LA Mayor Karen Bass Back In City As Criticism Against Her Grows

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass returned to Los Angeles Wednesday, to criticism over her actions surrounding the numerous fires across L.A. continuing to grow.

In the past few days, multiple wildfires have exploded across Southern California, fueled by high winds and dry conditions. The largest of these is the Palisades Fire, which is currently at over 17,000 acres, affecting the Pacific Palisades in western Los Angeles, the city of Malibu, and the Santa Monica mountains. Over the last few days, the Palisades Fire alone has caused 40,000 people to be evacuated, 1,200 structures to be burnt down, and 2 people to die. Other wildfires across the L.A. area, such as the 10,000 acre Eaton fire and the 700 acre Hurst fire, have also proven to be destructive and deadly.

While President Joe Biden, Governor Gavin Newsom, numerous local officials, and fire crews were quick to bring in relief on the ground, one notable name was missing from that list: Mayor Bass. Even after the hugely destructive Palisades Fire was threatening more and more of Los Angeles on Tuesday, Bass stayed in Accra, Ghana, where she was part of the U.S. delegation attending the inauguration of Ghana President John Mahama. While she did declare a state of emergency on Tuesday from Ghana, her total response was much more limited. The meeting and coordinating with officials at the Palisades Fire fell down to Governor Newsom of all people, who was in the area for a visit with President Biden. Newsom shifted to the Palisades Fire and announced his own state of emergency.

Bass, meanwhile didn’t leave Ghana until mounting criticism from home forced her hand. She flew back to Los Angeles on Wednesday. However, by the time she landed, the Mayor was the main target of criticism, with many saying she refused to go back to the city in its time of need, that her policies contributed to the chaos of the lack of water in fire hydrants to fight the blazes, and that her decision to cut over $17 million from the Los Angeles Fire Department budget ahead of the fires helped contribute to the spread and destruction.

Bass back in LA

Upon landing at LAX on Wednesday, Bass was asked numerous questions by reporters, of which she stayed silent on and stared at the ground. Questions included “Do you owe citizens an apology for being absent while their homes were burning?”, “Do you regret cutting the Fire Department budget by millions of dollars, Madame Mayor?”, “Have you absolutely nothing to say to the citizens today?”,  “Do you think you should have been visiting Ghana while this was unfolding back home?”.

However, Bass broke her silence later on Wednesday at a news conference saying that “I took the fastest route back, which included being on a military plane, which facilitated our communications. So I was able to be on the phone the entire time of the flight. We are fighting for you and everyone in Los Angeles.”

Despite being given multiple opportunities, Bass continued to refuse to answer pressing questions. Instead, she flubbed her speech multiple times. At one point when reading from her notes, she even said, instead of giving an assistance website, “Emergency information, resources and shelter is available. All of this can be found at URL.”

This led to Thursday morning, when multiple Los Angeles officials informed the public on updates to the fires, as well as where to get help and what to do. LA County Sheriff Robert Luna, LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley, and LA County fire chief Anthony Marrone were all praised for their responses on Thursday. They even noted that while they had been prepared for one or two large wildfires occurring in the County, they had not been prepared for multiple large fires, or for the fires to be so fast moving and huge, stretching their resources.

Mayor Bass, meanwhile, gave a few quick remarks before questions, saying that “The winds in and around the city continue to be of a historic nature. Combined with the extensive drought, they created the perfect storm. We are all hands on deck.”

Reporters grilled Bass with questions surrounding her Ghana trip, her decision to take away LAFD funding, and the city’s overall lack of preparation for the fires. When asked about the lack of preparation, Bass responded: “We have to save lives and we have to save homes. Rest assured that when that is done, when we are safe, when lives have been saved and homes have been saved, we will absolutely do an evaluation to look at what worked, what didn’t work, and to correct or to hold accountable anybody, department, individual, etc.. But my focus right now is on the lives and on the homes.”

Finally, when she was given a questions about the fire hydrants in the city either not working or having low flow, Bass responded by saying “I’m frustrated by the hydrants. This is an unprecedented event. The number one problem is the fact no air support could be given due to the high winds.”

Major criticisms levied against Mayor Bass

The Mayor’s non-answers and dodging questions only furthered criticism against her. While Bass was heavily criticized since Tuesday, even Democrats joined in, leaving many bewildered that she isn’t giving responses. Former Obama staffer and podcast host Tommy Vietor even said on X, “Inexplicable decision to not come back earlier.”

As of Thursday afternoon, the criticism isn’t dying down, as there are till far too many unanswered questions surrounding Bass’ decisions. Political consultants have said that the best form of action for Bass is to give honest responses, take any political hits, then continue on with her duties.

Washington-based political consultant Catherine Jeffries, who specializes in prepping lawmakers on public emergency situations, told the Globe on Thursday that “Bass is being textbook right now for what not to do in a situation like this. It would have been so simple to avoid this circus around her. Like, say, the questions of her being in Ghana. All she had to say was that she had flown there before the fires and she got back as soon as possible. And, all the while, she was coordinating with people there. Done.

“Or on the fire budget. She needed to reduce the overall budget and advisors told her that a large fire event likely wouldn’t happen. Done. Same on the others. Honest responses, move on for now, take the political flak later. But her silence is making things worse. She’s looking incompetent now. Stubborn. People aren’t looking at her for leadership, but are looking at the LAFD. LA County Fire. Local leaders. Even the Governor. Not her.

“When these fires are done and we take a look at what happened, Bass will not be favorably seen at all. She appears to have realized that from her demeanor at the airport. She could have saved some face by answering questions, but she didn’t even do that. Even Biden did when he was there the other day. When she acts the way she has been, people begin to ask themselves if she knows what she is doing. That’s why the people’s trust is with emergency services right now. They aren’t only showing results, but they are answering questions and explaining.”