Spencer Pratt Polls Second in LA Mayor Race, Pledges to Clean Up City

Former reality TV star Spencer Pratt discussed his campaign for Los Angeles mayor and plans to transform the city in an exclusive CBS News interview.

Pratt, 42, stands second in polls for the mayor's race in the nation's second-largest city. An election is set for June 2, with a possible runoff on Nov. 3 if no candidate wins a majority. If elected, he would become Los Angeles' first Republican mayor since Richard Riordan left office in 2001 after two terms.

Pratt, who lacks prior political experience, told CBS News' Adam Yamaguchi that his common sense approach will draw voters. "I don't do the politician talk, and I think it's refreshing to people to hear somebody speak from the heart, be authentic," he said.

A recent UCLA poll showed 40 percent of voters undecided. Pratt said the numbers signal readiness to oust incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, who drew heavy criticism for her handling of last year's devastating wildfires. Pratt lost his home in the Palisades Fire.

He dismissed the polls, saying his supporters skip calls from pollsters. "What it shows is that Mayor Bass has the worst record in LA history," Pratt said.

Pratt, Bass and City Councilmember Nithya Raman debated earlier this week. Known as the villain on MTV's "The Hills," Pratt said the event and his campaign reveal a different side. "People know when I was a reality villain, I was doing it to get paid. It was strategic. I was working with producers," he said. "I'm being very strategic to win and save LA, but there's no strategy when you're standing in an Airstream on your burned out town. You can't fake that."

Asked about parallels to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who defeated former Governor Andrew Cuomo, Pratt noted both promise change but differ on policies. "The one thing I connect with is I know he promised his voters (buses) will be free, and I'm promising my voters the metro, Metro buses, the Metro trains, they will be free from urine, feces, stabbing, attacks," he said. "So that's kind of similar. We both had free things for public transportation."

He added that Mamdani tapped into a desire for change, but Los Angeles voters have seen that socialist approach fail for more than six years. "I didn't want to be a politician. I'm standing in what happened because of failed politicians. That's why I'm here," Pratt said.

Pratt also likened himself to former President Barack Obama, a community organizer with no experience running the country before his presidential run. "When people have passion and they care and they have common sense and they have humility to know 'I don't know everything,' but what I do know is all these very smart, successful people in Los Angeles want to get around me, get behind me, and make sure that LA is the number-one city in the world," he said.