By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2026-06-05 14:16:32 | Updated at 2026-06-07 18:52:09
2 days ago
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson acknowledged this week that LA mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt is right about drugs fueling both cities' homelessness crises.
Wilson, 43, made the concession during a moderated conversation with FOX 13 Wednesday night.
Reporter Hana Kim had just pointed to a May 22 interview Pratt did with ABC7 Los Angeles where he promised to 'unplug' non-LA residents he said were reaping local tax benefits and pawn them off on Seattle.
He said Wilson would happily 'welcome them.'
'They’re not homeless. They’re drug addicts,' he also said.
Kim said it was 'only fair' to allow Wilson 'a response.' The progressive appeared to roll her eyes before fielding the question.
'I'm not going to respond to him, but I will respond to you all,' she prefaced.
'I think it's very clear, when we look at the data, when we look at different cities around the country, and kind of compare the scale of our homelessness issues, what is driving homelessness is housing costs.'
Progressive Katie Wilson, 43, made the remarks during a moderated conversation with FOX 13 on Wednesday
In a May 22 interview with ABC7 Los Angeles, Pratt promised to 'unplug' non-LA residents he was were reaping local tax benefits and pawn them off on Seattle and Wilson
Wilson went on to admit: 'That does not mean that drugs are not a factor. They absolutely are a factor.'
'Especially for people who have been homeless for a while... and struggling with substance use disorder.
'Helping someone out of homelessness is not as simple as putting a roof over their head,' she continued, before talking up local policies similar to the ones Pratt said were being taken advantage of.
Wilson said LA and Seattle were simply providing the 'support that someone might need to a better path.'
'But, it is very clear, again, that housing costs are what are driving the homelessness crisis, and drugs make everything worse,' she said.
'And if you fall into homelessness, very often, people become addicted to drugs once they've become homeless.'
Wilson concluded that 'drugs are very entangled in the homelessness crisis.'
'But the real driver is housing costs,' she said.
Both cities have struggled with high rates of homelessness for decades
In the May ABC7 interview, Pratt was asked about his plans for the more than 40,000 homeless people in Los Angeles.
'Well, they're not homeless,' he immediately said. 'They're drug addicts.'
'Most of these people are addicted to fentanyl and meth.'
He argued that most were not only 'choosing to be on the streets because they want to do drugs' but that 'most' were not even from Los Angeles - '60 percent,' he said.
'These people have been bused in by scam rehabs, scam NGOs, scam homeless nonprofits. These people, when I unplug them, and say, "you're not taking our tax money anymore," they're all going to Seattle,' Pratt argued.
'The people who want to keep doing drugs on the sidewalk - a lot of these people will leave,' he told reporter Josh Haskell.
'The other ones, there's a lot of criminals - there's people that are getting naked in front of kids - they're going to jail. The people torching animals? They're going to jail.'
The interview also saw Pratt asked about his past appearances on Infowars and praise of Alex Jones.
The Hills star-turned-Republican has rapidly gained ground in the LA mayor race, even surpassing local councilmember Nithya Raman in polls despite his lack of experience.
Raman, Pratt, and current Mayor Karen Bass are the three main candidates vying for a post-primary place. Votes are still being tallied in California.
