Gov. Gavin Newsom. (Photo: https://www.gov.ca.gov)
California’s Leadership Crisis: The Arc of Insanity Continues
What environmental damage have all these fires caused?
By Katie Zacharia, January 12, 2025 2:55 am
In the scorched landscapes of California, it’s not just dry wood and mismanagement that have sparked the infernos—it’s the overt narcissism and vanity of politicians like Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Their obsession with self-promotion and personal political gain has overshadowed the urgent need for real solutions to the state’s wildfire crisis. While these leaders posture for the spotlight, crucial fire prevention efforts are neglected, and the lives of ordinary Californians are left to burn. Their failure to address the root causes of disaster isn’t just a matter of policy—it’s a matter of character. Newsom’s disgraceful letter to President Trump, which shifts responsibility while failing to practically help displaced Californians, is a prime example of the gaslighting and dishonesty that has defined his tenure as governor. Newsom continues to play dangerous and costly political games while our city burns before our very eyes —an unforgivable failure of leadership that will undoubtedly cost Californians for decades to come.
Instead of finger-pointing by Newsom, basic questions must be answered. For instance, why didn’t Newsom call Mayor Karen Bass back to Los Angeles from Africa when they were warned — like the rest of us — that the winds were about to ravage the Los Angeles basin? Why wasn’t Newsom ensuring that local reservoirs, like the 117-million-gallon one in Pacific Palisades, were filled to capacity? And why were fire hydrants found empty in critical areas when they were needed most? Why did Governor Gavin Newsom slash funding earmarked for fighting wildfires by more than $100 million? Additionally, in a state and region with an annual fire season, why in 2023 did Mayor Karen Bass allow a $17.6 million budget cut to firefighting services—a decision that directly undermined the Los Angeles Fire Department’s ability to respond effectively to wildfires? Instead of addressing these glaring issues, Newsom spends his time asking President Biden to monitor “misinformation” while ignoring the basic needs of the people affected by the fires – all too reminiscent of Newsom’s ineffective COVID-19 era policies.
For those of us who have endured the failed policies of the Newsom regime, I can remember when President Trump sent a hospital ship during the pandemic to help California’s overwhelmed healthcare system, yet Newsom has not responded to fire victims in kind. There has been no real effort by Bass and Newsom to find shelter for the thousands displaced by these fires—many of whom have lost everything, including basic necessities.
This is the same governor who dined maskless at the French Laundry during the height of the pandemic while locking down and masking the rest of us. Now, his only response to the fires is to run from the press with the seemingly contrived excuse of taking a call from President Biden (with obvious cognitive impairment) and engage in more blame-shifting and political grandstanding.
When I met President Trump for the second time in Orange County in 2023, he spoke at length about California’s broken water system and the essential infrastructure needed to fight fires—many of the same points he had discussed with Governor Newsom back in 2018. President Trump also highlighted the critical need for deforestation measures, brush clearance, and reservoirs filled to capacity—not just from local sources, but by exploring opportunities beyond the state, such as the Columbia River. These proactive, common-sense solutions could have prevented the catastrophic loss of life and property that we are now seeing and have been seeing for years.
Yet, Newsom’s continued inaction on these fronts, coupled with his prioritization of asinine environmental policies like saving the smelt fish at the expense of water storage and fire preparedness, has only exacerbated the state’s inability to respond effectively to disasters.
Many have said that California’s environmental policies, such as restrictions on logging, deforestation, and water usage, have created the inability to effectively prepare for fires. But what environmental damage have all these fires caused? Hundreds of thousands of acres of land, wildlife habitats, and ecosystems are being destroyed each year, and the air quality suffers as massive amounts of carbon are released into the atmosphere. It’s an empty argument to claim that environmental policies should outweigh necessary firefighting measures. The environmental toll of these fires is devastating, and it’s clear that the lack of proper forest management and water infrastructure is a far greater threat to the state’s long-term health.
Amidst the growing frustration with Newsom’s leadership, even Hollywood celebrities are turning against him. But it’s the everyday Californians who are the real heroes—those who have been fighting long before these fires. It’s the workers, the firefighters, the police officers, the brave pastors, the parents whose kids were locked down during the pandemic, and the freedom fighters who stood up against Newsom’s tyrannical lockdowns and covid policies. It’s also the small business owners who struggled to stay afloat, many of whom folded under the weight of unreasonable mandates during the pandemic. And let’s not forget the brave residents of the crime-ridden sanctuary cities, whose lives have been turned upside down by failed policies—policies that were once championed by figures like Vice President Kamala Harris, who have only contributed to the suffering of Californians. These are the people who have been left behind by the governor’s disastrous policies, and they are the bedrock in the fight to restore California.
I spent my college years at Sever College and the Caruso School of Law at Pepperdine University in Malibu, and year after year, we saw the same seasonal patterns unfold—wet El Niño or dry La Niña years followed by dry winters and, inevitably, the fierce Santa Ana winds. Yet, under Gavin Newsom’s leadership, this state has become a shadow of what it once was. His blatant hypocrisy—championing foolish environmental policies while sacrificing the basic needs of Californians—has driven this state to the brink.
I’ve had long conversations with friends who have lost their homes—many with young children, others with elderly family members—who have lost everything but their memories. These Californians deserve better than the political grandstanding and empty promises of Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass. We deserve leadership that puts people first and prepares for disaster rather than running from it.
If Kamala Harris had been elected in 2024, the rest of the nation would surely experience the same crisis mismanagement that we have here in California, but on an even greater scale. Crisis mishandling like we saw with the hurricanes in North Carolina and Georgia with a bankrupt FEMA, or the pitiful $750 aid to Maui fire victims, and the utter devastation of East Palestine, Ohio—none of which were on President Trump’s watch. They were all the fault of Harris, Biden, and the rest of the failed radical left “leadership”.
We don’t need Gavin Newsom to Trump-proof California as he has so arrogantly held a special session to discuss; we desperately need President Trump’s effective and decisive leadership in California. The juxtaposition between President Trump and Governor Newsom couldn’t be more striking. While President Trump has consistently demonstrated his ability to provide proactive solutions, problem-solving abilities, and deal-making skills on a global scale, Governor Newsom has not provided practical solutions to Californians for even the most basic of things, such as lowering the gas tax. It is Gavin Newsom who puts politics over people, and had Newsom acted on even one of the fire prevention measures that President Trump proposed seven years ago, California might have avoided the catastrophic fires that have plagued the state in recent years.
The wildfires ravaging Southern California are a damning indictment of the failed leadership of Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen and they must both resign. The people of California have had enough of inept leadership. It’s time to turn the page and rebuild golden California—together.
- California’s Leadership Crisis: The Arc of Insanity Continues - January 12, 2025
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The fish rots from the head down. Everything that happened in LA was and is completely foreseeable, including the insurance crisis. Yet Democrat politicians, bureaucrats, and their advisors have always pretended that it was not, and have relied instead on “climate change” and “racism” or “bias” as their cover. It won’t work this time with fed up taxpayers and homeowners who will ultimately have to face the burden of rebuilding from the ashes. Change is coming to California. We won’t be “Trump proofing” California anymore.
Katie, by “we deserve” I know you mean the long-suffering conservative minority in CA. However, the majority of Californians haven’t done anything to deserve competent leadership. They voted for the preachy Newsom and Bass because it made them feel good about themselves, imagining themselves to be morally superior as a result. Californians will deserve competent leadership only if they earn it by voting differently. Woe unto us that the Republicans can’t offer an appealing alternative. Someone who is confrontational like Trump.
It was Newsom’s turn, which the democrat political machine saw through, you need to be addressing those who count the votes along with gerrymandered districts. They saw that Newsom made it through 2 recall attempts.
They election system is rigged for the Democranks. When Shasta County said they were moving to paper ballots and hand counting, Newscum passed and signed a law preventing that. Any politician who says they are raising taxes during an election year gets thrown out. But that is all the Democranks were talking about during this last election, during and before the election. Gasoline taxes, fees, and electric taxes are going up, gun and ammo 11% taxes. Nazis run this state.
California needs to be scrutinized on ballot counting when it comes to elections. I believe there is widespread fraud. I also believe gerrymandering should be revisited and revised.
A leadership crisis or fulfillment/facilitating of an agenda; please!
The entities that fostered the crisis are by default empowered to restore normal: Is there anyone out there who senses a “perfect storm” has dashed any and all expectations for the return of what we collectively believed to be eternal?
I’ll bet the fire victims of all incomes wushu Trump was president NOW!
Katy, excellent call to ask that both Newsom & Bass resign. I believe that not only those 2 but other corrupt politicians and leaders across the state are going to be swept up by the backlash that is beginning to swell against corruption and incompetence. The majority (not all) of local, county and state leadership suffer from corruption and incompetence. Most of the good leaders left politics over a decade or so ago. Now is the time to start to look at the void that is going to be created by the departure of corruptness and how and with what type of leaders we want to replace them with. Cailfornia’s best days are quickly starting to take shape as we break the yoke of corruption and incompetence.
BTW, the signature gathers in Los Angeles need 214,000 valid signatures to qualify a recall of Mayor Bass
Katie, thank you for the great encapsulation of Newsom’s lack of leadership on fire prevention.
*NINE of the top twenty destructive fires have happened during his tenure as governor of this once great state. He has failed at every level to improve upon his human agency to make an impact on the protection and safety for those of us that call this state home.
I do not care who he tries to point his finger at, it POINTS STRAIGHT BACK TO HIM!
I look forward to reading more of your writings.
I agree Newsom and Bass need to resign as they are a disgrace.
* https://34c031f8-c9fd-4018-8c5a-4159cdff6b0d-cdn-endpoint.azureedge.net/-/media/calfire-website/our-impact/fire-statistics/top-20-destructive-ca-wildfires.pdf?rev=5a0b548ba5a04d5192396f79ca499e27&hash=3A4B5179C7C97F02682297F9DBC7A3B9
While we are talking about politicians who should resign, let’s add California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. He has no insurance experience. He knows nothing about insurance. He’s completely incompetent. Now Californians are left without insurance. He’s an idiot.
I love this. Pacific Palisades residents couldn’t get back in to see if their residence was still standing. Many got there at 6am yesterday, and at 1pm, there still was no cops to escort them in. They have one cop doing escorts, and he left at the end of his shift. The cop to replace him they couldn’t find. Why weren’t there 50 cops doing the escorting? More incompetence.
The fire department was complaining on TV about people abandoning their cars on Sunset Blvd. Yet, it was the fire department that told them to leave their cars if they wanted to live. Later pictures showed their cars burned up. More incompetence.
Pacific Palisades is (or was) filled with wealthy leftist elites. They got exactly what they voted for, complete incompetence.
By the way, looters were roaming freely in Altadena. Where were the cops? There should have been one on every corner. Every fire should be accompanied with immediate police protection. Instead, they wait days, and let the looters empty houses. TV crews saw the looters carrying property right down the street. Meanwhile, the fire department is telling people to leave their houses unlocked. Yeah, right. I don’t think so.
Why did Mr. Incompetent Newsom wait days to bring in the National Guard to protect people’s property?
I could go on and on. The handling of these fires was a disaster in of itself.
But, but, but… Lara is the first openly gay member of the California legislature, which is what his own website proudly crows about…
Go look for yourself at his website, which only features a fundraiser and list of all the liberal Democrats in the legislature who supposedly support him…
No Finance or Actuarial (risk analysis) experience in his background, just a list of political “community organizer” type appointments.
He is a poster-child of a Democrat operative that failed upwards and is completely unprepared for the hard road ahead for the fire victims in the Palusafes and Altadena.
But he’s there to “fight for you” against the insurance companies and “climate change”…
Another Democrat DEI hire that is COMPLETELY UNSUITED for the job…
Good luck fire victims, you’re gonna need it…
There is a novelty song about Alfred E. Neuman and “What, me worry?” that would do well as his theme song for his planned presidential bid:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-kJFxaBfh_w
https://pjmedia.com/victoria-taft/2025/01/11/why-was-pacific-palisades-reservoir-empty-n4935875#google_vignette
EXCELLENT piece!! Agree wholeheartedly on the problem is with the VOTERS. When Newsome and Bass doubled down on the Sanctuary City, I am always thinking “am I the only person who feels we are not important to these people?” They keep getting elected. We are just here to pay the bills and they just do whatever they want. I fought McKoskers office on a “taco stand” in my neighborhood that was actually selling drugs. They did nothing. One thing after another where we are put in harms way so they can stand there (minus the cape) like they are champions of people and the environment. Its shameful.
They call it Dominion for a reason, and there’s a reason why Democrats advocate for it…
If Newsom and the Dem Party wanted different results, they would adopt different policies.
Worse coming long before Jesus returns; see list of my social media profile’s as I have them all or minimally individually listed & shown at TOP of-on at sovren DOT media/u/lonehuman – https://sovren.media/u/lonehuman