A Democrat on the LA Metropolis Council is slamming “continual under-investment” in primary providers and fireplace prevention — whilst Mayor Karen Bass has funneled cash to offering drug addicts with free crack pipes.
The fury in LA Council member Traci Park’s voice was palpable as she raged in opposition to what she known as years of poor monetary selections by LA metropolis officers and the way it’s come to a head with the catastrophic wildfires in her district, which consists of hard-hit Pacific Palisades.
“It’s bananas,” Park advised The Submit. “The town of LA is in the course of a number of crises: psychological well being, dependancy, the homeless, infrastructure failures in all places. We’ve got pipes underground which can be 100 years outdated and are simply poised to trigger an environmental disaster. Our sidewalks are cracked and falling aside throughout.”
Park, 49, who was an lawyer for 20 years earlier than being elected to the council for District 11 in 2022, is a Democrat however hasn’t shied away from left-wing sacred-cow points such because the huge and seemingly insurmountable homeless drawback in her metropolis.
“The fireplace division was decimated after the monetary collapse of 2008 and it’s by no means recovered,” she stated. “There was a continual under-investment in public security right here for years. It’s not simply the fireplace division, it’s the police division as properly. It’s not the fault of 1 mayor or one fiscal disaster. It’s continual a long time of underinvestment.
“We’ve got the identical variety of firefighters and fireplace stations in LA in 2025 that we did in 1960. How insane is that?”
Since 1960, Los Angeles’ inhabitants has greater than doubled — from round 6.2 million to greater than 12.5 million in the present day.
Activists indignant over Park’s stance that homeless encampments needs to be 500 ft from faculties and houses tried to interrupt her swearing-in ceremony in 2022. However the council member has been undeterred in calling out what she sees as wasteful spending in some areas and none in others.
“Final yr, the LA Fireplace Division responded to over 500,000 emergency calls,” Park stated. “Half of these calls have been associated to the homeless inhabitants. We haven’t added new staffing and even any new 911 operators. On a median day in LA we aren’t staffed adequately to fulfill calls for.
“We’ve got gone so distant from core providers,” she added. “We’re spending a billion {dollars} a yr for the homeless and what’s it getting us? It will get us ‘hurt discount kits’ so we’re principally handing out free crack pipes enabling folks to remain addicted and out on the streets fairly than fixing our sidewalks and investing in our fireplace division.
“We’re doing these free cash giveaways and happening these loopy rabbit holes of supposed social service applications that haven’t any actual oversight or administration and no effectiveness.”
To date, the fires have killed at the very least 25 folks, singed greater than 40,600 acres and annihilated upward of 12,300 constructions, amongst them numerous properties, in response to Cal Fireplace.
The Palisades Fireplace, probably the most harmful of the blazes which worn out a lot of the star-studded Palisades and Malibu final week, was 31% contained as of Friday, whereas the Eaton Fireplace burning outdoors Pasadena was 65% contained.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna has warned that the demise toll might go up, contemplating that near 30 persons are nonetheless lacking.
Park, whose group is working across the clock to are likely to 1000’s of struggling residents who’ve misplaced their properties in addition to to the gargantuan job of cleansing up and rebuilding, couldn’t cover her frustration.
“I spoke at a fireplace fee assembly 21 days earlier than the Palisades fires and stated we have now emergency response occasions which can be double the nationwide normal,” she stated. “We don’t have sufficient fireplace stations. We’ve got million dollar-fire autos sitting in a boneyard [because there aren’t enough mechanics to fix them.)”
“We have tens of millions of deferred basic maintenance at our fire stations. The roofs leak every time it rains. The HVAC system doesn’t work. We need special washing machines to get the poisons out of the firefighters’ turnout gear. They’re called PFAS extractors. They get the cancer-causing chemicals out of their turnout gear. We don’t have the plugs in the walls to plug [the machines] in.”
However Park, who was a registered Republican years in the past, refused to bash any high elected officers like Gov. Gavin Newsom or Mayor Bass.
“I’m somebody who’s non-ideological. I don’t care if somebody is a registered Democrat or registered Republican. My ask is similar. I need assistance. I’ve 1000’s of constituents who’ve misplaced every thing and are struggling. Pointing fingers is just not going to carry their properties again to life or rebuild them.
“However I’m not accepting any excuses. We have to flip this round.”
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