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Los Angeles Mayor Candidates Debate Immigration, Destitution, and Forest Fires
The candidates traded attacks over homelessness, wildfire response and police staffing as Bass defended her record and Pratt pressed for tougher action.
On Wednesday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, City Councilmember Nithya Raman, and reality television personality Spencer Pratt met at the Skirball Cultural Center for a televised mayoral debate, clashing over homelessness, public safety, and wildfire preparedness.
Pratt criticized Bass over the 2025 Pacific Palisades fire, calling her an "incredible liar" regarding reservoir management, while Bass defended her response and blamed former Fire Chief Kristin Crowley for failing to deploy firefighters ahead of the blaze.
Debating homelessness, Bass touted her "Inside Safe" program for reducing street homelessness by 17.5%, while Raman countered the initiative is costly and ineffective despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars.
Citing a recent MacArthur Park operation where federal agents arrested 18 people, Bass defended efforts to restore police staffing to 9,500 officers, while Raman opposed contracts she claimed contributed to a nearly $1 billion deficit.
Candidates are intensifying efforts before the June 2 primary, where any contender failing to secure more than 50% of the vote will force a November runoff, as recent polling indicates Bass leads with 40% of voters still undecided.
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Thursday, May 7, 2026
NBC Nightly News report on Los Angeles mayoral debate as Spencer Pratt clashes with Mayor Karen Bass over the Palisades fire and candidates spar over homelessness and public safety