Gavin Newsom, Governor of the once-Golden State of California, just can't seem to stop stepping on a certain protrusion. In his latest, he's engaged with actor and Pacific Palisades resident Spencer Pratt, who lost his home in the recent wildfires. And Mr. Pratt, frankly, has walked all over the governor in this exchange. Spencer Pratt, who is one of dozens of residents suing the city, county, and state over their failures prior to the fire and during, has annoyed the governor, you see, by demanding some answers as to how that fire got so out of control so quickly.
There's a certain amount to unpack here.
At the heart of this issue, it seems, is a California legislative proposal, SB 549, which passed the California Senate on Monday. This was a scheme to use public funds to buy burned-over lots to be used for public housing and transit systems.
The California Senate passed a bill to authorize a Los Angeles County “Resilient Rebuilding Authority" that could use public funds to "purchase lots at a fair price for land banking," and "create open space." The bill would also allow municipal bodies to use property taxes to fund low-income housing and public transit. Senate Bill 549 now has a hearing in the state Assembly scheduled for Wednesday.
As a funding mechanism, the bill would allow the RRA for the Los Angeles wildfires to “Issue, receive, and administer funds, including, but not limited to, tax-increment financing, federal loans and grants, state loans and grants, and philanthropic grants, to support recovery.”
The RRA would then be able to use taxpayer funds to oversee most of the construction process, and would be granted the power to “purchase critical construction materials in bulk,” "manage and coordinate rebuilding and related logistics," "enhance financing options," and “support the reconstruction workforce by partnering with trades, facilitating training and workforce development, and creating temporary workforce housing.”
Mr. Pratt objected and took to his X account to make his objections known. Every citizen has the right to do this. The LA Times then entered, stage left:
This week, reality TV show star Spencer Pratt posted multiple videos on social media savaging a proposed state bill on wildfire rebuilding. In one, Pratt told his 2 million TikTok followers that he consulted an artificial intelligence engine about Senate Bill 549. He said it told him the legislation would allow L.A. County to buy burned-out lots in Pacific Palisades and convert them to low-income housing, strip away local zoning decisions and push dense reconstruction. He urged people to oppose it.
“I don’t even think this is political,” Pratt said. “This is a common sense post.”
The bill's sponsor, Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica), has since withdrawn the bill. So, Spencer Pratt seems to have won the round...
C list celebrity booooom pic.twitter.com/cLQLIpXfLi
— Spencer Pratt (@spencerpratt) July 17, 2025
... but Governor Newsom, not being one to take the L and leave it alone, had to make it personal, replying to Pratt's question-asking with gaslighting and, incredibly, blaming Pratt.
Losing your home is heartbreaking. No one should have to go through that, and we’re fully committed to supporting you and your community in recovering. Period.
But that pain doesn’t give you license to mislead your neighbors with completely fabricated conspiracy theories.
You’ve been spreading false information that’s scaring people and actively hurting the very community you claim to speak for.
And now — thanks to your videos — a proposal to help fire victims rebuild is dead. Well done.
Calling a concerned resident who lost his home to the Palisades Fire ‘C-list’ for demanding answers? That’s not leadership. That’s shameful. Newsom, you let the state park burn down and it burned down my home, my parents’ home and my whole community. I’ll continue to speak up for… pic.twitter.com/5A0xIlDBmp
— Spencer Pratt (@spencerpratt) July 17, 2025
Mr. Pratt's post continues:
I’ll continue to speak up for my home town and I’ll see you in court.
This isn't about whether Mr. Pratt was correct or not in what SB 549 would have or wouldn't have done, if passed. It was withdrawn, and that in itself is an indication that the sponsor may have felt some of Mr. Pratt's criticisms were hitting a little too close to the mark, and indeed Mr. Pratt has been very vocal about the failures surrounding the Pacific Palisades fire - like an utter failure to clear dry brush, to establish fire lanes, and so on.
Spencer Pratt perceived SB 549 as a proposal that would be typical of the political left, to take advantage of a disaster and turn it to suit their own agenda. He spoke out on the matter. In return, the Governor of the State of California used his official Press Office to try to browbeat a citizen into shutting up.
Read More: Trump Pulls the Plug on Gavin Newsom's High-Speed Rail Boondoggle
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That may not be censorship in the strictest sense. But it's sure within spitting distance.
Let's be honest: Plenty of politicians in plenty of states have had their toes right up on this line before. But this is a more egregious example than most. The Pacific Palisades fire spread largely due to government incompetence. Instead of acknowledging what went wrong, instead of finding ways to prevent this from happening again, and to make things right for the people affected, Governor Newsom is hurling insults.
Yeah, Democrats. You go on and run this guy for president in 2028. He's probably as good as any other prospective candidate you have, which is to say, not very much.
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