The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Mauricio Umansky has considered entering politics as he hopes to “do something great” for Los Angeles.
“I’m not running for mayor yet. I never said never,” Umansky, 56, said on the Monday, August 10, episode of “Money Rehab” podcast. “Maybe one day. I’ve thought about it a lot, but not yet. I’m a registered independent, and I believe in the middle. I think we’ve lost the middle. I think it’s kind of gone, which is kind of sad.”
According to the Agency cofounder, everything is “so extremist right now,” and there needs to be a push for “finding balance and finding that middle again.”
When podcast host Nicole Lapin asked why she should vote for him, Umansky listed off some causes that are important to him.
“Because I’m going to make L.A. great again,” he said with a laugh. “Look, we need to do a lot of great things for L.A. On the financial side, I’m definitely more on the Republican side. [Ronald] Reagan was an L.A. guy and an L.A. native, and I do believe in Reaganomics. If you took Reaganomics today, they’re certainly not a Republican side. That’s more of a middle thing.”
Umansky argued that Los Angeles needs to bring businesses, employment and innovation back to one of the largest cities in the United States. He also feels there needs to be a push to prioritize Hollywood.
“We’ve lost so much of Hollywood. We need to give Hollywood incentives,” he argued. “What put Los Angeles on the map was television and movies. The reason we have people come from all over the world to visit L.A. is because of the movies. If we stop filming movies and television here, it’s not only about the employment that’s coming, it’s about the tourism.”
Umansky is also concerned with the city because he claims international buyers are “gone.”
“If we don’t start fixing that now,” the luxury real estate agent shared, “that’s going to affect us.”
Earlier this summer, The Hills alum Spencer Pratt made headlines when he ran for L.A. mayor. Although Umansky voted for the reality star, Pratt, 42, did not receive enough votes for the general election in November. (Voters will choose between incumbent Mayor Karen Bass and city council member Nithya Raman.)
When asked whether Pratt’s loss had an effect on his political ambitions, Umansky said he’s still thinking about the future.
“I haven’t decided whether I want to run or not. It’s a major commitment, and it’s also very difficult to run against the Democratic Party in Los Angeles, which is also kind of sad,” he claimed on Monday. “They’re making promises that are unsustainable in order to win votes and they’re not good for the city just to win votes.”
Umansky hopes that those in power can also fix the “bad PR” surrounding Los Angeles. If they do, he believes things could change for the better.
“If we can change the PR that’s out there, but actually change it [so] that we are safe here,” he explained. “We cannot have criminals get out of jail in three days. We just can’t do that because what happens is more crime happens. They’re not scared of being in jail. They’re not scared of being put away.”
