Well, I gave him a chance, I offered my services.
I was determined to give the young scholarship a primer on what a mayor can and can’t do, and let him know City Hall is a reality show like never before. But Spencer Pratt didn’t call me my column last week.
However, I have heard of a number of his most ardent supporters.
Steven C. had this to say: “You’re a left-wing idiot, and … it’s time for you to retire. You’re a joke!!! You always have been!!! God bless Spencer Pratt and the 45th and 47th President of the United States Donald Trump!!!!!”
There might be something, Steven!!! I have been thinking about retirement!!!! But then a former TV star like Pratt came along and told Vanity Fair that he had a conversation with God, who told him that. He wants Pratt to be mayor of LA!!!!! With people like these running for office, how can I quit my job?!!!!!
RW wrote: “You say Spencer has never accomplished anything in his life…What credentials do you have? From what I’ve read of you, you’re a dirty commie reporter who has never accomplished anything in your life!!”
Recently, RW, I replaced a broken toilet tank valve and learned two Willie Nelson songs on guitar. That’s nothing.
Peter did not mince words: “Your piece on Pratt is a piece of bull— .
Peter, I died once. Cardiac arrest. When I was on the other side, I saw God, who told me to get out of it because He was going to tell Spencer Pratt to run for mayor. Who knew God had a defibrillator?
All of these, by the way, were real emails, and there are many more like them. But it’s worth noting that despite the fulfillment of the knucklehead wing of Pratt’s position, he has entered into a palpable sense of frustration with City Hall, due to homelessness, the Palisades inferno and the budget problems that suppress all kinds of basic city services.
That’s why Mayor Karen Bass is rowing furiously, trying to keep her political career afloat. The latest UC Berkeley-LA Times pollBass is at 26%, Nithya Raman at 25% and Pratt at 22%. That’s tough, it looks like no one will get the 50% needed to win outright, and if we get a first-two runoff, it’s unclear who will go to the dance.
So as we close out the primaries, with Tuesday’s election, five talking points come to mind.
Which candidate knows the city best?
Los Angeles has 114 different neighborhoods spread over 470 square kilometers (that’s 10 times the size of San Francisco), where an estimated 220 languages are spoken. Diversity is a defining factor, and nearly half of the population is Latino, making it a shame that no Latino will be elected mayor, especially given President Trump’s raids and raids.
The mayor doesn’t have to speak six languages and know every part of the city, but the citizens want to be seen and heard, and to feel that they are understood and represented.
Raman is well-versed in homelessness policy, and knowledgeable about the need for greater urgency in solving the problems, but as a partner. Noah Goldberg reported, the people of his district complain that they have not seen enough of him.
As I said, Pratt brilliantly directed municipal failure. But in the field of qualified Republican candidates, Rick Caruso, who ran against Bass last week, was comfortable whether he was in the Valley, South LA or anywhere in between. And he communicated easily with people. Could Pratt be a guest in his hometown?
Thanks to his work over the past four years, Bass – who raised a mixed Black and Latino family – knows the city well, although his unpopular rating is a big problem.
What about other candidates?
In the aforementioned poll, housing minister and activist Rae Huang received 9% and former education technology entrepreneur Adam Miller received 5%. In the visible unknown, no one had a legitimate chance to win, but it would be spoilers for one of the top three.
I spoke to both of them, and if you’re not sure, you should be read over them before voting. Opened HuangThe website, initials “Housing for people, not profit.” Miller he wants to bring his business success to City Hall, and where he thinks his own policy agenda and his non-profit work with veterans and homelessness, he is a better person than Pratt.
But he wasn’t on a reality TV show.
The Democrats destroyed LA and California, didn’t they?
If I had a nickel for every time a student brought that up.
With 101 steps, Los Angeles is one of the largest cities in the world and California has built the fourth largest economy in the world while leading in climate change, so the apocalyptic diagnosis is no longer a sign.
Also, local elections are not organized. You don’t run for mayor like D or R.
And yet it is true that the Democrats and their policies and sensibilities rule the day, and they have a lot to answer for in Los Angeles and California.
But would the same critics suggest that in conservative cities like Fresno and Bakersfield, with their poverty and other problems, Republicans are to blame?
When it comes to housing, poverty, health care and the streets for people with addiction or mental illness, the failures go back decades, affect all levels of government, and party lines.
Have I given up on Los Angeles?
When I pointed out that Pratt seemed unaware of these issues, and the limits of the Mayor’s power structure, readers suggested that he was standing up for the challenge while I quit LA.
Not at all. I care enough about LA to hold its leaders to high accountability, and scrutinize the showmen and hypocrites who think they can do a better job.
My advice to the next mayor.
Fix what’s broken, celebrate what works and take responsibility for what doesn’t.
Now let me try again:
Spencer, call me.
You can’t tell us that you had a conversation with God about running for mayor and not give more details.
Did God scold you for calling the mayor Karen “Basura,” which means trash in Spanish?
Did he say we should pull out of the ’28 Olympics, or have advice on how to fill potholes and repair sidewalks?
If you have regular conversations about City Hall with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we want to know:
With homelessness, what would Jesus do?
steve.lopez@latimes.com
