Los Angeles City Hall. (Photo: City of Los Angeles)
California’s Professional Political Class Caused the State’s Demise
Supported by dense voters, Democrats have destroyed the once Golden State
By Katy Grimes, January 20, 2025 3:15 am
As California Governor Gavin Newsom makes the rounds on every available media outlet – on every podcast and media interview – insisting that now is not the time to point fingers over the responsibility of the Pacific Palisades and Los Angeles fires, he is wrong. Now is exactly the right time to ask who, what, when, where, why and how this happened?
The residents of Los Angeles whose homes burned to the ground deserve to know.
There is a lot of evidence that Governor Gavin Newsom has failed up his entire political career. If California had an honest, principled media, Newsom never would have made it out of San Francisco after two rocky terms as Mayor. While he is the head of the state and all of the policies within the state, many other politicians are a part of the government that allowed this disaster to take place.
Former Gov. Jerry Brown signed many bad bills into law which undermine California’s wildfire management, sane energy policies, energy independence. He even vetoed a bipartisan wildfire management bill in 2016, despite unanimous passage by the Legislature, 75-0 in the Assembly and 39-0 in the Senate.
I reported in 2018:
“As California residents were burned out of their towns, homes, neighborhoods, schools, hospitals and businesses, Gov. Jerry Brown was jetting around the world spouting climate change propaganda, and calling the fires California’s ‘new normal.’ Gov. Brown had many chances to sincerely and realistically address California’s increasing wildfires since his election in 2011, but instead chose to play politics, placing his new friends at the United Nations over the people of California.”
President Donald Trump in 2018 acknowledged the importance of forest management:
About the bill Brown vetoed in 2016:
“SB 1463 would have given local governments more say in fire-prevention efforts through the Public Utilities Commission proceeding making maps of fire hazard areas around utility lines. In a gross display of politics, this is especially pertinent given that Cal Fire and the state’s media are now blaming the largest utility in the state for the latest wildfires.
While hindsight is always 20-20, California was on fire when this bill made its way through the Legislature and on to Jerry Brown’s desk.”
It is notable that the same “climate change” Jerry Brown touted and Gavin Newsom and Democrats claim is the cause of California’s latest wildfires, impacts private lands as well as public lands, but private forests are not burning down because they are properly managed. Today, only privately managed forests are maintained through the traditional forest management practices: thinning, cutting, clearing, prescribed burns, and the disposal of the resulting woody waste. And notably, privately managed lands are not on fire.
So who are these politicians responsible for California’s terrible policies which have and continue to result in devastation, loss of property and loss of life? The Globe will write about the revolving doors in City Halls, County Supervisors’ Chambers, the State Capitol that professional politicians use to ensure they are never out of elected office.
We are starting with Los Angeles, with the recent devastation from the Palisades Fire, Eaton Fire, Hurst Fire and others.
As we already noted, California Governor Gavin Newsom is at the top of the heap.
In Los Angeles, we have some long-time politicians, with decades of implementing leftist policies, are leftist activists, who now serve as County Supervisors:
LA County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis: A Democrat, Solis was United States Secretary of Labor from 2009 to 2013 appointed by President Barack Obama. She served in the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2009.
LA County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell: A Democrat, Mitchell served as a State Senator from 2013 to 2020. Prior to being Senator, she also served as a Capitol staffer, Consultant to the Senate Health Committee, and as a legislative advocate for the Western Center on Law and Poverty.
LA County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath: A Democrat, Horvath was previously a West Hollywood City Council member and West Hollywood mayor twice.
LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn: A Democrat, Hahn was a U.S. Representative from California from 2011 to 2016. She was a member of the Los Angeles City Council from 2001 to 2011. From 1997 to 1999, she served as an elected representative on the Los Angeles Charter Reform Commission.
LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger: A Republican, Barger previously served as Chief Deputy Supervisor and Chief of Staff to her predecessor Mayor Michael D. Antonovich.
Los Angeles City Council is also filled with long-time Democrat politicians and leftist activists:
Mayor – Karen Bass: A Democrat, the 43rd mayor of Los Angeles since 2022. Bass previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011 to 2022 and in the California State Assembly from 2004 to 2010, serving as Assembly Speaker during her final Assembly term.
Councilwoman District 1 – Eunisses Hernandez: A Democrat and Socialist, Hernandez is an American activist and politician, currently serving as a member of the Los Angeles City Council for the 1st district since 2022.[3] A member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, Hernandez defeated incumbent council member Gil Cedillo (another former State legislator, 1998 – 2012) during the primary in an upset in the 2022 election.
Councilman District 2 – Adrin Nazarian: A Democrat, Nazarian previously served in the California State Assembly from 2012 to 2022. In 1999, then-Governor Gray Davis appointed Nazarian as Special Assistant to the California Trade and Commerce Agency. Nazarian served as chief of staff to then-Assemblyman Paul Krekorian 2006 – 2010. Nazarin announced that he intends to run in 2024 to replace Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Krekorian, who cannot seek another term due to term limits.
Councilman District 3 – Bob Blumenfield: A Democrat, Blumenfield previously represented the 45th district in the California State Assembly 2008 – 2013. From 1989 to 1996, he worked in Washington, D.C., as a staff person to Senator Bill Bradley, Congressman Howard Berman and as staff designee to the House Budget Committee. He later worked as Director of Government Affairs for the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and then as District Chief of Staff to Congressman Berman in the San Fernando Valley.
Councilwoman District 4 – Nithya Raman: A Democrat and Socialist, activist, and politician serving as the Los Angeles City Councilmember for the 4th District since 2020. Raman, a member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America. Prior to entering politics, Raman founded and headed a homelessness nonprofit in Los Angeles and was the executive director of Time’s Up Entertainment.
Councilwoman District 5 – Katy Yaroslavsky: A Democrat, Yaroslavsky is the daughter-in-law of Los Angeles politician Zev Yaroslavsky (a former LA County Supervisor 1975-1994), she worked in the office of Sheila Kuehl (former state legislator 1994-2008, LA County Supervisor 2014-2022), whom her mother previously worked for.
Councilwoman District 6 – Imelda Padilla: A Democrat, worked as a field deputy for former LA City Council President Nury Martinez, who resigned in 2022, following the release of an audio recording where she disparaged fellow council members and their children and used racist language.
Councilman District 8 – Marqueece Harris-Dawson: A Democrat, currently serving as the president of the Los Angeles City Council, has represented the 8th district of the Los Angeles City Council since 2015. Harris-Dawson joined the Community Coalition in 1995, recognized as one of the most progressive non-profits in the country. In 2004 he succeeded U.S. Congresswoman Karen Bass (current LA Mayor) as President and CEO. In response to the 2020 George Floyd Uprisings, Harris-Dawson supported a $150 million reallocation (defunding) of LAPD funding for community-led public safety investments, the LA Times reported.
Councilman District 9 – Curren D. Price, Jr.: A Democrat, Price was a California State Senator, representing the state’s 26th Senate District which he won in the May 19, 2009 special election to fill the seat vacated by Mark Ridley-Thomas (convicted felon). He previously served as a member of the California State Assembly, representing the state’s 51st Assembly District. He was first elected to that position in 2006, and was re-elected in 2008. Price resigned as state senator on July 1, 2013, to be sworn in as Los Angeles city councilman. Price’s tenure as District 9 Councilman has been marked by accusations of pay to play and FBI investigations, according to the LA Times. On June 13, 2023, Price was charged with ten criminal counts relating to corruption; including five counts of embezzlement of government funds, three counts of perjury, and two counts of conflict of interest. From 1993 to 1997, Price was a member of the Inglewood City Council.
Councilwoman District 10 – Heather Hutt: A Democrat, Hutt was hired as a District Director for Assemblyman, then Senator Isadore Hall III. In February 2017, Hutt was named the Regional Deputy Director, then California State Director for then-Senator Kamala Harris. Previously a candidate for California’s 54th State Assembly district in 2021, Hutt was endorsed by politicians Janice Hahn, Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, and Maxine Waters.
Councilwoman District 11 – Traci Park: formerly a Republican, now a Democrat, Park entered politics in 2020 when she organized to block the city of Los Angeles from converting a Ramada Inn on her street into housing for homeless people. She voted in favor of a measure to curtail homeless encampments by banning sitting, sleeping and storing property within 500 feet of schools, day-care centers, parks, recreation centers, and opposed a measure to create hundreds of miles of bus lanes and bike lanes. Park opposed converting two city-owned parking lots on Venice Boulevard into 140 housing units for the homeless. She opposes California state legislation that restricts the ability of localities to ban new housing.
Councilman District 12 – John Lee: formerly a Republican, now an Independent, Lee worked for City of Los Angeles for two decades for Councilmembers Joel Wachs, Greig Smith, and Mitch Englander, who pled guilty to federal charges related to the on-going Los Angeles City Hall corruption probe and began serving a 14-month sentence in federal prison in June, 2021. Lee has been one of the biggest supporters of the Los Angeles Police Department on the council. Lee has stated his opposition for defunding the LAPD.
Councilman District 13 – Hugo Soto-Martínez: a Democrat, Socialist, labor organizer. After graduating from the University of California, Irvine, he became an organizer for UNITE HERE Local 11 and involved with the Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. He canvassed for politicians like Barack Obama, against Joe Arpaio, and helped flip the two Georgia Senate seats with Stacey Abrams.
Councilwoman District 14 – Ysabel J. Jurado: A Democrat and is a tenants’ rights lawyer, Jurado ran for the Los Angeles City Council in 2024, challenging incumbent Kevin de León, former State Assemblyman and State Senator 2006-2018, LA City Councilman 2020-2024. After an audio recording of de León and other council members making racist, homophobic, and derogatory remarks was leaked, he was pressured to resign. Instead he ran for LA City Council again, losing to Jurado.
Councilman District 15 – Tim McOsker: A Democrat, attorney, and former lobbyist. He was the CEO of AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles from 2018 to 2022 and chief of staff to Los Angeles City Attorney and later Mayor James Hahn from 1997 to 2005.
The voters of these supervisory and council members, having just faced losing their homes, businesses, schools, neighborhoods, and some lost their loves.
Voters must remember this when considering who should lead Los Angeles.
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Yes, KG. Lest we be accused by their media and lemming-like supporters of “targeting” these individuals in a hit list, for “political violence”, let us just say that we want all of the above named individuals legally removed from office along with their leader-in-chief Gruesome Newscum – IOW, KICK THE BUMS OUT!
Sadly, many believe the California vote is controlled, whether through dirty voter rolls, unchecked mail in ballots, lax signature verification, ballot harvesting, or illicit counting of “votes” received after voting day. What you get is a veritable “Murderer’s Row” of political flunkies all without real governing skills or any responsibility to the general public who are forced to endure rising crime, unchecked immigration, disastrous fiscal policies, and raging wildfires.
The destruction of thousands of homes, the deaths of residents, and the incompetence which has been exposed is not the result of “climate change” but political hackery and it’s time to throw the bums out.
The people of California will never understand that voting has consequences. I feel bad for the people in Altadena (I used to live near there) and Palisades, but I am also not happy that I will be helping pick up the tab (house and auto insurance) when I totally disagreed on how the state was being run.
Well, “there you go again” Katie. Ignoring the facts. Nearly 50 percent of the public land in this state is *federal* land. Funding for managing that land was cut by . . . . . . who? Wait for it . . . your great Orange leader. It is really sad how people have seen a chance to exploit a human tragedy such as we are still witnessing in LA to make cheap, false political points.
Biden chief of pardoning criminals – was the president last 4 years — what did he do to turn to help it? maybe money to Ukraine could have helped homeless vets and supply army of goats to clean up forestry.
Please ignore this ignoramus Old Californian WITHOUT Common Sense…
Jesuit Jerry Brown was beholden to the World Economic Forum and/or $oros and or the CCP, and Gruesome Gavin Newsom has fallen right in behind him…
BAD forest and wildland management policies have contributed to the buildup in fuel load, along with a LACK of political will to enforce preventative fire mitigation measures upon PG&E and SoCal Edison, who should be made to account for the upgrades to their aging wire transmission lines, trees that could cause arc’ing and PLOWING THE EARTH under their transmission towers so that any arc-sparks fall on FALLOW DIRT, not burnable vegetation…
To paraphrase the former “Governator” , screw the “enivronmentalists” who have lobbied controlled burns and fire breaks being implemented to prevent major conflagrations such as we have recently experienced…
These fires have been enabled by misguided priorities by the Democrat majority and others that are calling for their replacement of recall are 100% accurate that a change in philosophy and adult MANAGEMENT of the state is required, not feel-good topics that have NO bearing on the well-being and SAFETY of California citizens….
Why ignore me? Half of the public land is federally owned. It’s a fact. But maybe you don’t care about that. Pretty much in the same way that you made up a quote for Gov. Schwarzenegger that he never said. But of course, facts, reality, they really don’t exist in your world do they? Pathetic.
You’re not being ignored @OldCalifornianWIthCommonsense. You’re being countered. That federal land you point to will be opened up for drilling asap and spurious lawsuits by environmentalist to prevent this, as well as preventing forest management, will also begin in earnest; as usual. This quote from one of the environmental-nazis is telling:
“The Park Service has to abide by the 1964 Wilderness Act,” said Kevin Proescholdt, conservation director at Wilderness Watch. Even if climate change aggravates natural phenomena such as wildfires, the Wilderness Act requires that “we should still allow these natural ecosystems to respond as they want to the changes brought about by the changing climate,” Proescholdt said.
By his logic, if some of Palisades or Eaton happened to be considered a “wilderness” area any destroyed home would have to be left to reappear naturally like the trees…..in a couple of hundred years. Common sense? Some people on this forum have suggested that this is actually the goal…..that is, to turn Palisades into a wilderness area….no homes or people. Depopulation.
https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/why-environmentalists-are-suing-the-national-park-service-to-prevent-it-from-planting-trees/
Whoa. Clever “counter” Raymond. That organization is not the federal government. Those lands where the fires started were federal — like one-half of the public lands in the state. But, because we want to give tax breaks to rich people, we cut funding for their management. Oh, and a nice touch with name calling. Very mature.
the number is actually much closer to 45%, but why not just fudge a little to bolster your imaginary funding cut theory?
You see, Old Californian, you fail to specify how much was cut from the Fed money. In DC, it is well known, and SOP that a “cut” is merely a reduction in the rate of annual increase.
You are making it sound like PDJT himself took away 100% of Federal money. Since it is the congress that controls the purse strings, it is evident that you only suffering from TDS.
Maybe get your facts right? In August 2020, the Newsom regime signed an agreement with the U.S. Forest Service to treat one million acres of forest and wildlands annually across state and federal jurisdictions to reduce risk of catastrophic wildfire. The Great American Outdoors Act, signed by President Trump on August 4, 2020, has provided critical funding for the Forest Service’s work in California.
The agreement also provided for the following:
* Develop a shared 20-year plan for forest health and vegetation treatment that establishes and coordinates priority projects;
* Expand use of ecologically sustainable techniques for vegetation treatments such as prescribed fire;
* Increase pace and scale of forest management by improving ecologically sustainable timber harvest in California and grow jobs by tackling structural obstacles, such as workforce and equipment shortfalls and lack of access to capital;
* Prioritize co-benefits of forest health such as carbon sequestration, biodiversity, healthy watersheds and stable rural economies;
* Recycle forest byproducts to avoid burning slash piles;
* Improve sustainable recreation opportunities;
* Enable resilient, fire-adapted communities; and
* Share data and continue to invest in science.
https://www.gov.ca.gov/2020/08/13/california-u-s-forest-service-establish-shared-long-term-strategy-to-manage-forests-and-rangelands/
The Senile old traitor can take his share of the blame.
Most California Democratic voters as well as a number of independents suffer from political “Stockholm syndrome.” It’s going to take years of concerted grassroots efforts to turn the tide Red. Several million presumptive registered Republicans have already left the state since the 1990s. The current leadership of the CAGOP doesn’t have a plan to mount a serious challenge to the entrenched Democratic Party machine. Republicans need to focus on local races as well as make headway in helping to elect more Republicans to the State Legislature. Building coalitions with disaffected Asian and Latino voters would also be key.
Kathryn Barger and her former Boss Mike Antonovich are the lone Republicans there, I would hope they at the least tried. My Father was acquainted with Antonovich and thought well of him and I do know his district liked him.
Glad that Katy Grimes named and shamed members of the criminal Democrat mafia and deep-state that have destroyed the once Golden State with their radical leftist policies. Too bad their mug shots weren’t included? A couple of those on the LA City Council that Katy listed sound like they might have a little common sense? Democrat Councilwoman Traci Park opposed homeless shelters in her residential neighborhood and she also opposed California state legislation that restricts the ability of localities to ban new housing. Councilman John Lee who is an Independent has been one of the biggest supporters of the LAPD who opposed defunding the LAPD. Too bad there aren’t more like them on the LA City Council?
I listen to some of this talk by people who might refer to “power surges” (there’s voltage, no voltage, high voltage, low voltage, high amperage, low amperage, fault condition, etc, I was in the trade almost 40 years all over California and several states, what the hell is a “power surge?”) who don’t know the difference between transmission and distribution lines, would refer to a rebuilt section of a circuit as “aging” even if it were rebuilt right in front of them, thinks the power company rips them off at the meter (they are way more sophisticated in their thievery), would refer to a power pole as a “telephone pole” and so on. There has been serious rebuilding for almost 30 years with the investor owned utilities (when customer minutes of interuption was introduced), at least with SCE – particularly since PG&E got slapped with a 13.5 billion dollar settlement after the 2018 fires. No one knows what caused the Eaton fire yet, but the mouths are a flappin’. The PG&E Paradise fire might have started as an equipment failure, but I’ve never heard what the failure might have been because of the deafening roar generated by the torch and pitchfork crowd, and it looks to be the same with the current socal fires. While the 2018 fire might have started with PG&E, the uncontrollable nature of the fire was entirely due to politicians, bureaucrats, and tree hugging “environmentalist” groups. There’s been a lot of wildfires over the last thirty years where I have my house. Almost all of it has been arson, with things like sparks from machinery striking rocks and embeciles throwing lit cigarette butts out the car window. I don’t recall a one local to me which originated with power company facilities.
So, if I start a fire and kill dozens of people, it isn’t my fault. PGE paid dividends to shareholders instead of investing in infrastructure. If “politicians” are to blame, it is because they let rich companies and investors make money, while socializing the risk. Who’s picking up the bill for PGE’s neglect? Ratepayers every damn month.
Let me know the direct cause of the fire before talking about neglect. Was there a gunshot conductor that failed due to both loss of conductivity and structural strength in a strong wind, or did a deteriorated line arm fail causing a phase to phase fault on a buck arm of a break away pole? Did “environmentalist” lawsuits prevent the power company from accessing the right of way to do maintenance, or was it next to a paved road where the power company had asy access? Was the fault caused by a raven’s nest, which often includes scrap wire, which nest removal has sometimes been delayed because ravens are sometimes mistakenly classified as “raptors” and “environmental” lawsuits have ensued. Over all the torch and pitchfork noise, I heard a single, solitary rumor that the fire originated in a substation, which might be difficult to happen because of the lack of flammables in substations along with the ground covered with a thick layer of gravel. I have no idea of the cause of the fire because there is only interest in ascribing blame to only one party, not including several others just as or even more culpable, no curiosity about how and why the fire originated nor why the fire spread so rapidly when 40 years ago fire fighters would have had it controlled much quicker. And, sending in hand crews to make fire breaks rather than utilizing the far more productive dozer sitting idle in the immediate vicinity because of “environmental” issues makes no sense at all. Not maintaining forests and scrubland results in massive, uncontrollable fires, which criminally abets the narrative that “climate change” causes extremely destructive fires, which is why ideological, fascist goals demand that you get rid of your car and natural gas appliances. There are politicians and bureaucrats at federal, state, county and local governments who actively prevent forest and scrubland maintenance, and the enviro-fascists throw out lawsuits with an aim to prevent any maintenance at all. As such, a fire could begin with utility property, but the above described government officials and lawsuit flinging envirofascist dirtbags could be considered as accomplices in the damage and death uncontrolled fires bring. A sizeable chunk of that $13.5 bil settlement should have come out of Newsom’s and other responsible individuals’ pockets for willful and even criminal disregard for public safety. As a footnote, I worked on PG&E propert changing out deteriorated overhead structures prior to 2001 and several times since. While I consider PG&E to be a weird entity and all but two of their employees I encountered were unmitigated a-holes – their inspectors would do things like watch the whole, daily process of a contract crew changing out a hard money100 pole package, then hand the foreman go backs on all 100 poles, which raises future contract bids and ultimately electric rates, and not saying anything while the original work was in progress. I had a career of putting my hooks on, how ’bout you?
California suffers from chronic Blue State “progessive” priorities, where accessory WOKE policies obscure basic citizen health and safety needs.
Oh, I guess that mass, open migration have rendered “citizen” meaningless.
What it ultimately comes down to is that California’s decline can only be blamed on us. You get the government you allow.