Spencer Pratt (R), an American reality television personality who rose to fame in the mid-2000s through his relationship with fellow cast member Heidi Montag, now his wife, was comfortably in second place on Election Day.
That night, far-left City Councilwoman Nithya Raman (D) even gave what C-SPAN labeled an "election night concession speech," acknowledging that "we may not get an answer we like" while also emphasizing that thousands of ballots still had to be counted.
But as the ballot tally dragged on for the next four days, Raman "miraculously" overcame a 37,000-vote deficit to secure second place in the race and a November showdown with incumbent Mayor Karen Bass (D).
Kevin McGary, president of The Fredrick Douglas Foundation of California, says reports indicate Raman's "surge" of support came from unverifiable homeless "voters" on Skid Row.
"They don't have to have an ID; they don't have to have an address. They could say, 'I'm at the second garbage can on Second and Foothill, and I'm a vagrant, and I want my ballot,' and theoretically, those people will get a ballot, and they'll get a vote," he tells AFN. "Over the past several months, [Democrats] were paying homeless people, giving them cigarettes or cash to fill out the ballots."
Gary Bauer of the Campaign for Working Families says, "Let's be clear: This is fraud!"
McGary believes the people of Los Angeles should be incensed.
"It's blatant and in your face that you have systems that are nullifying your vote, that are disenfranchising you as a Los Angeles citizen," he asserts.
One option is a recall, but considering there are "so many brain dead and go-along and get-along-type people in Los Angeles," he does not think that effort could muster the high numbers needed to make a difference.
Pratt has been critical of the city's governance after local wildfire recovery failures and openly frustrated with city management. Throughout his campaign, he positioned himself as an outsider challenging entrenched political leadership.
"I don't think Spencer is going to receive any justice on this," McGary laments.
