It was a statement I never imagined I’d make: “I think I’m going to vote for Spencer Pratt for Mayor of LA.”
Gathered at a dinner party in the Hollywood Hills just last week, I anticipated being met with laughter and skepticism from my predominantly liberal circle of friends. After all, Pratt is mostly recognized as the outspoken antagonist from the reality TV show “The Hills.” Despite this, I felt compelled to support him for a position as significant as the mayor of Los Angeles, a city I’ve cherished for three decades.
To my surprise, instead of dismissive reactions, I found unexpected agreement. Among the attendees was a high-ranking executive from one of Hollywood’s major studios, who echoed my sentiment: “Oh yes, I might do too,” the executive remarked, “After all, what do we have to lose?”
Unfortunately, the answer seems to be very little.
Los Angeles, once the pulsating center of the entertainment world, famed for spreading dreams globally, is in a state of decline. The vibrant city that once symbolized endless possibilities is now facing challenges that threaten its very essence.
Trash-filled streets, filthy tent cities filled with homeless drug addicts, exorbitant taxes, $8-a-gallon gas and an exodus of jobs mean that the LA of today is a shadow of the city it once was.
Data released by the Census Bureau this week shows LA County lost 54,000 people between July 2024 and July 2025, the largest decline of any city in America.
More than 30,000 Angelenos were displaced by the wildfires, which tore through Pacific Palisades and Altadena at the start of last year, with around 17 percent of those leaving LA for good.
The City of Angels, once the beating heart of an entertainment industry known for exporting dreams around the world, is slowly dying
More than 30,000 Angelenos were displaced by the wildfires, which tore through Pacific Palisades and Altadena at the start of last year, with around 17 percent of those leaving LA for good
The City of Los Angeles recorded the largest loss, with 0.9 percent of its residents fleeing.
I’ve had dozens of friends quit. Some went back to the UK where the film industry is booming thanks to generous tax breaks. Film and television studio shoots are now happening in states where costs are cheaper, like New Jersey, Louisiana and New Mexico.
Other friends went to Texas, Tennessee, Florida, Nevada and Arizona, all states which offer cheaper housing, lower taxes and a better standard of living.
One friend who relocated to Arizona told me: ‘I should have done this years ago. The schools here are much better than the public schools in LA, we spend half as much in rent and groceries and people are friendlier. Plus, I don’t have to watch homeless people defecate in the street.’
LA has been under Democratic control for three decades, the entire time I have been here.
I’ve watched as the city I love, with its boundless optimism matched only by its swaying palm trees and endless sunshine, turned dark.
Earlier this week, a girlfriend called me in tears as an LAPD car chase ended up outside her home with a gunman holding an Uber driver hostage. Thankfully, that situation ended peacefully.
But I’ve had other friends fall prey to violence. One had his Rolex stolen at gunpoint as he left dinner one night.
Another friend saw a drone hovering over her home and assumed it was someone filming a movie. Later that night, her house was broken into by a South American crime gang.
And that is where The Hills star Pratt comes in.
After losing his Pacific Palisades home in the wildfires, Pratt, who is married to reality star Heidi Montag and the father of two young boys, went on the warpath.
He filed a lawsuit against the City of LA for negligence in allowing the fires, which killed 12 and destroyed 7,000 homes.
Then he went on a social media rampage which started to resonate with the thousands of us who are sick and tired of Mayor Karen Bass and her ineffectual leadership.
Bass wasn’t even in LA when the wildfires broke out, despite multiple warnings from meteorologists who said conditions were ripe for a devastating fire.
Where was she? In Ghana on a ‘jolly’ to celebrate the inauguration of that country’s new leader.
As Pratt said: ‘She didn’t even come home straight away. She stayed to go shopping.’
To make matters worse, a vital reservoir near the Palisades – home to Steven Spielberg, Sir Anthony Hopkins and a host of other stars – had been allowed to run dry, meaning firefighters quickly ran out of water and had to watch helplessly as multimillion dollar homes burned to the ground.
Spielberg has since left LA (for New York), reportedly worried about a new 5 percent ‘billionaire’s tax’ which Democrats are in favor of.
Other celebrities, including Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, Jonah Hill and Mark Wahlberg, have already gone.
The threat of that tax has seen tech titans like Sergei Brin (Google), Travis Kalanick (Uber) and Elon Musk (Tesla) leave California, too.
When Pratt first announced he was running for mayor, everyone here considered him a bit of a joke.
To most of us he was the peroxide-blonde ‘villain’ in The Hills, best known for his love of crystals and having the paparazzi on speed dial.
But in recent weeks, no one is laughing, least of all Mayor Bass, who he calls ‘Mayor Basura,’ the Spanish word for ‘trash.’
‘Business as usual is a death sentence for Los Angeles,’ Pratt told a recent rally. ‘This isn’t a campaign. It’s a mission to expose the system.’
Pratt has outwitted and out-earned Bass and Nithya Raman, a progressive ultra-left politician dubbed the ‘Mamdani of the Left coast’ after New York’s mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Pratt’s campaign has gone viral thanks to a series of brilliant ads which some critics, including a friend of mine who worked for Barack Obama, have called the best political ads of all time.
In one, Pratt stands in front of Mayor Bass’s $15 million residence and then moves on to the $3 million home of Raman, saying: ‘They are not like us.’
The camera shifts to the airstream trailer on the burnt-out lot of his house which the Pratt family calls home.
Other viral ads included a cartoon lampooning ‘Mayor Basura’ and another in which Pratt is dressed as Superman.
Pratt is married to reality star Heidi Montag (pictured in 2026) and they have two young boys
Pratt’s campaign has gone viral thanks to a series of brilliant ads
In a town sick of years of Democratic failures, it feels like the tide is, finally, beginning to turn.
Doug Ellin, the man who created the quintessential LA show Entourage has publicly backed Pratt, stating on X: ‘I’m taking a chance on @spencerpratt, someone who’ll actually demand transparency, accountability and results.’
Last week, I met a woman who has known Pratt since he was a kid.
She opened my eyes: ‘His dad is a dentist. He studied political science at college. He’s no dummy. That whole thing with The Hills was about becoming famous. He played a character. I know Spencer, he’s the real deal. I don’t think he ever planned to run for mayor, but he’s passionate about saving LA, as we all are. This should be the jewel in the crown of America and instead, it’s turned into a cesspit.
‘Spencer is resonating with a lot of people. He speaks directly to kids on social media. But he also speaks to a lot of us who are older and who are sick and tired of LA being driven into the ground. Democrats have had billions of dollars to fix homelessness. I’m a Democrat, but that money has been wasted. It’s time to give someone else a chance. If Karen Bass gets in again, I’m leaving. It would be a disaster.’
As for me, I’m lucky enough to live in the hills above the Chateau Marmont, one of the most privileged places in LA.
I bought my bungalow in 1999 when ‘normal’ people could still afford to buy here.
These days, it is impossible to get on the property ladder.
Rent is an eye-watering $2,800 for a one-bedroom apartment.
A house on my street is renting to an influencer for $25,000 a month.
It is virtually impossible for anyone in their 20s – like I was – to buy a house in LA these days, unless they have family support or a trust fund.
But I no longer feel safe.
Everyone around me has turned their home into a fortress with cameras.
Many have bought guns.
One lady I know invested $100,000 in a German-trained guard dog, telling me: ‘I don’t want a gun, but I don’t feel safe.’
During the 2024 election, I had many friends who secretly voted for Donald Trump.
Trash-filled streets, filthy tent cities filled with homeless drug addicts, exorbitant taxes, $8-a-gallon gas and an exodus of jobs mean that the LA of today is a shadow of the city it once was
The City of Los Angeles recorded the largest loss, with 0.9 percent of its residents fleeing
This time around, it again feels like a seismic shift is happening.
On a local level, Pratt is gaining momentum, but on a state level, Republican Steve Hilton has consistently been leading in the California governor’s polls.
California’s primary election is on June 2.
At the moment, Pratt is trailing in the polls to Bass and Raman but is gaining ground fast with 40 percent of LA voters remaining ‘undecided.’
Our vote-by-mail papers arrived this week.
Whether LA is ready for a change remains to be seen.
But it sure feels like it.
