L.A. Mayor's Strategist Slams Spencer Pratt After He Announces He's Running

Spencer Pratt announced his run for mayor of Los Angeles yesterday ... but Karen Bass' team doesn't seem worried.

As we reported ... the 42-year-old reality star announced his new mayoral bid on the first anniversary of the Pacific Palisades wildfire, which destroyed more than 6,000 structures -- including the house Pratt shared with wife Heidi Montag and their two sons.

Since the tragedy, Spencer has engaged in fiery exchanges with California politicians, encouraging fans to call for him to run for office. While he's answered the call ... not everyone seems to think it's a good idea.

Mayor Karen Bass's campaign strategist Douglas Herman tells TMZ ... "It's no shock that in advance of his imminent book release, a reality TV 'villain' who once staged a fake divorce to boost ratings and spent the last summer spewing post-fire misinformation and disinformation to pump up his social media following, would now announce he's running for Mayor."

Remember ... Spencer and Heidi admitted to faking a split in order to boost their careers after their income from "The Hills" was reportedly drying up.

Spencer's book, "The Guy You Loved to Hate: Confessions From a Reality TV Villain," is expected to hit shelves and tablets January 27. He announced his book tour 3 weeks ago with dates in New Jersey and Los Angeles.

While Spencer has gone after several California lawmakers, he's perhaps attacked none harder than Governor Gavin Newsom. The governor's office called Spencer a "C-list reality TV star" after he attacked Newsom for a controversial ordinance.

Newsom's office insisted the governor had nothing to do with the bill, which would have allowed low-income properties to be built on burned land in the Palisades, but the proposed legislation never went into effect anyway.

In an interview with KABC-TV Tuesday, Bass said she's always thinking about the Palisades, and she will not rest "until the Palisades looks like it did before January 7, 2025."

She also commented on the "They Let Us Burn" rally where Spencer made his mayoral announcement, saying, "I think there are people who are profiting off this, and that is what I find very despicable. Intentionally putting out misinformation. Intentionally profiting from social media, book deals, etc. I think that's unfortunate."