Recall Effort Against Los Angeles Mayor Ramps Up Following New Details Of Her Wildfire Mismanagement

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass faced a growing recall effort Wednesday following new details of her response to the wildfires when abroad in Ghana. Bass is now saying that she regrets going to Ghana, West Africa.

Since January 7th, Los Angeles County has been devastated by several wildfires blazing in different areas of the county. This includes the Palisades Fire, which is currently at around 23,700 acres and has resulted in 9 deaths, over 105,000 evacuated, and 5,300 destroyed structures; and the Eaton Fire, which is currently over 14,100 acres and has caused 17 deaths, 100,000 evacuated, and roughly 7,000 destroyed structures. The Palisades fire is also currently at about 19% containment, with Eaton at about 45% containment. The causes are currently unknown as well, although the Eaton Fire is now alleged to have been sparked by faulty electrical lines.

Since the fires began last week, Bass has been criticized over her actions and the city response. A main criticism of Bass was her cutting $17.5 million from the LAFD  in the 2024-2025 city budget. While Bass has said recently that the cuts didn’t have any effect on wildfire response, fire experts and LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley have said that the cuts did indeed hurt their response when fighting the Palisades fire. Another criticism was Bass being warned that the major Santa Ana wind event could cause an emergency scenario, yet deciding to travel to Ghana anyway. Her response in the first day following the massive fire sparking, a simple state of emergency declaration, was also criticized, with Governor Gavin Newsom and the heads of city and county emergency services taking up the initial emergency response instead.

And the list goes on.

Bass refusing to answer any questions upon arrival at LAX. Issues with fire hydrants. Bass nearly firing Crowley following a press conference. Bass promising to not go abroad as Mayor in case of a scenario just like this, yet breaking it multiple times. And that’s not even getting into her other issues as Mayor, such as her failed homelessness initiatives, which, now, are also playing a part in the wildfire situation thanks to tens of thousands of residents losing homes in the fires. For the last week, people have been demanding that Bass resign.

But in the past few days, a new movement to recall her has sprung up. According to the new timeline, Bass was at a reception and smiling all the while the Palisades Fire was growing. She reportedly even stopped by a reception on the way to the airport when leaving Ghana, wasting even more valuable time. The new timeline shows that she otherwise rushed back to Los Angeles as quickly as possible, but her overall response was lacking.

In a CBS interview on Tuesday, Bass noted that going to Ghana had been a mistake. When asked “Looking back, would you have taken that trip overseas?” she responded with a curt “No.”

Recall Bass?

Major media outlets and lawmakers have now joined with L.A. citizens in the growing movement to either recall her or have her resign. Even celebrities, many of whom have been vocal in their support for Bass during the Mayoral election in 2022, are now calling for her to leave. This growing list includes actor Dennis Quaid and reality star Khloe Kardashian.

As for the recall efforts, one against Bass is expected soon, with one against Newsom already started. While Newsom has fought off recalls before, most notably during he 2021 election where he defeated a recall effort at the polls, Bass has not had the same experience. Recall experts told the Globe that while a Newsom recall effort would help erode his chances of a presidential run in 2028, a recall effort against Bass would be far more likely to work, especially on the heels of both Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao being recalled in November and former Republican Nathan Hochman being sworn in as the County District Attorney last month.

“Newsom is interesting because his response also hasn’t been so great,” explained former lobbyist Harry Schultz to the Globe on Wednesday. “But he still has a lot of support and, well he was on the ground day of during the fires taking control. You can’t say the same for Bass. Newsom can be damaged by the recall attempt, maybe enough to hurt him in 2028. Between now and the Democratic primaries in 2028, Newsom will be going over and over again his responses to wildfire questions. That’s for sure. But he’ll likely beat a recall again.

“Bass is more of a wild card. She’s never faced a recall. She’s faced criticism, especially during her time in Congress and in the Assembly. But she has never been put in the national spotlight like this before. Well, she a main face during the budget crisis in the early 2010s in Sacramento and then she was seen by billions getting the Olympic flag during the end of the Paris Olympics. But she hasn’t been challenged like this before. Right now, she’s known as the Mayor who let her city burn down. All her celebrity supporters had their houses burn down in the Palisades. All her wealthy supporters saw the loss of properties. Average citizens saw lives upended as well. Some lost everything. A few died. And she was the one who slashed the budget for the LAFD.

“The GOP should aim to get her out. She was already unpopular before the fires. This might just make her the most hated Mayor in the history of the city. If the GOP wants to continue to grow in California, being the ones to get her out would get them a lot of goodwill. Or getting someone more moderate in to replace her. Longshot but now possible, a Republican becoming Mayor would be quite the feat.

“But right now, the focus is on getting her out.”

More on a likely Bass recall effort is to come out soon.