LA business leader says crime and fires driving Spencer Pratt mayoral surge

SANTA MONICA, CA — A business leader and former city council candidate is reacting to Spencer Pratt’s rise in the Los Angeles mayoral race by pointing to crime, recent wildfires and an inhospitable business environment as reasons for voters’ dissatisfaction with the status quo.

“I think a lot of people are worried about what’s going on, they don’t really know how to fix it, and I think as politicians what’s going on in our city is the crime, the homelessness, the addiction, all of the above behaviors that are causing this, I think a lot of people see that,” John Putnam, president of Putnam Brands & Putnam Accessories Group, told Fox News Digital.

“And I think Spencer actually sheds light in a real way. He gets his issues across in a pretty simple way, and I think that resonates a lot. Even if you don’t want to vote for him, you listen, and I think that resonates with a lot of people.”

Putnam, a former candidate for Santa Monica City Council in 2024, told Fox News Digital that although his home city of Santa Monica is not voting for mayor of Los Angeles, the winner’s platform will have a “trickle-down” effect throughout the county.

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“California has a big problem, but the city, especially Santa Monica, where we live, is a byproduct of what’s going on in Los Angeles and around the world,” Putnam said. he said. “We’re a people-focused economy in Santa Monica alone. 80% of our revenue comes from outside of this city. We need the revenue to come from the people who come to visit here.”

The company that Putnam has run for 40 years is headquartered near downtown Los Angeles, and he told Fox News Digital that when you drive around the city, it’s clear that the business environment is significantly constrained by crime, homelessness, high taxes and other factors.

“It costs a lot to run a business here,” Putnam said. “Out of 250 cities surveyed a few years ago, Santa Monica ranked first as the most expensive place to do business, and that’s because of all the regulations and all the other aspects.

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Television star and Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt visits “Fox & Friends” at Fox News Channel Studios on January 28, 2026 in New York City. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)

“But beyond that, if you can’t create a welcoming environment, a safe environment, a clean environment, there’s no hope. So, the bottom line is there’s zero hope in this ordinance. So we need to do something quickly, and the pain is obvious. And we hope that as voters, we’ll decide what we need to do to change this.”

Crime has been a hot topic in the mayoral race between Pratt, incumbent Mayor Karen Bass and progressive Councilwoman Nithya Raman. Putnam says crime overall has gotten worse over the past few years, despite statistics that say certain violent crimes are down.

“There’s a lot of statistics, to make matters worse, everyone’s trying to dress it up in different ways, but the statistics are there, they say crime is down, I think violent crime is down across the country, but there’s all this junk going on,” Putnam said.

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California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass tour the Pacific Palisades downtown business district in Los Angeles on January 8, 2025, as the Palisades Fire continues to burn amid strong Santa Ana winds. (Eric Thayer/Getty Images)

“It’s in all the neighborhoods. I mean, you know, on the south side of Los Angeles, in the east. It’s everywhere. You know, even here in Santa Monica, we are absolutely victims of this criminal behavior, and the rampant drug addiction that’s causing this type of criminal activity in our city doesn’t really satisfy anyone. It doesn’t protect us. It doesn’t make us feel safe and it doesn’t help our community grow.”

About a year and a half ago, the Los Angeles area was devastated by wildfires that killed 31 people in Altadena and Pacific Palisades. The Palisades fire spread to 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 criticism of the fires and Bass’ preparedness and response was “absolutely a point of every conversation” with Los Angeles residents, as only a handful of homes were rebuilt.

““People feel left out, they don’t feel like they’re being helped,” Putnam said. “So their entire town, Altadena and Palisades, were destroyed. On top of that, you had nail salons, you had hair salons, you had restaurants, these people are homeless because of their jobs, their income, and they’re not getting the love and care they deserve, we need to come together and help these people.”

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Los Angeles council member Nithya Raman is also running against Republican Spencer Pratt for Los Angeles governor. (Eric Thayer/Getty Images)

“That’s what’s frustrating. I think people are angry, but they’re also really concerned. And I think it’s really, Spencer’s done a really good job of bringing that out and showing people that this is not acceptable and we have a choice here.”

Pratt will face Bass and progressive city councilwoman Nithya Raman in Tuesday night’s mayoral primary in an election where the top two candidates advance to the November general election; However, if a candidate receives 50% of the votes, he or she becomes the next mayor.