Cleaning Up Los Angeles: A Mayoral Candidate’s Approach

Los Angeles often finds itself at the bottom of cleanliness rankings in the U.S. One mayoral candidate, however, thinks that holding government employees accountable could be the answer to improving the city’s image.

Citizens can already use a 311 service to report issues like trash and graffiti. Still, LA remains in poor standing among major cities regarding overall cleanliness.

Recent studies have ranked cities based on factors such as the presence of rodents, vandalism, and trash. In a 2025 report, Los Angeles, along with Long Beach and Anaheim, was placed 34th out of 35 cities, just above New York and Jersey City, earning a D+ rating.

Another study from last year positioned LA as the second-worst city for living conditions, pollution, and overall resident satisfaction. The only city performing worse was San Bernardino, California.

Spencer Pratt, a former TV star and current mayoral hopeful, believes that linking the cleanliness of neighborhoods with politicians’ performance could enhance accountability.

He mentioned creating an app that could improve reporting and response to cleanliness issues in the city. “I developed an app to replace 311 that would be more effective. Eventually, it will become part of the city’s dashboard,” Pratt shared on his blog and in a podcast.

In discussions about this initiative, Pratt emphasized that the app would allow residents to take photographs of local trash, geo-tag them, and forward them to the relevant district representatives.

“This app will pinpoint where you are in the city and ensure accountability,” Pratt explained. “It will automatically generate emails and track performance metrics like response times and failures. This way, we can evaluate our elected officials just like we do for service providers,” he added.

He drew a parallel between his approach and the rating systems used by delivery services and restaurants that rely on customer feedback for quality assurance.

As Pratt said, “Why shouldn’t city council members be held to the same standards?”

Currently, LA’s website offers various reporting services, which include tackling illegal dumping and other waste issues. However, a UCLA review indicated that typical response times for requests average four to six days. Interestingly, anonymous reports often took longer to resolve than those made under a name.

Performance pressure is a significant focus for Pratt, who believes that council members need to feel the weight of their accountability, especially as elections approach.