rogue"
The question remains: Can a celebrity candidate become the city’s loudest voice simply by being an entertaining storyteller? Pratt’s narrative is drawing attention, and that attention is translating into political viability. But will it be enough to overcome the city’s heavily Democratic makeup?
--
(Nick Patsaouras is an electrical engineer, civic leader, and a longtime public advocate. He ran for Mayor in 1993 with a focus on rebuilding L.A. through transportation after the 1992 civil unrest. He has served on major public boards, including the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Metro, and the Board of Zoning Appeals, helping guide infrastructure and planning policy in Los Angeles. He is the author of the book "The Making of Modern Los Angeles.")
