(5/15/26) In a one-on-one interview with ABC7, Mayor #KarenBass shared her view of mayoral candidate #SpencerPratt, saying the reality TV star doesn't have "a clue" about running #LA.

All week long, we've been sitting down with the top candidates running for Mayor of L.A., going deeper into their proposals and strategies. And that was his new political reporter, Josh Haskell, who's here now. And he spoke with Mayor Karen Bass, who is running for that second term, Josh. David and Jovana, voters have a big decision to make. Do they stay the course with Karen Bass, and they give her another term that she says she needs to solve the city's problems? Or do they abandon ship? Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is in a tough re-election fight, following the worst natural disaster in the city's history, the Palisade's fire. In her first term, the city has also seen a drop in film and television production and a rise in the cost of living. Not to mention the stubborn issues of homelessness and public safety that not all residents feel have improved on her watch. How do you convince such an angry electorate that you deserve four more years? Well, first of all, it's super important that I explain about the accomplishments that have been done. The fact that homelessness is down 17 and a half percent. Two years in a row, it's the first time we've seen a decline in street homelessness. Crime is down, 60-year-low, in terms of our homicide rate. On homelessness, I know that street homelessness is down, but roughly 40% of those who have gone through inside safe have ended up back on the street. What is being done to address that? Once we get people off the street, making sure that we address why they fell on the street to begin with. Josh, 60% of the people in inside safe have remained housed. I think it's really important to build on that success. You can't go from a tent into an apartment and expect to function on your own. Even with the progress of inside safe, it's an extremely expensive program that basses rivals in the race including Councilwoman Nithya Rahman say isn't sustainable long-term. There's still over 40,000 homeless in the city of Los Angeles. On public safety, bass wants to increase the size of Los Angeles Police Department, as officer overtime hours continue to skyrocket. Basses proposed budget would hire 510 new officers and give over $2 billion to the LAPD. On LAPD funding, the mayor may encounter pushback once again from the city council. I work very well with the council members. Of course, we have differences. And of course, to get something done, if I need to work around them, you better believe it. But I don't think that that's going to happen this time in the budget. I think the council realizes that we cannot compromise public safety. Why do you think someone like reality TV star Spencer Pratt is doing well in this race? Oh, I think he's tapping into the anger and frustration that people have. I think he's doing that, but I think we're a celebrity-driven culture. Do you think that Spencer Pratt knows what it takes to run the side of the board to say? I don't think he has a clue. A clue about what? How to run the nation's second largest city? Then why are some Democrats supporting him? Well, I mean, we'll see. The election is, you know, ends on June 2nd. And something that's certainly on Mayor Bass's mind, the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Mayor Bass mentioned the games multiple times during our interview. And she says that she wants to continue to prepare the city for, quote, the greatest games that have ever taken place. David and Giovanna? Yeah, this is interesting because so many of these candidates, they know they're going to be on the world stage when it comes to the Olympics. So you've interviewed four of the five top candidates. Back to Spencer Pratt. He is the one that was not here this week. What's the case in that and trying to get him back? Well, we're still working to connect with Spencer Pratt for a one-on-one interview. He was scheduled to appear on Wednesday, but the day before his team told us that he was not able to get here for an interview because of a scheduling conflict. David and Javanna. Yeah. Okay, we'll keep trying, right?