Mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt hosts South L.A. block party on Bass' old turf

Spencer Pratt campaigned in South Los Angeles at a Hyde Park block party in a neighborhood previously represented by Mayor Karen Bass in Congress. He spent about two hours speaking with and taking photos with roughly a hundred attendees and declined to answer questions from the news media. Marcella Anglada showed him a video of broken sidewalks she said were impassable in her motorized wheelchair and told him she voted for him because he would address the problem. Older residents described being unable to traverse their neighborhoods without mobility aids due to sidewalk conditions. Jonathan Parker credited Pratt for campaigning there and said, “If you can go here, you can go anywhere.” Parker and his wife run a Skid Row charity and said Pratt was the only mayoral hopeful to support their request to the U.S. Justice Department to investigate alleged animal abuse. Residents received barbecue, ice cream, and drinks provided by the campaign.

"Marcella Anglada, 61, pulled out her phone and showed Pratt a video of nearby broken sidewalks that she said were impassable in her motorized wheelchair. "And this is why I voted for you, because I know you're going to do something about it," Anglada told Pratt as he handed back her phone."

"Older residents who need mobility aids such as walkers or wheelchairs are left without options to traverse their own neighborhoods because of the broken sidewalks, she told The Times afterward. Jonathan Parker grew up in the area and gave credit to Pratt for campaigning there. "If you can go here, you can go anywhere," the 39-year-old said."

"Parker and wife Victoriah Bech Parker run a Skid Row charity. They recently publicized a request they filed with the U.S. Justice Department, asking authorities to investigate alleged animal abuse on Skid Row. Pratt, Bech Parker said, was the only mayoral hopeful to show support for their effort. Bech Parker said she said was willing to work with anyone - Republican or Democrat - to improve conditions for people and animals in the downtown L.A. area known for its high rate of homelessness and large encampments."

"Pratt spent most of his two hours at the Hyde Park block party talking and posing for photos with the hundred or so people who showed up. He declined to take questions from the news media, just as he did Saturday in a meet and greet in Sherman Oaks."

Read at Los Angeles Times