By Chris Woodward
Critics may not care for Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt’s plan to deal with the drug-addicted homeless population, but a taxpayers organization and an economist say it isn’t a bad approach.
In a nine-minute video on X, Pratt said the other mayoral candidates in the June 2 primary – Mayor Karen Bass and City Councilmember Nithya Raman – have forsaken the city. He said it’s time for real leadership.
“Los Angeles doesn’t have a homeless problem. We have a drug problem,” Pratt said in his video on X. “The DEA [Drug Enforcement Administration] will tell you that over 90% of the homeless population in LA are hardcore illicit drug users.”
The big picture: Pratt’s multi-step plan involves a treatment-first model, one that the Republican candidate argues is better than simply offering shelter beds. Under his plan, Pratt said city-funded assistance and long-term housing would require mandatory participation in drug treatment and mental health stabilization services.
- Meanwhile, Pratt proposes that Los Angeles cut off funding to what he describes as an “evil racket of corrupt politicians and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who profit off the misery” of addicts.
- “They launder money and feed them more drugs, so they can keep their customers locked in this hell on our streets,” said Pratt in the video on X. “We have a moral obligation from God to help them and make our city safe and clean for everyone.”
- In Pratt’s opinion, people who do not want help will choose to leave Los Angeles. In related interviews about his plan, Pratt has mentioned Seattle as one of the cities where homeless drug addicts would choose to go if Los Angeles halts funding for what he called its “broken nonprofit system.” He said addicts would then choose Seattle and similar cities because of their more permissive policies.
- Whether homeless addicts leave or not, Pratt said he wants an aggressive enforcement of policies to clear encampments of sidewalks, parks and neighborhoods to ensure they are clean and safe. At the same time, Pratt is proposing audits of homelessness programs to ensure they are operating effectively. Funding under his administration would be tied to measurable recovery outcomes. The Center Square made multiple attempts to get comments from Bass, Raman, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson and other leaders in Seattle, but did not receive a response by press time.
Reaction to Pratt’s plan: Susan Shelley, vice president of communications for the Los Angeles-based Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, said she’s open to Pratt’s plan.
- “The general plan is that he is going to enforce the laws against doing drugs openly on the street,” Shelley told The Center Square. “It’s already against the law. He is going to enforce the law.” “I think it would be a more cost-effective approach, but more importantly, it would help people get well, instead of monetizing the bodies on the street, which is what’s currently happening.”
- Shelley said Los Angeles has a situation where the city, county and state pay nonprofits based on the number of contacts that they have with homeless people.
- “We’re helping people, and that’s the metric. [It’s] how many times you go and talk to them because the whole thing is based on willingness to accept services,” said Shelley. “So you can have someone living in a public bathroom at the beach, and I’ve seen this, living in a public bathroom at the beach. And you have like 10 or 15 publicly paid people coming out saying, ‘Well, are you ready to accept services? We’re ready to help you.’ ”
- According to Shelley, people are getting very wealthy off this in the nonprofit world. “All of these different groups get contracts, and all of their executives get paid. And the more bodies there are on the street, the more it’s perpetuated,” said Shelley. “He [Pratt] wants to end this corruption that is essentially exploiting the people on the street to get funding for nonprofit organizations and cronies of the political elite.” That, said Shelley, is the problem.
- Wayne Winegarden, senior business fellow and economist at Pasadena-based Pacific Research Institute, said Los Angeles needs to be comprehensive. “We need to be smarter,” said Winegarden. “We need to get away from housing first because housing first is exceptionally expensive, spending six, seven, $800,000 per unit, in some cases as high as $1 million.” And there is not enough money to buy everybody a million-dollar home, Winegarden said. Even if the money were available, Winegarden said the government still has not treated the underlying causes of homelessness.
- “We talk about using temporary housing or temporary shelter as a low-cost way to address homelessness. That’s incredibly important,” said Winegarden. “You talk about mandatory treatment, especially when somebody’s broken the law, you know, using those opportunities through homeless courts, which we’ve been using ineffectively. But it’s still a good idea.”
- Both Shelley and Winegarden add that California and other states would benefit if this plan is implemented and proves effective. “Governments learn from one another,” said Winegarden. “A successful strategy would garner a lot of attention.”
State of play: Meanwhile, a new University of California, Berkeley/Los Angeles Times poll shows Mayor Karen Bass with a slim lead over Raman and Pratt heading into next week’s primary.
- Bass had 26%, compared to Raman’s 25% and Pratt’s 22%.
- Pratt dismissed the poll, saying on X that as a Trojan, he would “never go off a UC Berkeley poll.” Using the rally cry of the University of Southern California Trojans, Pratt then urged supporters to “Fight On!”
- Earlier this year, a poll from University of California, Los Angeles’ Luskin School of Public Affairs had 40% of voters being undecided. The poll from UC Berkeley had the undecided share at 10%, leading observers to believe that a majority of undecideds have chosen their candidate.
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