Spencer Pratt says questions over his eligibility to run for Los Angeles mayor are "insane"
Reality television star and Los Angeles mayoral hopeful Spencer Pratt blasted the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday for its report raising questions about his eligibility for the office.
Since the report was published, Pratt has acknowledged that he's been living on his father's rental property in Santa Barbara County, which would make him ineligible to run for mayor since it's outside of city limits, according to the LA City Clerk. However, he claims the arrangement is temporary, since his Pacific Palisades home burned down during the January 2025 Palisades Fire.
"The idea that I am not eligible to run for mayor is insane," Pratt told CBS LA during a live interview Tuesday morning. "It takes one Google search. My toddler can figure it out, talking to [artificial intelligence] that I'm 100% able to run for mayor."
Pratt later called the Times report a "hit piece" and "diabolical."
"I find it ironic that the LA Times is in El Segundo for the last eight years and they're not called the El Segundo Times," he said. "Also they're discounting everyone whose houses burned down. Oh, they're not eligable to vote now because their houses burned down?"
Last October, the city clerk posted on its website that people displaced by the LA County wildfires can maintain their voter registration in their district by adding a temporary address to their registration. Those who decide to move permanently would then be required to change their registration.
He said he's unable to build on the "dirt lot" that used to be his house because of red tape, insurance issues and legal actions slowing down the process.
The Palisades Fire and subsequent handling by Mayor Karen Bass, who Pratt is running against, left him "no choice" but to enter the race, he said.
"I had to run for mayor because no one was stepping up and saying we need change," Pratt told CBS LA. "I'm running on accountability."
On crime and homelessness
Aside from the Palisades, Pratt said issues surrounding crime and homelessness were at the top of his mind when he decided to run for mayor.
"All over LA there's people with fentanyl smoke blowing next to swing sets in every park. This is psycho," he said. "When I come in [as mayor], I'm enforcing the laws that exist."
He said he wants to give the unhoused population of LA "mandatory treatment" and said offering compassion to those people by allowing them to stay on the streets is "unacceptable."
Message to undecided voters
A recent poll conducted by the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs showed Pratt in second place with the support of 11% of likely primary voters for the June 2 election. He trailed only Bass (25%) and was just ahead of Democratic Socialists of America member and LA City Councilmember Nithya Raman (9%).
A massive 40% block of likely voters in the poll said they were still undecided.
"If you want change in Los Angeles, you vote for Spencer Pratt," Pratt said. "These are politicians I'm running against. I'm an Angeleno that lost everything because of the city's negligence."