Spencer Pratt, the 42-year-old star of MTV's 'The Hills,' announced his Republican candidacy for Los Angeles mayor at the 'They Let Us Burn' rally marking the one-year anniversary of the Palisades Fire, which destroyed homes belonging to him, his wife Heidi Montag, and his parents. Pratt sharply criticized Democratic leaders for mishandling the disaster and pledged to challenge incumbent Mayor Karen Bass in the upcoming election.
On January 8, 2026, Spencer Pratt announced his candidacy for mayor of Los Angeles at the 'They Let Us Burn' rally in Pacific Palisades, organized by residents affected by the Palisades Fire exactly one year earlier. The blaze destroyed over 6,000 structures, including the homes of Pratt, his wife Heidi Montag, and his parents, prompting ongoing feuds and a lawsuit by Pratt and other victims against the City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power over water system mismanagement.
A political novice and Republican, Pratt lambasted Democratic officials, including Governor Gavin Newsom, for neglecting brush management and controlled burns, as well as the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power CEO Janisse Quiñones and the Los Angeles Fire Department for inadequate responses—attributing failures to 'lack of budget, lack of knowledge, or simply DEI.' 'All of this was preventable,' Pratt said. 'We are standing here amongst the ashes of our once beautiful town because the state and local leaders let us burn.' He called the situation 'not just a political failure, it's a moral one.'
Montag echoed the sentiment, telling the New York Post: 'They intentionally let us burn before, during and after. There was no accountability. It was gross negligence.' Just days prior, Pratt criticized Newsom on Instagram over the governor's office denying records of text messages related to the fire from January 6-9, 2025.
Pratt described Los Angeles' political system as 'fundamentally broken,' a 'machine designed to protect the people at the top... while the rest of us drown in toxic smoke and ash.' He vowed to take on Mayor Karen Bass, who is seeking re-election in the nonpartisan June primary, branding himself on his campaign website as 'Karen Bass’ worst nightmare' amid more than a dozen contenders. 'This just isn’t a campaign. This is a mission, and we are going to expose the system,' he told the crowd. On X, Pratt posted: 'It’s official. I’m running for Mayor of LA... Let’s make LA camera ready again!'
The announcement garnered an early endorsement from Richard Grenell, interim head of the Kennedy Center and leader of Fix California, who wrote on X: 'Transparency is what we need. Spencer has the passion and the drive to make positive change for Los Angeles.'
