At first glance, a reality-TV star running for mayor of Los Angeles is just another sign that American politics has become synonymous with entertainment. But Spencer Pratt’s campaign is more interesting for an entirely different reason. 

“National politics has nothing to do with why we’re sitting in my dirt lot,” Pratt recently said. “Local politics. City leadership. Who is the head of your LADWP? [Los Angeles Department of Water and Power] These are the things that concern me.”