Los Angeles Mayor Candidates Debate Immigration, Destitution, and Forest Fires
The candidates traded attacks over homelessness, wildfire response and police staffing as Bass defended her record and Pratt pressed for tougher action.
- On Wednesday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, City Councilmember Nithya Raman, and reality television personality Spencer Pratt met at the Skirball Cultural Center for a televised mayoral debate, clashing over homelessness, public safety, and wildfire preparedness.
- Pratt criticized Bass over the 2025 Pacific Palisades fire, calling her an "incredible liar" regarding reservoir management, while Bass defended her response and blamed former Fire Chief Kristin Crowley for failing to deploy firefighters ahead of the blaze.
- Debating homelessness, Bass touted her "Inside Safe" program for reducing street homelessness by 17.5%, while Raman countered the initiative is costly and ineffective despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars.
- Citing a recent MacArthur Park operation where federal agents arrested 18 people, Bass defended efforts to restore police staffing to 9,500 officers, while Raman opposed contracts she claimed contributed to a nearly $1 billion deficit.
- Candidates are intensifying efforts before the June 2 primary, where any contender failing to secure more than 50% of the vote will force a November runoff, as recent polling indicates Bass leads with 40% of voters still undecided.
59 Articles
59 Articles
At LA Mayoral Debate, Bass Defends Her Response to Catastrophic Wildfires
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass faced intense scrutiny in a televised debate for her actions before, during, and after last year’s catastrophic fires that left about 30 people dead and destroyed thousands of homes. The May 6 debate hosted by NBC 4 and Telemundo 52 covered everything from Hollywood to homelessness and illegal immigration, as Bass faced challengers Spencer Pratt, a media entrepreneur and a former reality TV host who lost his home in …
Mayoral Candidate Makes Brutal Point About Rival's Plan For LA's Drug Problem: 'She's Gonna Get St*bbed In The Neck'
A showdown between Republican Spencer Pratt and his two Democratic rivals in the Los Angeles mayoral race had more than a few mic-drop moments, but one that attracted particular attention came when the GOP candidate took on the city's devastating drug problem. Pratt, a former reality television star whose home ...
Spencer Pratt gives socialist mayoral candidate a wake-up call at debate: 'She's gonna get stabbed in the neck!'
Reality TV star Spencer Pratt demolished his Democratic competition in a combative debate Wednesday evening in the Los Angeles mayoral debate.Pratt went after Nithya Raman, who is aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America, after she tried to claim success in her efforts to ease the homelessness crisis as a city councilwoman.'I blame this person for burning my house and my parents' house and my town and all my neighbors down.' Pratt bruta…
L.A. mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt taps into angst about homelessness, wildfire response
The race for Los Angeles mayor is heating up following a spirited first debate on Wednesday night. Spencer Pratt, a registered Republican, spoke with CBS News correspondent Adam Yamaguchi about his campaign in the non-partisan race.
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