Four residents who lost their homes in the deadly blaze told the California Post they remain furious over her administration’s failures surrounding the fire, which ignited on Jan. 7, 2025, while Bass was in Ghana.
asserted
Bass → lose → Ghana
But their anger with the mayor isn’t enough to make them turn toward socialist-backed candidate Nithya Raman.
asserted
them → make → Raman
A recent California Post/McLaughlin poll found Raman leading Bass 46.7% to 38.8%, with 13.5% of potential voters undecided.
asserted
% → find → voters
Just 25.5% approved of Bass’s job performance, while 71.7% disapproved.
asserted
% → approve → performance
A newer UC Berkeley/Los Angeles Times poll showed the candidates tied at 40%, with 19% undecided, but found 65% of likely voters viewed Bass unfavorably.
asserted
% → show → Bass
For Nina Madok, a Republican whose home burned down, her support for Bass is hardly enthusiastic.
asserted
support → burn → Bass
“Do I think Karen’s actions resulted in our town burning down?
asserted
town → think → ?
Do I think that she’s been problematic on delivering on some of the promises that she’s made, or the things we’ve asked them for?
asserted
we → think → them
Yes, absolutely,” Madok said.
asserted
Madok → say → ?
“But the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t.”
asserted
you → know → devil
Jessica Rogers, president and executive director of the Palisades Long-Term Recovery Group, raised alarms about Raman and her allies in the Democratic Socialists of America.
asserted
Rogers → raise → America
“What we’re being faced with is not just an opponent.
asserted
faced → face → What
It’s a political machine called the Democratic Socialists of America,” said Rogers, adding that policies she associates with former DSA-backed Westside Councilman Mike Bonin damaged public safety.
asserted
she → ’ → safety
She credited credited Bass with coordinating with federal environmental officials after the Palisades Fire, meeting with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration and responding to security concerns.
asserted
She → credit → concerns
“Mayor Bass was asked to give us extra safety and security, and work with our law enforcement, and she did,” Rogers said.
asserted
Rogers → ask → enforcement
Madok, who finally secured rebuilding permits and hopes to return home by December 2027, believes Bass’s administration understands the bureaucratic roadblocks delaying recovery.
asserted
administration → secure → recovery
“They have a deeper knowledge of what the issues are.
asserted
issues → have → knowledge
They know where the bodies are buried,” she said.
asserted
she → know → ?
Madok also believes Bass’s relationships with Republicans in Washington could help secure federal assistance.
uncertain
relationships → believe → assistance
“Karen Bass has not dismissed Republicans,” she said.
asserted
she → dismiss → Republicans
Nearly 22 months after the blaze, which killed at least 12 people and destroyed more than 6,800 structures, rebuilding remains painfully slow.
asserted
rebuilding → kill → structures
Just 62 properties had received certificates of occupancy as of October 20, according to a private tracker using city permit records, while thousands of families remain displaced.
uncertain
thousands → receive → families
Sue Kohl, a former president of the Pacific Palisades Community Council who lost her home in the fire, acknowledged Bass made a serious mistake traveling to Ghana despite warnings of dangerous fire weather.
asserted
Bass → lose → weather
“All right, she made a mistake.
asserted
she → make → mistake
She’s not the only human in the world to have ever made a mistake,” Kohl said.
asserted
Kohl → ’ → mistake
In an exclusive interview with The Post on Friday, Bass said her “biggest regret is most obviously that I wasn’t here” during the fire.
asserted
I → say → fire
Kohl credited Bass with visiting the community, sending deputies to recovery meetings and helping secure state restrictions on increased housing density in fire-damaged neighborhoods.
asserted
Kohl → credit → neighborhoods
“Karen Bass works hard, and she has good people in her office, and she’s done everything in her power since the fire,” she said.
asserted
she → work → fire
Kohl also criticized Raman’s opposition to anti-camping restrictions, saying that public safety must remain a priority.
asserted
safety → criticize → restrictions
Kaye Steinsapir, another Bass supporter, personally confronted the mayor over what she described as an absence of leadership after the fire.
asserted
she → confront → fire
“I’ve had quite a few conversations with the mayor myself.
asserted
I → have → mayor
I didn’t sugarcoat anything that I said to her,” she said.
asserted
she → sugarcoat → her
Steinsapir’s criticism was so harsh she feared the mayor’s office would never speak to her again.
asserted
office → fear → her
Instead, Bass listened and continued working with community leaders, she said.
asserted
she → listen → leaders
“I’ve seen cooperation, and good things from the mayor’s office that a lot of people in the community are unaware of,” Steinsapir added.
asserted
Steinsapir → see → community
Their decisions echo those of billionaire developer Rick Caruso, Bass’s former political rival, and Palisades Councilwoman Traci Park, who both plan to vote for the mayor despite reservations about her leadership.
asserted
who → echo → leadership
Caruso, who lost to Bass in 2022, announced Monday he would vote for his former opponent after working with her on rebuilding the fire-ravaged Palisades.
asserted
he → lose → Palisades
“For the love of LA, I must put the past behind me because this election must be about our future,” Caruso said.
asserted
Caruso → put → future
“I will be casting my ballot for Mayor Karen Bass.”
asserted
I → cast → Bass
On Saturday, the Bass and Caruso appeared together Brentwood Country Mart for a meet-and-greet in the lead-up to Tuesday’s election.
asserted
Bass → appear → election
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
