Bass or Raman for mayor? In Pratt's Pacific Palisades, some say that's no choice at all

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Set us as preferred If it were up to Pacific Palisades, Spencer Pratt would be mayor of Los Angeles.The affluent coastal community gave its native son 51% of the vote in the June 2 primary, which would have been enough to win the job outright.

But he was outperformed citywide, leaving Palisades voters with a choice some liken to picking the lesser of two evils: Mayor Karen Bass or Councilmember Nithya Raman.Raman, a progressive member of the Democratic Socialists of America, got just 14% of the Palisades vote in the primary.

Bass, who was scorned for being out of town during the January 2025 Palisades fire despite high wind warnings, did slightly better with 18%.“You have a choice between a socialist, which they can’t stomach, and someone who’s actually destroyed the town,” said Sue Pascoe, editor of the Palisades-based publication Circling the News.“Many don’t see that as a choice at all.

...Do you want to jump in hot oil, or do you want to drown in the ocean?”The Times spoke with more than a dozen Palisades voters about who they plan to support in the Nov.

3 general election.Some said they plan to abstain; others said they’ll hold their nose and vote.

One dreamed of recalling the next mayor, be it Bass or Raman.“There’s not a choice that meets the needs of our community,” said Joanna Curtis, a lifelong Palisadian who lost her home in the fire and voted for Pratt in the primary.“Our current mayor is not advocating for our community, and everything that she’s saying is just political rhetoric,” she said.“Because [for] those of us in the trenches, those of us that have to live through this rebuild, everything that she is saying is not happening.”But Curtis isn’t happy with Raman either, pointing to the council member’s repeated votes against bans on encampments near schools.

“I’m sor...