{"id":970,"date":"2026-06-04T04:00:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T04:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=970"},"modified":"2026-06-04T04:00:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T04:00:22","slug":"bass-clears-first-hurdle-but-if-pratt-holds-off-raman-the-mayoral-race-could-be-a-holy-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=970","title":{"rendered":"Bass clears first hurdle, but if Pratt holds off Raman, the mayoral race could be a holy war"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass made what sounded like a victory speech Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

Councilmember Nithya Raman made what sounded almost like a concession speech.<\/p>\n

And former reality TV star Spencer Pratt relayed a message from the heavens.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, obviously God wanted five more months of me exposing all the failures of our mayor, so it\u2019s gonna be a fun ride,\u201d Pratt said. \u201cI hope she\u2019s ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Hilton and Becerra lead California\u2019s unsettled governor\u2019s race; Steyer faces elimination<\/a><\/p>\n

Assuming Pratt holds on to one of the two spots in the Nov. 3 general election as the final votes are tallied in the next few days, the smart money will be on Bass, for reasons I\u2019ll get into in a moment.<\/p>\n

But the supreme being and patron of all pontiffs has to be considered a wild card. This is the first time, to my knowledge, that an incumbent mayor in the City of Angels would be running against a challenger whose campaign manager is God Almighty.<\/p>\n

So here we go. We could be in for one of the more remarkable electoral adventures in city history, with a complete novice and MAGA conservative going up against a liberal career politician in a deep-blue city and state full of people who are tired of hearing excuses from Democrats. (If Raman ends up ousting Pratt, my apologies for jumping to conclusions. But it\u2019s not my fault. The devil made me do it.)<\/p>\n

If you intend to follow closely, as of course you should, maybe you can help me count the number of times Pratt plays the faith card. I went to St. Peter Martyr School and attended the church by the same name, and I don\u2019t recall ever hearing a nun or a priest drop God\u2019s name as often as Pratt does.<\/p>\n

In fact, I just watched a clip of Pratt talking to Fox News TV host and Donald Trump disciple Kayleigh McEnany, and over the course of 1 minute and 52 seconds, he mentioned God or Jesus 10 times.<\/p>\n

\u201cThankfully, I married an angel who was very connected with Jesus and has brought me to the light,\u201d Pratt said of his wife and former reality TV co-star Heidi Montag. \u201cIt\u2019s been very empowering to just pray and just be on his path and just say, \u2018God, if you want me to save these animals, save these humans and protect my city, just keep putting me in the place where I can do that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Is he running for mayor or cardinal?<\/p>\n

Look, I totally respect your average true believer. But I\u2019m not entirely comfortable with a mayor who might be sitting around City Hall waiting for signs and smoke signals rather than knowing what to do on his own.<\/p>\n

God has a lot on his plate. He might be busy multiplying fishes and loaves so people don\u2019t go hungry thanks to the president\u2019s tariffs and warmongering. Is he going to rush to answer a prayer for guidance about underfunded parks or broken sidewalks in Los Angeles?<\/p>\n

Read more In a first for the country, voters in Monterey Park ban data centers<\/a><\/p>\n

How did we get here, you ask?<\/p>\n

Well, Pratt is an AI creation, in a way. A composite of sorts. You combine the forces of social media, political rebellion, second-rate celebrity obsession and the Peter Principle, and here\u2019s a little Trump puppet walking around L.A. like he\u2019s the chosen one.<\/p>\n

Add to that the very real essence of his appeal to some voters:<\/p>\n

Los Angeles has problems. Big problems that don\u2019t get fixed quickly enough or at all, and Pratt represents the angry voter who wants to know why City Hall can\u2019t do better and where all the money went. He\u2019s absolutely right when he says we shouldn\u2019t have people living on the streets, using drugs on the streets and dying on the streets.<\/p>\n

But if Pratt is in the general election rather than Raman, we\u2019re in for a national media circus rather than a summit on solutions. Raman is well-versed on matters of relevance and could have pushed back against Bass in substantive, detailed ways. On the other hand, as Pratt has fairly argued, Raman headed City Council\u2019s homelessness committee, so isn\u2019t she partly to blame for the failures she tried to pin on Bass?<\/p>\n

As for Pratt\u2019s policy chops, he has not responded to my offers of a get-together. Absent that, and given his careful avoidance of local reporters who know their stuff, I read his platform on his campaign website and I can tell you that while he touches on many of the right issues \u2014 public safety, fiscal integrity, homelessness \u2014 attention to detail and depth of knowledge are not God-given strengths.<\/p>\n

Maybe Pratt can actually deliver on his promise of a \u201ctreatment-led recovery model that addresses mental illness and addiction as the primary drivers of chronic homelessness.\u201d But that would require an act of God (which I suppose is possible given their relationship), because those matters are primarily under the direction of the county, not the city.<\/p>\n

This is the main problem here. Bass was beatable, and could have been pushed by a serious challenger to do better.<\/p>\n

In the last election, Rick Caruso gave her a scare. That was partly because he had some depth on the issues, he was a successful businessman and philanthropist, he had served on the police commission and the water and power board, he had built relationships across the city and, along with his family, he had poured time and millions of dollars into underserved communities.<\/p>\n

In this election, it looks as though Bass could get lucky and face off against a guy who lost his house in the Palisades fire, saw a few homeless encampments through his car window, and decided he wanted to be mayor. Some might have questioned his hubris, but only before learning that he was on a mission from God.<\/p>\n

Read more A competitive governor\u2019s race? Not only in California<\/a><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re keeping count, that\u2019s nine mentions of God so far in this column.<\/p>\n

One more for the tie, with an eye toward five more months of campaign fodder.<\/p>\n

Thank you, God.<\/p>\n

steve.lopez@latimes.com<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Spencer Pratt says he’s on a mission from God to save Los Angeles. 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