LA business leader says crime, wildfire fallout fueling Pratt surge as voters seek change: 'People are angry'
SANTA MONICA, CA — A business leader and former city council candidate is reacting to Spencer Pratt’s surge in the Los Angeles mayoral race by pointing to crime, the recent wildfires, and the inhospitable business climate as the reason why voters are discontent with the status quo.
"I think a lot of people are concerned about what's happening, they really don't know how to fix this, and I think the crime, the homelessness, the addiction, all the above behaviors of what's happened in our city as politicians that are causing this, I think a lot people are seeing that," John Putnam, the president of Putnam Brands & Putnam Accessory Group, told Fox News Digital.
"And I think Spencer's actually bringing the light in a real way. He's pretty basic with his delivery of his issues and I think that's resonating a lot. Even if you don't want to vote for him, you're listening, though and I think that's resonating with a lot of people."
Putnam, a former candidate for Santa Monica City Council in 2024, told Fox News Digital that even though his town of Santa Monica doesn’t vote for LA mayor, the winner’s platform will have a "trickle down" effect all across the county.
"California's got a big issue, but the city, especially where we live, Santa Monica, is a byproduct of what's happened in Los Angeles and across the world," Putnam said. "In Santa Monica alone, we're a people-driven economy. 80% of our revenue comes from outside this city. We need revenue being generated from people that are coming here to visit."
Putnam’s company, which he has run for 40 years, is based near downtown Los Angeles, and he told Fox News Digital that it’s clear when you drive around the city that the business climate is being significantly handcuffed by crime, homelessness, high taxes and other factors.
"It costs so much to operate a business here," Putnam said. "Out of 250 cities that were surveyed a few years ago, Santa Monica came in number one of being the most expensive place to do business and that's because of all the regulation, all the other aspects.
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"But on top of that, if you can't create an inviting environment and a safe environment and a clean environment, there's no hope. I mean, the bottom line, there is zero hope in that arrangement. So we have to do something quickly and the pain is there. We, just as voters, hopefully, will determine what we have to do to change that."
Crime has been a highly talked-about issue in the mayoral race between Pratt, incumbent Mayor Karen Bass and progressive Councilwoman Nithya Raman. Putnam says that over the past few years, crime has gotten worse overall, despite statistics that say specific violent crimes are down.
"There's all sorts of stats, it’s worse, everyone's trying to sugar coat it in different ways, but the stats are out there, they’re saying crime is down, I think violent crime is down across the country, but all this petty stuff is happening," Putnam said.
"It's come in all neighborhoods. I mean you know it's down in the south side of Los Angeles, east. It's everywhere. You know even here in Santa Monica, we're definitely being victims of this behavior of crime, and the drug addiction that's running rampant in our city that's causing this kind of criminal activity doesn't really satisfy anyone. It doesn't protect us. It doesn't make us feel safe, and it doesn't help our community just to grow."
Roughly a year and a half ago, the Los Angeles area was devastated by wildfires in Altadena and the Pacific Palisades that killed 31 people. The Palisades fire crept within a few miles of Putnam’s home in Santa Monica and destroyed more than 6,000 structures, including Pratt’s home.
Putnam told Fox News Digital that the fires, and criticism of Bass’s preparedness and response, is "definitely a point of every conversation" with Los Angeles residents as only a handful of homes have been rebuilt.
"People are feeling left out, they're not feeling like they're being helped," Putnam said. "I mean, their whole town, Altadena and Palisades were just destroyed. Beyond that, you had nail salons, you have all these hair salons, you had restaurants, these people are homeless from their businesses, their income and they aren't getting the love and the attention they deserve, we need to come together and help those people."
"That's what's frustrating. I think people are angry, but also just really concerned. And I think this is really, Spencer's really done a good job of bringing that out and letting people know this is not acceptable, and we have a choice here."
Pratt will face off in the mayoral primary on Tuesday night against Bass and progressive City Council member Nithya Raman in an election where the top two candidates will move on to the November general election; however, if a candidate receives 50% of the vote, they become the next mayor outright.