The city of LA has a Recall Petition Handbook. It’s time to use it. 
Recall Petition Rationale
- The City of LA slashed the firefighters’ budget and sent firefighting equipment to Ukraine while inappropriately allocating $450,000 for ridiculous causes.
- L.A. Fire Chief Kristen Crowley noted in a December Report “These budgetary reductions have adversely affected the Department’s ability to maintain core operations, such as technology and communication infrastructure, payroll processing, training, fire prevention, and community education.”
- The cutbacks “severely limited the Department’s capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies, including wildfires, earthquakes, hazardous material incidents, and large public events.”
- “Delayed maintenance, updates or repairs to critical systems jeopardizes the ability to answer 911 calls, endanger frontline firefighters’ ability to communicate, and compromises public safety during emergencies.”
- “Fire Prevention Bureau (FPB): Inability to complete required brush clearance inspections, which are crucial for mitigating fire risks in high-hazard areas.“
- “Reduction in residential dwelling (R1/R2) inspections, jeopardizing compliance with fire safety regulations in residential occupancies.”
- “The LAFD remains steadfast in its mission to protect the residents of Los Angeles; however, these reductions have compromised the Department’s ability to maintain essential 911 systems, fire and emergency medical communications systems, respond to emergencies, and provide specialized services.”
The LA fires will go down as the one of the biggest natural disasters in US history.
Budget Cutting Background
The Intercept provides the Budget Cutting Background.
In June, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass signed an adopted $12.8 billion budget that cut the fire department’s funding by more than $17.5 million, or around 2 percent of the previous year’s budget of $837 million. It was the second-largest departmental operating cut to come out of the city’s 2024-25 fiscal year budget, which shaved funding from the majority of city departments — but not the police. The Los Angeles Police Department received a funding bump of nearly $126 million.
“What is currently happening and unfolding is what we have been warning about,” said Ricci Sergienko, a lawyer and organizer with People’s City Council LA. “The consistent defunding of other city programs in order to give the LAPD billions a year has consequences, and these elected officials do actually have blood on their hands.”
Gross Mismanagement of City Funds
While slashing funds for firefighters, the city spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for Gay Choirs, Trans Cafes and Social Justice Art
The City of Los Angeles cut funding for its fire department and allocated thousands of dollars to various progressive programs, including a “Midnight Stroll Transgender Cafe” and a Gay Men’s Chorus.
Los Angeles allocated $100,000 to the Civil + Human Rights and Equity Department for a “Midnight Stroll Transgender Cafe,” according to its 2024 to 2025 budget.
Similarly, the Cultural Affairs Department Special Appropriations budget allocated $100,000 for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Awards.
The budget also appropriated $8,670 for the “One Institute the International Gay and Lesbian Archives.”
The ONE Archives at the University of Southern California (USC) Libraries currently has an exhibit titled “Sci-fi, Magick, Queer L.A.: Sexual Science and the Imagi-Nation,” which focuses on the occult and “the LGBTQ movement.”
The budget also allocated $13,000 for “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Heritage Month Programs” and $14,010 to the “Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles.”
Los Angeles’ African American History Month, American Indian Heritage Month, Latino Heritage Month and Asian American History Month Programs were each allocated $13,000.
The budget also appropriated $170,000 in total for “Social Justice Art-Worker Investments.”
Summation
- $100,000 for a “Midnight Stroll Transgender Cafe”
- $100,000 for the NAACP Awards
- $8,670 for the “One Institute the International Gay and Lesbian Archives” which currently has an exhibit titled “Sci-fi, Magick, Queer L.A.: Sexual Science and the Imagi-Nation,” focusing on the occult and “the LGBTQ movement.”
- $13,000 for “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Heritage Month Programs”
- $14,010 to the “Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles”
- $52,000 total for the Los Angeles’ African American History Month, American Indian Heritage Month, Latino Heritage Month and Asian American History Month Programs allocated $13,000 each.
- $170,000 in total for “Social Justice Art-Worker Investments.”
That’s a total of over $457,000 while slashing the fire department budget by more than $17.5 million
Pull Out the Recall Handbook
Please Consider the LA Recall Handbook
The petition process empowers voters to propose City ordinances, City Charter amendments, the recall of City officials and Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board Members, and other measures. A successful petition can place the issue in question before voters. The rules governing petition processes are set forth in the Charter of the City of Los Angeles (Charter) and the Los Angeles City Election Code (EC), as well as applicable provisions of the California Election Code (CEC) and California Government Code.
Recall Petition – Allows proponents to file a petition seeking removal of certain City officials and LAUSD Board Members. If a successful petition is filed, the question of removal is submitted to the voters along with a list of candidates nominated to succeed the person whose removal is sought. [Charter §§ 430-438].
Petition Circulation/Signature Gathering
The number of signatures required for initiative petitions is 15% of the total votes cast for all candidates for Office of Mayor at which a Mayor was elected prior to the filing of the petition. [Charter § 451(b)]. Multiple petition sections may be circulated but only one person shall circulate each petition section. The City Clerk will only accept the signatures which have been collected within 120 days of the filing date.
Any incumbent of an elected office, whether elected by vote of the people or appointed to fill a vacancy, may be removed from office by the registered voters of the City of Los Angeles, or the registered voters of the LAUSD in the case of removal of an LAUSD Board member. Certain appointed City officials may also be removed from office. The removal of the incumbent shall be known as the recall. [Charter §§ 430-440; EC §§ 700-704, 718-726].
Time to File a Recall Petition
O.K. Los Angeles, it’s time to file a recall petition.
Then you have 120 days to gather the requited signatures.
That shouldn’t be hard.
Think About Governor Newsom Too
@RobertMSterling explains “Basically, California voters passed a law in 1988 called Proposition 103, which made it way harder for insurance companies to operate in the state without getting their asses kicked.”
There’s much more in Sterling’s comment on X.
Kamala Harris blames the insurance companies for fleeing the state. State Farm pulled out of Pacific Palisades entirely.
But insurance flight can be blamed on the state.
Newsom & Bass – two Sacks of chit!
Ricci Sergienko, a lawyer and organizer: “The consistent defunding of other city programs in order to give the LAPD billions a year has consequences, and these elected officials do actually have blood on their hands.”
He ignores “defund the police.” That and Soros DA Gascon, sent crime soaring. Mayor Bass set about to increase the LAPD staffing. It was lax criminal prosecution which had consequences. Gascon was soundly thrown out of office by voters. News Nation also made a short comment about LA increasing spending on homeless situation. Likely affected the fire budget.
One report i saw, said the Santa Ynez reservoir, which feeds Palisades, had been closed down “since February” last year, for repairs. Other reports have not confirmed that.
Recall how important Ukraine is to US politics. If only these voted in politicians would care more about their country then others our country would not be in such horrible financial mess.
I guess they saying, “you get what you deserve,” fits.
You neglected to mention the homeless budget for putting folks up in hotels, etc.
Amen!
Blaming Bass, Newsome, etc., for this is akin to not seeing the forest for the trees. No pun intended.
There is a bigger picture here.
California has not been well governed since Edmund G. (Pat) Brown, Jerry Brown’s dad.
Through a succession of governors and legislators the residents quality of life has deteriorated albeit incrementally.
Who has profited from this immiseration of the working and middle classes? The economic elites.
Follow the money.
Social engineering is what the wealthy do to create division between the classes. Blaming DEI, affirmative action, LGBTQ, immigrants, etc., is what the elites do so the rest of us keep our eyes on the shiny object of the other when the elites run the country, state, economy and social structures. They are the ones responsible. Hold them accountable.
Insurance is pulling out of Florida too. Did Jeb, his predecessors or his successors create a law “hostile” to the industry?
No doubt the mayor is an idiot. But I don’t think the disaster in Pacific Palisades can be laid on her doorstep. The Eaton fire is in an area outside of LA city (as are the other smaller fires). Would $12.8 million have done anything to prevent or ameliorate this massive blaze? The inadequate water supplies in Pacific Palisades were well outside the purview of the mayor (more the DWP and fire department itself). People insist on living in the foothills and mountains, in denial that sooner or later the trees and brush bordering their neighborhood will eventually burn. California has history of fire, and citizens love to point the finger at PG&E, state or city officials, insurance companies – anybody but themselves.
Newsom & Bass – two peas in a pod.
Can we have the government focus on the basics? Fire, police, roads, infrastructure. Let’s stick to the basics and not force residents to pay for gay art and other frivilous crap.
Down here in Coastal Orange County, homeowners are going to get a giant windfall, especially those with multiple homes. Many of the wealthy Pacific Palisades burned out homeowners will be moving down here. Where else are they going to go? I was at a local Newport Beach eatery, and real estate mania is in the air. Homeowners are speculating on the size of the impending windfall.
No way Bass or Nuissance get punished. In Commiefornia that kind of behavior gets rewarded, not punished.
The LA fires will go down as the one of the biggest natural disasters in US history.
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And $17.5M would have done nothing to prevent this because it is impossible to fight or prevent a fire in category 2-force hurricane winds in a place where it hasn’t rained for nearly a year and where the climate has very low humidity. If a city like Phoenix ever had 100 mph winds, the same thing that happen around LA would happen there.
So, LA Fire complaining that fire hydrants were running dry is not a problem? Really?
Mitigate. They can mitigate. Potential to make a massive difference, even with “just” $17.5m.
Insurance companies shouldn’t be allowed to operate for profit. There’s the first problem right there. They are happy to pay professional athletes millions and spend on advertising but say their rates need to keep rising. No insurance company should be allowed to be a publicly traded or for profit.
Then why would anyone invest a ton of money to get the thing going and keep it running well? What’s the motivation? If there is no profit, what do you think would happen to the quality and efficiency? The competition?
Nonprofits can still have lots of well-paid executives. Just ask any nonprofit hospital. And they’re still highly regulated.
go ahead. start one up. we will all be clamoring to sign up /s
Hoisted by their woke petard.
State Farm saw back then what we see today: DISASTER. Insurance is all about risk, and L.A. policies were clearly too risky for their actuary tables.
We lost insurance and we are not even in a high risk zone. Insurance wants to raise rates across the board to pay for people who live in the trees. The insurance commissioner got into a pissing match with the insurance businesses and they left. He tried to play hard ball but in the end insurance actuarial models said, “money loser.”
The way we build homes, where we build and how we live in CA is too dense, too expensive and governments do not function under liberal model
And the greed of the homebuilders, cities and real estate businesses in general had nothing to do with it.
The Los Angeles fire is not a natural disaster. The fire is man made. The fires are self inflicted. President Trump warned California. Governor Newsom and Mayor Bass refused to fill the reservoirs. They refused controlled burns or underbrush clearing to prevent wildfires.
https://x.com/greg_price11/status/1877055198604017790
OT, but remember the show about “nothing’? Trump was just sentenced to “nothing” in the ‘hush money’ case.
Mish correctly said it will be overturned. AS fake as case as the Russian stuff. Just evil liberals doing their thing.
Once we own all the judges, this nonsense of prosecuting the wealthy for crimes they commit will be over!
F’in retard Biden tells Kamala to “fire away, no pun intended” during California wildfire speech. January 20 can’t get here fast enough to dump this senile satan. Should have pulled the 25th amendment on his ass a long time ago.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/bidens-fire-away-remark-during-la-wildfire-briefing-shocks-social-media-absolutely-disgusting
And don’t forget the good news: He’s now a great grandfather!
This is LA’s elite whom’s homes burnt down, many with recently cancelled home insurance. This will cause a political earthquake here in Cali! Recall attempts will be coming!
I do wonder if these fires could result in even higher yields on long term treasuries? Like if the bond vigilantes feel that the federal government will borrow and throw money out of helicopters to CA residents to backstop the damages (which they probably will). At the rate these fires aren’t contained, it seems like the damages could top half a trillion dollars. To be clear, I’m not saying that the government should get involved, but I do think that they will.
The federal government response to what happened in NC has been abysmal.
Rightly or wrongly, you can’t compare the rural south under an administration that hates them to a major metro like SoCal. Likewise, it would behoove Trump to let LA twist because they hate him, but he won’t. Trump is an egomaniac who craves attention, approval, and acceptance from all.
Truth, we all know why NC has been treated the way it has. Yet another black mark on a historically awful administration.
Don’t you get it? Wealthy people are suffering! They’re not used to it. The filthy poors are.
ya ya ya all the finger pointing Moving forward:
House designed on Passive House principles survives Cali wildfire
https://old.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/1hy22ui/house_designed_on_passive_house_principles/
Passive can work fine. Siding and roofing is what will stop fire.
House so tight requires air filtration systems or mold and other undesirables show up.
Fire walls can also be used internally so as stop spread of Fire.
The Trick with housing is that architecture tends to suffer using things like all shotcrete shells (which are pretty much fire and earthquake proof).
People spending Big Bucks want a showcase and runs up the numbers hugely throwing in all the extras to make a House a Pretty Bunker.
There is a moto worth considering ” Cry once and buy the best”
Hell I’d go back in if people actually wanted to start building real Homes again.
The sad thing is that Californians don’t get that they are living in a failed state; wasting their precious water on the alter of a small fish, destroying their dams in a sacrifice to the Green God of an imagined 19th century Extreme pastoralism, neglecting common sense principles of true environmental conservationism which should lead them to endorse preventive brush control and timber harvesting. What a shitshow! Wait until all the wealthy people in the Palisades have to get the OK of the Coastal Commission to rebuild their mansions. I’m sure it won’t cost them anymore than $1,000/sq ft to rebuild, that is if they are even permitted to rebuild what they have lost. When will they understand the failure of the Progressive religion?
Sadly sometimes it takes tragedy to wake up. A long road to redemption.
They will get the OK, even if they have to grease a few hands to get it.
I bet they’d all take 1000/sq ft to rebuilt in an instant if they could get it. That’s only 1 million per 1000 sq ft. I bet most of those homes were valued WAY above that number.
I would guess at least $5 mil per house. Some of the homes back up in the brush were amazingly opulent and worth 5 to 10 times that. A good chunk of these were not tract houses where one gets the lower cost per square foot to build and another big chunk of the tract houses were extensively remodeled..
I guess these days “blame cakes” are baked and divided before it’s even clear what the ingredients are.
What Tariffs Can and Can’t DoJan 8, 2025
When tariffs are moderate and used to complement a domestic investment agenda, they need not do much harm; they can even be useful. When they are indiscriminate and are not supported by purposeful domestic policies, they do considerable damage – most of it at home.https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/trump-has-wrong-concept-of-tariffs-by-dani-rodrik-2025-01
I agree with this post, except how you phrased “slashed the budget”, it was a 2% reduction which is hardly slashing the budget. It was a minor reduction from the previous year which was likely bloated to begin with.
Recall her? How about jail her for gross incompetence. Gavin too. And to be extra inclusive they could be cellies
$500k for liberal causes contrasted with $17.5 million in firefighter funds seems a bridge too far. Going down that road where we balance a $7 trillion Federal budget by cutting billions in foreign aid? There are pennies and there are dollars. Repubs sometimes cant tell the difference.
Jobs report red hot. Market tanking, dollar surging. Recession post-poned.
Fed fucked up. What political hacks
The Fed did screw up but to be fair, inflation is baked into the cake no matter what they do… too many people retiring, not enough young people. An economy is the exchange of goods and services between people over anything else (rates, debt, policy, etc).
We have 71m people receiving free money, subsidized healthcare and contributing little to nothing and it’s getting worse not better. Wait till 2030 when the number is 80m.
Inflation is the only logical conclusion. The fed could hike rates to 12% and it would slow/stop inflation but it would do so only temporarily the way a cap keeps seltzer in a bottle that’s shaken up, the end result will be an explosion as soon as the cap is removed.
Tho raising interest rates cools inflation by strangling the economy. And youve said the economy is already being strangled.
EXACTLY! Say it with me: 4 legs bad, 2 legs good!
We’ll see how housing does with 8% rates on the 30 year shortly. Prediction- not well
Which is why i shifted to housing overseas. There are ways to escape Alcatraz.
So proud of you. Here’s a thin mint
Toss in a prayer will you, god knows I need it.
Like a rootless cosmopolitan.
Matt Walsh has a great article about Bass et al on the Daily Wire.
Sorry for the LA people who lost their properties from natural disaster.
Very very and very sorry for the GAZA people who lost their lives and
their properties from man-made disaster by genocidal government and
its supporters.
Disaster man-made by Hamas.
They are all a bunch of children still upset cause their great-great-great-great grandpa killed your great-great-great-grandpa and stole their olives. 75 years of nonsense.
I presume you are lambasting the Hamas government for cursing the people they govern?
The mayor will probably disqualify signatures based of people who evacuated outside LA for more than 30 days.
And then remember how many ballots in the 2020 Presidential election were disqualified compared to previous years…..or how many were disqualified in other California recalls.
The Transgender Cafe sounds lovely.
Yes we’ll fix the problem by pulling less frosting on the crumpets.
putting
This could be the spark that starts a housing crash . My guess is the state funded last resort insurance is terribly underfunded. They are probably mismanage and will reguire a federal bailout if they can get it . This will put pressure on the state as they are already in terrible butchet crisis . They
have limited insurance increases and ran the insurance companies out of the state . The state of California will probably sue everyone they can insurance companies , Power companies Oil companies under climate change or some other nutty imaginable thing they can come up with . Thinking they will recall the governor or county officials may happen but will be replaced by other incompetenet officails . The California Democrats and their leaders are incapable of excepting any responnsibility.
In 10 days they will blame Trump for the fires .
Burned thousands of properties of multimillionaires.
Will they be homeless? No.
I don’t see housing crash.
Agree. Now, LA Metro has a severe shortage of homes for wealthy people. This is rocket fuel for Orange County home prices.
Normally state funded last resort insurance is for homes of modest value. Here in Florida you only qualify for that if your home value is <500K which these days isn’t much in an urban area.
My guess is California has similar restrictions and that a lot fewer homes that you expect are going to be on that insurance.
3 million limit in cali and they only have 700 million reserves also 4-5 billion exposure in just the palisades area,.They are the most exposed and will have to come up with big dollars .
They!re going to make it all about her to take heat away from Gavy. Newsom needs to go as well.
Yeah I feel terrible for the people who vote against Bass and Newsome and are stuck with them. Moving out the best decision it seems
Karen Bass 278,51143.11
Rick Caruso 232,49035.99
– The city of LA has a Recall Petition Handbook. It’s time to use it.
> “Way Past Time” to use it! Take Newsom out while you’re at it, and watch CA. Grow!!! The City of LA Politicians are some of the worst in our Country!
– The LA fires will go down as the one of the biggest natural disasters in US History!
> Just MORE Examples of “Democrat Politicians Incompetence.
$500k wasted on questionable grants is a negligible amount of money vs $12,000,000K ($12B) police budget, even if it is a waste. This the same problem with libertarians who wont shut up about department of education or something when the real causes of budget deficits are military, interest payments and elder care. Mish please dont get bogged down in these culture war distractions. Financial problems are not caused by gay and trans people
Upvote, though the $12B is apparently the full city budget, not just the police. Also, it’s hard to blame big fires on a 2% budget cut.
On the other hand, there is the question of whether the leadership, if not the fire fighters, have had their eyes on the ball. And, so far as recalls are concerned, many people, not just libertarians, would like to see some more government-worker heads rolling when failure becomes the government’s preferred option.
It’s possible that 2% is what made the difference. Brush could have been cleared and/or there could have been more equipment available (not sent to Ukraine) or more firefighters.
Once the blaze is out of control it’s too late of course but in the beginning it was a small fire and could have been stopped before it got rolling which is what’s supposed to happen.
What a ridiculous comment. He’s not blaming this on gay and trans people. He’s pointing out, rightfully so, that the purpose of a fire department is to fight fires. Not to get involved in all the other stuff. To higher qualified people regardless of what they look like.
Was the fire department running those things? It appears those are just general city budget items.
Look at dollars Middy. Not pennies.
The US population is WILDLY SUPPORTIVE of social security, Medicare, veterans, paying interest owed and defense. The 50 year problem has been with revenue not spending. Year after year the rich reduce the tax money they pay in.
For one thing, real Libertarian are against interest rate repression through dollar debasement by the central bank. Interest rate repression fueled a speculative orgy in housing, causing housing prices to spike, a big part of the inflation, which then caused labor, health care, defense cost of living to go up, so the big budget items getting out of control are exacerbated by the Republican and Democrat interest rate repression and Libertarian are for free market in interest rates, which deters the govt from thinking debts/overspending don’t matter when the debt can’t be bought with printed money.
“I was working as an architect and designer in Ukraine. This is how things are done in socialistic countries. They make it harder to get a permit. Then you finally give up and try to bribe. And it doesn’t take too long before bribery is a normal part of the process of how it’s done. That is how they want corruption to become a part of the system.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm2wNybsKYk
Ah, ok. I see.
Its not strange losing war in spite of hundreds of billions of aids.
“Its not strange losing war in spite of hundreds of billions of bribes.”
Welcome to final stages of the (US) Imperial decline !!!!