Protesters carried the charred couch into the middle of a two-lane road and placed it right in front of Vice President Kamala Harris’ Brentwood mansion.

Activists from the Sunrise Movement visited the site on September 23 to plead with Harris to stop promoting fossil fuel extraction. The ruined sofa came from a home destroyed in a Riverside County wildfire last month.

“Big Oil Started the Fire,” read a placard held by some demonstrators and chanted slogans in front of the leaf-covered home Harris shares with Staff Sergeant Doug Emhoff. marched.

This lasted about 45 minutes, with traffic increasing at times as drivers worked their way through the chaos. Eventually, the neighbor across the street had seen enough and came out of his house screaming. This is stupid! Please get out of my driveway. ”

Occasional irritations and annoyances plague the bustling area of ​​Los Angeles that Harris calls home.

Her street is dotted with lawn signs championing her candidacy, but some residents are unhappy with the attention and security that comes with having a vice president. And they are concerned about what the future holds if Harris is elected president.

“Every time she comes, we have to go through security. The streets are one-way. A woman who lives on the same block as Mr. Harris said that Ms. Harris defeated Donald Trump in November. He added that he heard neighbors hinting that they would put their property up for sale.

“If she said, ‘Merry Christmas, we’re sorry for the inconvenience,’ that would be fine. But four years, it’s not a line,” the resident said, adding that the vice president, who lives nearby, Like several other unexcited people, he asked that his name not be published out of fear that what he said would reveal his political leanings.

In the Sunset Boulevard neighborhood north of Harris City, only 23% of voters voted for President Trump in 2020, but some of the disgruntled residents are Republicans. “Do you think she’ll win?” said the woman, a longtime Republican supporter, worried about having her name published, warning, “If you use it, I’ll kill you.”

It’s unclear how often Harris stays in Brentwood, but neighbors say he visits with some regularity. Emhoff bought the house in 2012 for $2.7 million, and Harris moved into it two years later after marrying Emhoff, public records show. she visited los angeles at least 59 times According to the Wall Street Journal, in 2023 it will be at least a year in advance, 46 days in advance.

Harris’ campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

Officials who have done “advanced work” for past presidents, such as coordinating travel and logistics, said they may visit Brentwood more often, if not more frequently, if Harris becomes president. He said security would be necessary. Let’s take a look at Harris’ motorcade, which is causing traffic jams. If she were to travel as president, the number could easily exceed 40.

“It’s hard to hide a motorcade, especially a presidential motorcade,” said Reid Gehlen, who served as advance director for George W. Bush during the 2004 campaign. Galen, co-founder of the Anti-Trump Lincoln Project, checked out many components of the convoy, including ambulances and vehicles carrying counterattack teams. “It could be ridiculously long.”

Residents of Harris City’s Kenter Canyon neighborhood are used to famous homeowners, with LeBron James and Travis Scott living nearby, and the security detail and paparazzi footprint they bring. But Harris’ protection rises to another level. It came to light on the morning of September 29, when Mr Harris was at home. Her block was closed to all but local vehicles, and pedestrians passed through checkpoints. White tents were set up for plainclothes security personnel.

Some residents said they were confused, but many more were calm about the traffic and parking restrictions and the presence of Secret Service agents. Some, including Jonathan Kimmel, said it was an honor to have Harris sleeping nearby and declared they would endure an even worse commute in anticipation of the election.

“If Trump wasn’t going to be president, I would take a two-hour detour each way,” said Kimmel, executive producer of Comedy Central’s “Crank Yonkers.” Kimmel’s younger brother is TV host Jimmy Kimmel. supported Mr. Harris. “If you need it, we’d be happy to put in a sewer system.”

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An edgy lawn sign adorns the front lawn of an 8,200-square-foot home near Harris’ home.

It says, “Everyone is terrible / 2024.”

No one was home the day the Times knocked on the front door, but there was a floor mat asking visitors to “please return with your warranty card.” Still, for every resident who complained about traffic, more said they were tickled by Harris’ presence or resented the unneighborhood of others.

Actor Jon Tenney, who lives across Harris Street, said having the Secret Service there “kind of feels like a nice block party,” in a good way. When he was told about another resident’s abuse, he became furious.

“That’s crazy,” said Tenney, who co-starred on the TV show “The Closer.” “She’s the Vice President of the United States. There are security details. That’s part of her job.”

Harris’ supporters and detractors agree that Secret Service agents were courteous and professional, and residents felt safer with them. That’s even a selling point touted by listing agent Ben Bellack of the home on the market for $5,149,000 down the street from Ms. Harris’ property.

Real estate agent Ben Bellack is in the living room of a home for sale in Brentwood. It’s down the street from Kamala Harris’ house.

(Wally Scully/Los Angeles Times)

“When people came, [the] “At the open house, I wasn’t leading with LeBron James…it was ‘Presidential Candidate’ and ‘Secret Service,'” Bellack said, adding that after learning Harris had a home in the enclave, several He added that many prospective buyers were pleasantly surprised. “I think people appreciate the security and the potential for improved security.”

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Brentwood is canyon countryfrom the money-earned Mandeville Canyon to Harris’ Kenter Canyon. No wonder VIPs love it. The chapel’s dusty mountaintop offers great views and privacy, while its shady lower elevation offers a classy small-town feel and proximity to shopping and other amenities.

Harris is not the only canyon resident to run for president. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who withdrew from the campaign in August, is still alive. In a $6.6 million Mandeville Canyon homeaccording to reports.

Compared to Kennedy’s 6,000-square-foot home, Harris-Emhoff’s four-bedroom home is unassuming. The roughly 3,500-square-foot mansion was built in 1948, decades before the McMansion craze, not to mention the fake farmhouses that now dot Brentwood.

If Ms. Harris defeats Mr. Trump in November, will she still find time to visit? Gehlen, the former director, said regular visits would likely be difficult because the president has many responsibilities. The presidency, he says, is “like being in a gilded cell.”

A real estate sign on the street where Vice President Kamala Harris lives.

(Wally Scully/Los Angeles Times)

Galen said one thing is certain: If Harris visits Brentwood as president, security will be increased. Consider the recent climate change protests. “If she becomes president, [the Secret Service] I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again. Or perhaps designate a free speech zone. ”

Political consultants who have done preliminary work for Democratic presidents said the geography and infrastructure of Harris’ neighborhood presents fundamental security challenges. It starts with the narrow roads themselves, where residents park on the side of the road.

“That creates vulnerability,” said the consultant, who requested anonymity due to the sensitive subject matter. “If possible, it would be preferable for the president’s motorcade to run on roads where there are no cars parked.”

He noted that real estate that is the president’s residence is also often protected by large physical barriers. Sanitation truck full of sand It was installed around the entrance to Trump Tower when its namesake owner was in town. It’s hard to imagine a similar arrangement working on Harris Street.

In fact, homes in Kenter Canyon appear to be more difficult to secure than the home bases of past presidents. For example, Mr. Bush enjoyed a trip to a small ranch in Crawford, Texas. And California presidents have set up residences in more remote locations, such as President Richard Nixon’s La Casa Pacifica in San Clemente and President Ronald Reagan’s Rancho del Cielo in Santa Barbara County. .

Galen said Harris and Emhoff “really want to inconvenience thousands of people every time they want to take a few days off” because they know there are security challenges in Brentwood. “Is this true?” you may ask yourself.

Actor Tenney said Harris’ assistant once delivered a bag of gifts and an apology, saying, “We apologize for the inconvenience.” Tenney said she recently met the vice president at a fundraiser and told him they were neighbors.

“She said, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry,'” he recalled.

Times staff writers Sammy Ross and Jack Fleming contributed to this report.