Among the many in Hollywood, the race for the mayor of Los Angeles is not a question of who will support you, but rather how did it happen this time?
“Continued chaos,” lamented one top industry contributor.
With less than two weeks to go until the big city-wide convention, polls point to stand-in Karen Bass and reality star Spencer Pratt as the two front-runners in November’s highly contested race. A member of the council, Nithya Raman, is hopeful that he will break through.
Each candidate has strengthened districts in recent weeks ahead of the June 2 election: Bass has largely rallied union support, including the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, yet is likely to remain focused on lingering anger over issues ranging from homelessness to responding to fires last year.
Raman has received heavy donor support from writers and others in the arts community, yet has sneaked into the polls since that elementary school tent debate.
Pratt has captured the enthusiasm of an outsider with a knack for attracting attention, with some prominent Democrats supporting his campaign. However, he faces doubts that he can emerge as the winner of Trump’s election in the November election, which may be a referendum on the president.
“Angelenos are frustrated and angry and looking for a place to channel those emotions,” said Dan Schnur, a professor at USC’s Annenberg School and Berkeley and Pepperdine. “Karen Bass is the incumbent mayor and she is part of a political party. Therefore, a lot of anger is directed at her. What is not clear is how much her opponents are taking advantage of that.”
How It Got Here
Four years ago, Bass was involved in a fiercely competitive campaign against real estate developer Rick Caruso, who tapped into voter turnout because of the city’s homelessness crisis. But Bass, a respected member of Congress and, earlier, the State Assembly, also flagged as an outsider to the city’s establishment, and beat Caruso in the general election.
He began building his re-election battle chest early and, even during the tumultuous summer of the 2024 presidential election, was able to draw an extensive list of donations from longtime entertainment industry donors including JJ Abrams, Martha Kauffman and Jeffrey Katzenberg.
The January 2025 fires, in particular, put Bass’s future in doubt, as he was in Ghana as the fire destroyed much of the Pacific Palisades. Since then, his hopes have seemed to ebb and flow, as Caruso took to social media to try to rebuild the hammer, while Bass took a defiant stance as Donald Trump’s ICE agents raided the city last summer.
Caruso, who seemed to be Bass’s first opponent in the race, ended up deciding not to run, not only passing the mayoral race but also applying for the gubernatorial position. Another competitor, Austin Beutner, has dropped out. But on the day of the filing deadline, Bass found himself with an unexpected opponent, Raman, who had been his colleague and stood to run for the left in the heavily Democratic city.
Raman’s district includes the Hollywood Hills, Studio City, Sherman Oaks and surrounding areas, with a significant portion of the creative class of the industry among his associates. He managed to gather sponsors including Ed Zwick, Colin Jost, Chelsea Handler and John August, as well as David Mandel, who had donated to Bass.
All candidates have made the development of film and TV production in the city a priority, even if the real impact is likely to come from production gains at the state or federal level.
Raman recently told Deadline, “I sit in City Hall every day and I feel powerless in the building. There is a lack of smart thinking. Besides all the new projects and plans that are suddenly announced because there is an election, there is a lack of desire for the future of this city.” He said he would take drastic measures to streamline the bureaucracy and make it “predictable” for industry to invest in the city.
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Bass told Deadline that Raman “never started one thing in the industry, and he’s withdrawn from everything. I understand that he has family connections, but… he hasn’t shown any leadership at all while he’s been on the board, so it’s hard for me to understand how he’s showing great leadership as mayor.” When it comes to manufacturing, Bass has outlined efforts to eliminate red tape and facility costs, among other industry initiatives.
In April, reports indicated that Raman and Pratt had narrowly upset Bass, further evidence that the race remains competitive.
But the tide turned with the May 6 mayoral debate, as Pratt exceeded expectations due to his lack of political experience, as his most prominent role became a reality star of love and hate. The hills and social media influencer.
Since then, Pratt’s candidacy, which is involved in the production of AI-generated political videos, has attracted national media attention, whether it’s ABC News or TMZ, as well as a number of respected right-wing outlets including Fox News Digital and The California Post. That helped elevate the mayoral race to such an extent that, in response to a reporter’s question earlier this week, Trump voiced his support for Pratt, adding, “I feel like he was a big MAGA guy.”
Pratt was able to get support from Democrats, including prominent industry donors like Haim Saban, a longtime major fundraiser for the party, and other figures including Laura Wasserman, music director and ex-wife of Casey Wasserman. David Foster and his wife, Katharine McPhee, hosted a fundraiser for him earlier this month, and figures such as Brett Ratner and Bobby Kotick are among his other sponsors.
Director Spencer Kahn posted on X this week that Pratt was “very smart. He has a degree in political science from USC. And he has the one thing any LA leader should have: charisma. That’s my crystal power, reality tv, USC poli sci, house on fire, common sense, high energy, good dad, bring the city together, I Love LA Mayor.”
Mathew Littman of the political strategy firm HowLitt credits Pratt with understanding how to navigate the social media message, something many Democrats don’t want. “People were not paying attention. Spencer Pratt has forced people,” he said.
Still, he said, “people like Karen Bass personally and that will do her good in the general election.”
Pratt and Raman, Littman said, are “vessels of anger” about what happened in Los Angeles.
“It’s a Donald Trump thing – ‘I’m going to blow things up because they can’t get any worse.’ But it could be worse.”
Although Pratt is just the latest in a long line of outsiders looking to shake up City Hall, he has name recognition and a story to match the city’s recent trauma: His home was destroyed in the Palisades fire, something he largely blames on Bass.
“Everything I say makes sense,” he recently told CNN. “We just lost in Los Angeles.”
Pratt’s Reality Check
As he has risen through the ranks and appearances, so has his past as a down-to-earth, reality TV personality.
Jon Vein, a businessman and former entertainment executive and longtime Democratic political activist and donor, recently posted a lengthy warning on Facebook about Pratt.
Vein’s brother, Larry, a Palisades resident who was behind the Pali Strong rescue mission, has become a key source of fire repair information. He was awarded FireAid charity funds and those funds were transferred to the non-profit organization. Because Pali Strong did not have 501(c)(3) status, Larry had to submit for approval any expenses he wanted to make under his grant, Vein noted. In many cases, such as a large public event at the Santa Monica Pier, Larry Vein was out of pocket a lot, he said. However, Pratt targeted Larry, drawing him into an unnecessary conflict, adding greatly to other interpersonal and financial pressures, Vein said.
Jon Vein wrote, “On a personal level, Spencer Pratt bullied my brother Larry publicly on social media. He spread lies about him and manipulated him to promote himself online. He is a bully, and our family is considering actions that may hold him accountable. As many of you know, Larry took his own life a few weeks ago.” His death was ruled a suicide.
From the graduate level, Vein revealed, among other things, Pratt’s financial challenges and Pratt’s association with Alex Jones, a conspiracy theorist convicted of a conspiracy theory that the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax.
Vein wrote, “His reputation is largely built on stirring up conflict, shaming people, and creating anger for entertainment and personal gain. That may work in the reality of television and social media culture, but it’s not leadership, and it’s certainly not fit to run one of the largest and most complex cities in America.”
Pratt did not respond to a request for comment.
In a recent interview, Pratt was asked how his experience would qualify him to manage the $14 billion budget. “I am humbled, I will associate with the smartest people in the world,” he said.
If he does run, Pratt’s biggest challenge may not be real TV controversy but something more formal: Running in a city where Democrats have a poor record of voter registration, the mayoral race is nonpartisan, but the last Republican to be elected mayor was Richard Riordan in 1993, and he won another term in 1997.
In a CNN interview, Pratt was asked why he became a Republican, and expressed the need to buy a gun for protection after appearing as a “hated reality star” during his role. The hills. He said Republicans are the only ones who support concealed weapons permits. Asked to name a political role model, Pratt said Jesus Christ, but after Alex Michaelson asked him for a modern choice, he said Barack Obama.
As Pratt’s election deepens the disenchantment of Angelenos, voter turnout in the November election will likely be significantly different than the first, presidential poll. As one Democratic fundraiser put it, if Bass and Pratt are the choices, “I think it’s him,” despite anti-incumbent sentiment. “You are very lucky.”
“From Bass’ perspective, this is a campaign about fire and ICE,” Schnur said. “If he can convince voters that his push against Trump is the defining factor, he’ll probably win.”
“Whether or not Pratt has a chance to win,” he said, depends on whether the fire response is “front and center.”
For others, the state of the race, however, reflects years of disillusionment with the level of tolerance for public involvement in the city and the need for a strong foundation of private and individual support. The irony is that Los Angeles will soon be on the world stage with the World Cup and the next mayor will oversee the 2028 Summer Olympics.
Donna Bojarsky, founder of Future of Cities: Los Angeles, said, “The malaise of this election speaks to a deep frustration throughout the city. Despite all these international events, I can say there is no joy in Mudville.”
