Devastating wildfires and homelessness loom large in Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’s bid for a second term

LOS ANGELES (AP) — As Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass seeks a second term, she’s not ignoring the obvious: Her tenure on the City Council has been difficult. “I didn’t always get it right,” she says plainly.

But the first black woman to hold the position insists she must continue to lead the struggling city of about 4 million that will host the 2028 Olympics. Murders have declined. Street homelessness has decreased. Homes destroyed by last year’s bushfires are being rebuilt, although critics say it is happening too slowly.

“There’s more work to be done,” Bass says.

Los Angeles mayoral races — indeed, some of the mayors themselves — are often forgettable in a city where politics take a back seat to the Lakers, Dodgers and Hollywood. But this year has been different as Bass tries to cope with the lingering fallout from the Palisades Fire, the most destructive in Los Angeles history. Bass was in Ghana as part of a presidential delegation when the fire broke out.

He watches: A look at Southern California’s wildfire response and resources

Among the thousands of people who lost their homes was reality TV personality Spencer Pratt, who is now running to replace the mayor he accuses of being responsible for the devastation.

In another sign of how political media is evolving, the biggest sensation in the race has been AI-generated campaign videos in which Pratt takes on a superhero persona to battle street criminals and Democratic politicians. Pratt, created by director Charles Curran, has shared the videos on his own platforms.

He watches: How reality TV stars seeking political office change politics

Unless one candidate receives a majority of votes in Tuesday’s primary, the top two candidates will advance to the general election in November.

The race is officially nonpartisan, but Bass is a Democrat, as is progressive City Councilwoman Nithya Raman, who made a last-minute decision to challenge her former ally.

Pratt, who rose to fame alongside his wife, Heidi Montag, on “The Hills,” is a registered Republican who has received an endorsement — if not an outright endorsement — from President Donald Trump.

Opinion polls show a close race

A poll conducted by the Institute of Government at the University of California, Berkeley, and co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times, found Bass tightly clustered with Raman and Pratt, with the other candidates trailing. The poll of 1,351 likely voters, conducted between May 19 and 24, gave no candidate a statistically significant lead.

It’s a precarious position for the incumbent, one that highlights widespread public doubts about her leadership.

On a recent Saturday, Bass was greeted by supporters in the bright sunshine of a downtown neighborhood as she dropped off her ballot at a ballot drop box. For an unpopular mayor facing a precarious future, she seemed relaxed, smiling broadly, petting dogs and fawning over toddlers in strollers.

When asked why Pratt attracted national attention, she dismissed him as a political amateur.

“He’s an entertainer and that’s what he does is entertain,” Bass said.

She also wondered how Brat, who received Trump’s tacit blessing, would be received in a city where fewer than 15% of voters registered as Republicans would be received. The president is not very popular in California outside his conservative base, as Trump received only 32% of the vote in Los Angeles County two years ago, and no Republican has been elected mayor since 1997.

“This is Los Angeles,” Bass said. “This is not a MAGA town.”

Among the crowd that applauded Bass was Diane Mitchell Henry, a registered Democrat and event planner, who said she was impressed by the mayor’s long experience in government.

“She knows the heartbeat of Los Angeles,” she said. “I trust her.”

A runoff election appears likely in November with 14 names on the ballot.

Democratic strategist Gary South expects Bass, despite her declining popularity, to advance on Tuesday, perhaps alongside Brat.

He questioned whether Pratt’s barrage of online videos was reaching people who actually vote. The state’s most reliable voters tend to be older, white, and wealthy homeowners.

“Most voters are over 50, plain and simple. You’re not going to capture that demographic by posting clever stuff on YouTube and Instagram,” South said.

The contest bears some resemblance to the 2022 race, when billionaire developer Rick Caruso promised to expand police spending at a time of widespread concerns about crime and homelessness. Bass won by nearly 10 points.

A struggling city looks to the future

While immediate concerns in Los Angeles focus on post-wildfire reconstruction and homelessness, the city is also looking to a vision for its future.

Hollywood jobs have been moving to cheaper filming locations for years. The downtown renaissance has been crushed by extended pandemic closures and many office buildings remain desperate for tenants. The city has long struggled to provide basic services, whether by paving streets and crooked sidewalks or keeping street lights on. The restaurant industry has seen a long string of high-profile closures. The Trump administration’s immigration raids have rattled residents. The city’s notorious gridlock continues unabated.

Bass was elected in 2022 promising to end the unchecked homelessness crisis and address rising crime as robberies and seizures become national news. Most of the Democratic establishment has lined up behind her, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, Gov. Gavin Newsom and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, along with the city’s powerful labor unions.

“We will not see this level of failure in our city for another four years,” Pratt told CNBC on Thursday. The city “is not safe. It is disgusting. We pay with our money to give needles to drug addicts to overdose in front of children.”

Raman promised to speed up housing construction, restore entertainment industry jobs, and improve street paving and other basic services. Residents are “hungry for a different future for this city — one that is affordable, practical, creative and safe,” she said in a statement Thursday.

Ignore the competition bass.

“We’re almost at the finish line,” she said after dropping her voice. “I feel good.”