For more than two months, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has been criticized for her handling of the Palisades fire – She’s not in the country When it erupts, she returns, her public appearance, even her Can’t keep her text message.
Pro-low troops have been struggling to retreat in recent days, believing she was attacked by “rich oligarchs” including real estate developers Rick Caruso and Nicole Shanahan, who are helping to fund the funding Recalling her movement.
Beth’s supporters portray the attack as highly partisan, amplified by tough media outlets, at least for some, stemming from racism. These arguments provide a potential preview of Bass’ political case
City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson’s chief of staff Joanne Kim said in a recent email to bass supporters that the right-wing billionaire “weaponized” the mayor’s “forgery” movement in the Jan. 7 fire. Kim’s 2022 campaign for bass was targeting not only Caruso but also billionaire Elon Musk, who posted Dickibooth on social media against the mayor.
“It’s their strategy: exploitation of tragedy, distort reality, split the people. We won’t let them,” King wrote in her 1,000-word email. “I ask you to use every communication platform, you have to turn off the lies and stand with us with the mayor.”
Vahid Khorsand, chairman of the city’s public works committee, recursing Kim’s email to his followers, repeatedly warning that the billionaire is “appointing La” for senior bass in Los Angeles. area.
“That’s why rights have to follow her. That’s why they use any means that can attack her like this storm. They know Karen puts people first,” he wrote.
Staff from the South Los Angeles nonprofit community alliance Built from bass Others also lined up behind the mayor, testifying at the City Hall 35 years ago, posting on social media in recent weeks.
Bass’ 2026 re-election strategist Doug Herman said Angelenos should not be surprised when he saw the mayor’s closest allies rallied behind her when facing a recall. He said the mayor’s team did not ask King, Hallsan or others to advocate on her behalf, nor to work with them.
“These are her strongest supporters. They respond in the strongest way. I don’t think it’s unusual,” Herman said. “They are talking about the things that plagued them with First Amendment rights.”
Calls for mayoral allies follow the toughest two months of her political career, including six years in the state legislature (including two as presidents of parliament), and have more than a dozen in Congress.
Beth has been warmly welcomed in recent weeks for expelling Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, Kristin Say publicly Her department has a serious underfunded funding. The mayor has also been severely criticized for arranging three months $500,000 Salary Because her wildfire restored to the Tsar, that’s scrapped After the commotion.
Others have asserted Bass Assistant It is her responsibility to not remind her of the predictions about the potentially dangerous Santa Ana wind Diplomatic mission to Ghana.
Beth responded to criticism by highlighting the progress the city has made since the disaster. Water is Restore to Palisade Two months after the fire, it was much faster than the paradise community after the camp fire in 2018. Remove Toxic debris in the combustion area – The federal government, not the city institutions, also have a faster responsibility than originally expected.
The defenders of the bass took a more mean approach, saying she was wrongly accused of wildfires attributed to climate change.
Kim’s email from karenbass.com was an account that she provided to her as she was working on the 2022 campaign in Bass, and he said Caruso wasted no time scapegoating the mayor, “unitting something that looked like a campaign ad” when launching Palisades shooting.
Caruso dismissed criticism after his family lost two homes in the Palisades fire in 2022.
“The leadership that Angelenos wants and deserves will rebuild the community and bring them home instead of more political spin and conversation points,” Caruso spokesman Eric Koch said in a statement. “Rick Caruso focuses only on the results, not more excuses, delays and price cuts.”
Fernando Guerra, who heads the Los Angeles Research Center at Loyola Marymount University, said it makes sense for mayor supporters to focus on billionaires. Lula said many Democrats in Los Angeles retreated from the decisions made by President Trump and senior adviser Musk.
“If I were a political consultant,” Gla said, advising Beth and her supporters, “I would definitely say, use the term billionaire and attack billionaires.”
The mayor’s allies have become increasingly outspoken in recent weeks, primarily in response to two events: Crowley’s sack and subsequent efforts to restore her work, and the launch of a recall work.
King advises Bath’s supporters from seven minutes Instagram videos Alberto Retana, president and CEO of Community Alliance, released last month.
Retana told his followers that those who contributed to the climate crisis — fossil fuel companies, companies and 1% — were responsible for the devastating fires this year, not the bass. He said Trump and his allies created a narrative around diversity, equity and inclusion that is now being used to hit the bass.
“It may be bad for many people, but I know she was attacked because she is a black woman,” he said in the video.
Gerald Sirotnak, a strategist at the recall work, called the assertion an “insult to Angelenos’ diverse coalition, who felt abandoned by this administration.”
“This recall has nothing to do with identity, it’s about the outcome,” he said in an email. “The results under the bass are disastrous.”
Sirotnak said the figures leading the recall were neither billionaires nor right-wing extremists, but families who lost their homes due to Palisades firefighting and business owners facing widespread crimes.
On Monday, the team provided a notice of recall intentions for the bass, believing she had corrected wildfires, public safety and other issues. A few days ago, the team released Advertising videos Focus on the fire in Palisade.
That video Featured is a clip from the owner of the Los Angeles Times Dr. Patrick Sinong, who said he thinks it is a Newspaper error Recognize bass in 2022. Shi soon told The Times that he was not involved in the recall work and did not know that the recall campaign was using editing, an interview conducted from the “Morning Meeting” program in mid-January.
The mayor’s supporters also mobilized a hearing from the former fire chief, telling council members that the resumption of her movement was part of a larger attack on Bass’ leadership.
“Let’s call it what this is,” said Siris Barrios, one of nearly twelve woofers. “It’s an attack on her authority, decision-making, and we don’t ignore the obvious ones – she’s a black woman in power.”
Firefighters took a very different stance, saying Crowley was a fact, spreading news about the financial struggles in the fire department.
Several auxiliary bass speakers are current or former community coalition staffers, which has extensive connections with City Hall.
Two senior aides from Bath have served on the board of the Community Alliance, while the other two work directly on the group. The mayor’s office is responsible for the city’s reduction and youth development program, which has signed a three-year, $3.4 million contract with the Community Alliance.
Harris-Dawson, perhaps Bass’ closest ally on the council, was in charge of the community coalition before winning a seat in 2015. Work for the group It was about twenty years before joining Harris-Dawson’s office.
King told The Times that she wrote an email because she was frustrated by “false information” and right-wing attacks. She said she should use her email address instead of the old karenbass.com account.
In an email, Kim accused critics of attacking the bass in the Palisades fire while keeping quiet against Altadena’s political leadership, a neighborhood outside Los Angeles where the Eaton Fire destroyed thousands of homes.
Altadena is represented by LA County Superintendent Kathryn Barger, a white and registered Republican.
“When they attacked Mayor Beth, they remained silent about the Eaton fire, which destroyed a less wealthy community under the supervision of a white Republican Los Angeles County supervisor,” King wrote.
Bagger has been a vocal defender for Bass, telling reporters that the mayor was “very involved” in the wildfire emergency when he returned from overseas. When asked about King’s email, she said in a statement that she would resume with all elected officials “regardless of the party.”
“People want results, not politically blame games,” Bagh said.
