Before his house burned down in last year’s Palisades fire, Spencer Pratt’s time as a celebrity seemed to have come and gone. After waging an outsider campaign for mayor of Los Angeles based on his advocacy in the Palisades, he is back in the limelight.
Reporters had been waiting for hours to speak to Mr. Pratt, a reality star, when he finally emerged in front of Don Antonio’s Mexican restaurant on Pico Boulevard on Tuesday night.
Outside his campaign party, which was closed to the media, a dozen or so television crews filled their airtime by interviewing supporters of Mr. Pratt: celebrities, like the television host Billy Bush; Norm Langer known for Los Angeles’s Langer Delicatessen; and a motley collection of including live streamers in top hats and silvery suits holding “Pratt for LA Mayor” signs.
A black curtain was erected in front of the restaurant to prevent a view of Mr. Pratt, his wife Heidi Montag, and celebrity supporters like Mr. Bush and the comedian Adam Carolla. The waiting supporters and news crews created a raucous scene outside that was occasionally broken up by delivery robots and pedestrians confused about why a crowd had gathered in front of a restaurant with 3.7 stars on Yelp.
Mr. Pratt’s move into politics began with his blistering criticism of Mayor Karen Bass, whom he is challenging in the race, and Gov. Gavin Newsom, whom he routinely accuses of “letting his neighborhood burn down.” In a series of interviews last year, he appeared to have no aspiration for politics and said he was focused only on his neighborhood in the Pacific Palisades.
In the months since he announced his run for mayor, Mr. Pratt has tried to broaden his platform, talking about the city’s problems with homelessness and drugs. He is thick on insults and thin on policy, but his outraged tone feels in sync with voters who are frustrated with the cost of living and a homeless problem that has come to feel more like a condition of the city than something that can be solved.
Supporters repeatedly said on Tuesday night that they knew that Mr. Pratt was not a typical candidate but that they were willing to take a risk on an outsider with no political experience.
While he had a strong showing in the Tuesday primary, as vote counting continued on Wednesday, he was in a race for second place and the chance to face Ms. Bass in a November runoff. When he emerged to talk to reporters, he was focused on a longer race and talked about trying to reach out to Democrats who might be leery of a Republican who has become a hero to right-wing influencers.
“I think this idea that I don’t represent Democrats and Republicans and independents, anyone that’s just a Los Angeles citizen and wants basic quality of life, I’ll be able to show that in five minutes,” Mr. Pratt said. “I’m going to show everybody that I’m their mayor.”
Conor Dougherty covers housing and development, focusing on the rising costs of homeownership. He is based in Los Angeles.
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