Saving California, Mel Gibson Condemn Newsom, Bass For Their Roles In Mishandling The L.A. Wildfires

At an event in Altadena earlier this week, the Gavin Newsom recall group Saving California, along with guests and actor Mel Gibson, criticized Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass for their mishandling the Southern California wildfires last month.

Ever since the Palisades and Eaton wildfires began in early January, Newsom and Bass have consistently been blamed for botching the response to the fires, as well as not doing enough for early prevention.

Saving California, Gibson and Bishop J.C. Mendez held a press conference in the ruins of Altadena, once again criticizing Newsom and Bass. Gibson was the most prominent speaker of the event, with many in the crowd calling for him to run for Governor.

Gibson, Economy speak out

“California was ill-prepared and had scant resources to deal with the inevitable fires,” said Gibson at the event. “They knew that. So are we supposed to believe our elected officials didn’t know that? Of course they knew that. Governor Newsom and Karen Bass let us all down.

“California has the highest taxes in the country. Now, for that kind of money, we deserve much more and much better. And there is absolutely no adequate excuse the governor or mayor can make for this gross mismanagement and failure to preemptively deal with what they knew was coming. I mean, one of the most pathetic and despicable things I’ve seen was when Karen Bass, in order to shift the blame and culpability from herself, wiped it on the fire chief and threw her under the bus for speaking the truth about how the department had been defunded and were without resources.

“All of my fellow citizens who have lost their homes, they have no recourse, no insurance payouts because the carriers dropped them. Even the carriers realized that California was ill-prepared and had scant resources to deal with the inevitable fires. They knew that. So are we supposed to believe that our elected officials didn’t know that? Of course they knew that. Of course.

“Mayor Bass tweeted about the levels of danger days before she blew out of town, you know. And we drove around in the Pacific Coast Highway and into my neighborhood and various other neighborhoods. Devastating. There I saw the houses of my friends and neighbors reduced the toxic piles of smoldering rubble, much like here in Altadena. The firefighters were practically in tears. You know why? Because they thought they had let us down. And I’m going to say loudly right here, you did not let us down.”

“Newsom has brought us nothing but rampant crime, acute homelessness, and in the industry I’m in, the film industry, Los Angeles used to be the Mecca of filmmaking. It is no more.”

Saving California Chairman Randy Economy also spoke out in Altadena.

“Some say this is going to cost hundreds of millions of dollars to do this recall. Well you know what, so be it. Are we really going to spend $40 billion on things that we have no clue of what’s in that package? We’ve been working on this recall effort for six months. It’s not just about the fires, it’s about the political firestorm that has erupted over this whole situation. The wildfires are emblematic of the whole situation.”

The press conference renewed interest in the recall effort, with a reporter asking Newsom about at a Thursday press conference. After ignoring the question, Newsom’s team later responded to the recall question through a statement later that day.

“Governor Newsom is focused on leading the state and the recovery from the LA fires – not politics. Readers still should have the context that the same group of MAGA acolytes have launched 7 different recall attempts the Governor since he has taken office,” said Newsom spokesman Nathan Click.

However, with a recall effort now in full swing against Newsom, and one against Bass likely to come soon, a possible ousting of both lawmakers is likely to remain in the news through next year, when Newsom is set to be term-limited out and Bass is up for reelection in Los Angeles.

“I think the entire press conference can be summed up by something one of the people in the audience yelled out towards the end,” said Robert Schaeffer, an Altadena resident who works as a donor coordinator. “We heard ‘Give ’em hell Mel. Get Newsom out of there.’. This is how it is now.”

Criticisms of Bass have included cutting $17.5 million from the Los Angeles Fire Department in the 2024-2025 city budget, deciding to travel abroad in January despite knowing that a major emergency with high speed winds was imminent, her minimal response to the fires on the first day, refusing to answer press questions, having promised to never travel abroad as Mayor yet doing it anyway, and overall mismanagement of the fires once she returned to L.A. Most recently, she has been called out for scapegoating by numerous public officials and lawmakers for firing LAFD Chief Kristen Crowley, who previously called out Bass for lying several times about her knowledge of the fires.

Newsom has also not escaped criticism. He has been blamed for not doing enough to push for wildfire prevention initiatives before the L.A. fires, then bungling his response to them in the aftermath. In recent days, Newsom has been called out even more on not focusing on wildfire recovery and other Governor duties by starting a second podcast.

Throughout all this, many prominent Californians who were victims of the fires have spoken out against Bass and Newsom. In addition, many of these victims were supporters and donors of the two in the past, meaning that they have lost critical endorsement and financial support in future runs for office. One of the most prominent victims to speak out has been Gibson. Since losing his house in the Palisades fire, he has both praised the LAFD and gone after Bass and Newsom. When the recall effort began in late January against Governor Newsom, Gibson was one of the first signers after the signature phase of the recall effort began. His tenacity and media appearances have also marked him as a possible Gubernatorial candidate next year, although Gibson himself has not spoken of the matter publicly.