I will not rebuild if these people are in charge
From the ash of a home lost to wildfire, a reality television personality has fashioned a political ultimatum — rebuild only if given power, depart if denied it. Spencer Pratt, whose Pacific Palisades house burned in the 2025 fires, has entered the Los Angeles mayoral race not merely as a candidate but as a man wagering his family's future on the outcome. His campaign distills a broader civic grief: the sense among displaced residents that ordinary channels of accountability have failed, and that only the seizure of power itself can restore what was lost.
- A man standing on the scorched lot where his home once stood has made his continued presence in Los Angeles contingent on winning its highest elected office.
- Pratt and his wife Heidi Montag are among more than a dozen plaintiffs alleging that the LADWP deliberately drained reservoirs to cut costs, turning a disaster into a catastrophe — and he is wielding potential settlement money as both escape fund and political leverage.
- The campaign has drawn a quietly powerful coalition of entertainment industry figures who attend fundraisers but refuse to speak publicly, suggesting the stakes feel real even to those with something to lose.
- Adam Carolla's vocal endorsement and a growing social media presence have given Pratt unexpected traction in a race where incumbent Karen Bass faces serious scrutiny over her wildfire response.
- If Pratt falls short on June 2, he has promised to take his family and his settlement funds out of California entirely, framing departure as the only rational response to a city he no longer trusts.
Spencer Pratt has issued Los Angeles an ultimatum wrapped in a campaign: elect him mayor, or watch him leave. The reality television personality, whose Pacific Palisades home was destroyed in the 2025 wildfires, appeared on Adam Carolla's podcast from the empty lot where his house once stood and laid out his terms with unusual candor. He will rebuild only if he wins. If incumbent Karen Bass or challenger Nithya Raman prevails, he intends to take settlement money from a pending lawsuit against the city and the state and relocate his family somewhere he can, as he put it, pursue the last American dream.
Pratt, 42, launched his campaign in January with a single animating purpose — holding Bass accountable for what he calls catastrophic mismanagement of the wildfire crisis. He and Heidi Montag are among more than a dozen property owners suing the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, alleging that reservoirs were deliberately kept drained as a cost-cutting measure, worsening the disaster. The lawsuit names both city and state as defendants.
By his own account, Pratt had no political identity before the fires. A registered Republican running in a nonpartisan race, he describes his prior public gestures — paparazzi photos in a Sarah Palin shirt, then an Obama shirt — as tabloid theater, not conviction. The fires changed that. When no one faced consequences, he concluded the only remaining option was to take power directly.
His campaign has attracted quiet but significant support from the entertainment world. A fundraiser hosted by David Foster and Katharine McPhee drew what Pratt describes as a remarkable cross-section of Hollywood — directors, studio presidents, movie stars — most of whom have kept their involvement private. Carolla, meanwhile, has become his most vocal public champion, declaring on Instagram that Pratt will save the city.
The June 2 primary will test whether personal loss and political fury can translate into votes. For Pratt, the calculus is simple: a mandate or a moving truck. The city must decide whether his grief is a credential.
Spencer Pratt is making his mayoral ambitions conditional on a single outcome: win the race for Los Angeles mayor, or leave the city entirely. The reality television personality, whose Pacific Palisades home burned in the 2025 wildfires, has tied his future in California to the June 2 primary election with a clarity that borders on ultimatum.
During a recent podcast appearance with Adam Carolla, recorded from the charred lot where his house once stood, Pratt laid out the terms plainly. He will rebuild his home only if he wins the mayoral race. If incumbent Karen Bass or challenger Nithya Raman prevails instead, he intends to take settlement money from a pending lawsuit against the state and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and relocate his family elsewhere. "I'll take that money from the Newsom state park and the LADWP, and I'll go somewhere that my kids will not have to see naked zombies, and I can have the last American dream somewhere," he said, referencing homelessness and urban decay in the city. "But I will not rebuild if these people are in charge, because what would I be putting money into?"
Pratt, 42, launched his campaign in January with a singular focus: removing Bass from office over what he characterizes as catastrophic mishandling of the wildfire crisis. He and his wife Heidi Montag are among more than a dozen property owners who filed suit earlier this year, alleging that the Department of Water and Power deliberately operated the water supply system with reservoirs drained as a cost-cutting measure, exacerbating the disaster. The lawsuit names both the city and the state as defendants.
What makes Pratt's candidacy unusual is his own admission that he was not a political figure before the fires. A registered Republican running in a nonpartisan election, he has never posted political content in his life, he claims—save for a pair of paparazzi photo ops years ago, one wearing a Sarah Palin shirt and another in an Obama shirt, both staged for tabloid coverage. The fires transformed him into an advocate. "My goal was just for these people to go to jail," he explained. "And then when they didn't go to jail, and I saw that it was just business as usual, that's when I decided the only way to stop these people is to take their power from them."
He has cultivated support from prominent figures in entertainment. A recent fundraiser hosted by musician David Foster and actress Katharine McPhee drew what Pratt describes as a "mind-blowing" roster of backers—movie stars, directors, studio presidents—though most have remained publicly silent about their involvement. Pratt suggested their support will translate into tangible benefits for the entertainment industry once he takes office, framing his candidacy as a path to revitalize Los Angeles's cultural and economic standing.
Carolla, the podcast host and fellow Los Angeles resident, has become an early and vocal endorser. During an April 21 episode titled "Spencer Pratt Gets Adam Carolla's Endorsement for LA Mayor," the two discussed homelessness, crime, and what they characterized as failed municipal leadership. Carolla later posted on Instagram: "This man is going to save LA. @spencerprat has my full endorsement for mayor!"
The primary election on June 2 will determine whether Pratt's gamble pays off. If no candidate secures more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two finishers advance to a November runoff. For Pratt, anything short of victory means departure. He has made clear that rebuilding in Los Angeles under different leadership would be, in his view, an investment in a city he no longer believes in. The question now is whether voters will grant him the mandate he is demanding as the price of his continued residency.
Citas Notables
I'll take that money from the Newsom state park and the LADWP, and I'll go somewhere that my kids will not have to see naked zombies, and I can have the last American dream somewhere.— Spencer Pratt
The only way to stop these people is to take their power from them.— Spencer Pratt, on why he decided to run for mayor
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
So he's essentially saying the city has to elect him or he leaves. That's a pretty stark position for someone who just lost his home there.
It is. But from his perspective, he's lost everything material—the house is gone. What he's really saying is that he won't pour money back into a system he believes failed him and his neighbors catastrophically.
The lawsuit against the water department and the state—that's the real leverage here, isn't it? The money he might win?
Exactly. He's betting he'll win that case. If he does, he'll have capital to rebuild or relocate. But he's made a choice: he'll only use it to rebuild if he's in charge of the city that failed him.
Does he actually have a realistic path to winning? He's a reality TV personality, not a politician.
The June 2 primary will tell us. He's got endorsements from entertainment industry figures and from Carolla, who has a platform. But Los Angeles is a complex electorate. Bass is the incumbent. Raman is a sitting city council member. Pratt is the outsider.
What strikes me is that he's not hiding the transactional nature of this. He's not pretending to be a lifelong civic leader.
No. He's being remarkably honest about it. He says he wasn't political before the fires. The fires made him political. And now he's saying: fix this or I'm gone. There's something almost refreshing about that directness, even if it's also unsettling.