This is the contest LA needs this November

A former reality-TV star for LA mayor?

That prospect is now looking plausible.

With balloting in California’s June 2 primary set to start next week, voters are tuning in, the race is heating up, and many like what they see in Spencer Pratt.

Pratt’s been surging, while socialist Councilwoman Nithya Raman — another challenger to Mayor Karen Bass — has been fading.

And no wonder: Pratt, an effective messenger with a large following, has outlined a common-sense platform centered on fire recovery, public safety,  and reforming the city’s wheel-spinning approach to its homeless crisis.

In a city deeply in need of pragmatic direction, voters should give Pratt a look. 

A slew of campaign donors already have. The California Post reported this week that former LA Lakers owner Jeanie Buss has donated $1,800 — the maximum allowed by law — to Pratt’s campaign. 

And she’s far from alone: Pratt has collected nearly $540,000 since January, outraising Bass ($495,000) and Raman ($530,000) in that stretch.

Pratt has also nabbed some high-profile endorsements, including from actor Adam Carolla, Florida Sen. Rick Scott, and podcaster Joe Rogan.

In other words: Pratt has the support to make a go of this.

And for a city starved of common-sense leadership, that’s an intriguing prospect.

Early this year, when businessman Rick Caruso declined to pursue a rematch against Bass and former LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner quit the race, the path to a centrist LA mayor (in 2026) appeared to close.

By all appearances, voters’ choice for mayor had narrowed to hard left (Bass) and extreme hard left (Raman). What’s more, both women have sat in city office for years, with poor results.

Pratt now offers voters a third choice, and perhaps, an opportunity for change.

His website says: “This is not a campaign. This is a mission.” He outlines plans to refocus LA on the basics, including emergency preparedness, fiscal reform, and a treatment-first approach to homelessness.

A UCLA poll of likely voters in early April found that Bass has 25% support, Pratt has 14%, and Raman has 11%. A whopping 40% were undecided.

A November runoff between Bass and Pratt would give that 40% — and others — the chance to hear from two starkly different campaigns, and choose a path forward.

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Because let’s be real: Raman and the radical left will never propose sensible solutions to LA’s many ills; they oppose funding the police, cleaning up homeless camps, and reining in payments to activist groups that in turn sue the city.

The city badly needs a turn for the practical. 

Is Bass capable of producing a vision for improvement in a second term? Can Pratt show that he’s got good ideas, yes, but also the chops for the job?

Let’s find out. 

A race between Bass and Pratt is the contest LA needs this November.