MY THOTS – Los Angeles was once a place that was a Golden City–aspirational–inspirational–motivational–creative—today its pyrite–fool’s gold—-so it’s a month after the horrific fires began—-devastating for so many hardworking individuals and families-and where are we today?—The state’s involved (the Governor)–the County Supervisors are involved—the City Council is involved (there are even competing agendas in this allegedly governing body)–and the Mayor and her office are involved (oy!!)–so here’s the question of the day–who is actually in charge–with EVERYONE in charge–NO ONE is in charge!! There are competing agendas and solutions–can anyone imagine D-Day being as effective as it was with multiple leaders–and Eisenhower was dealing with different countries, armies, navies and air forces and agendas and without the technology that exists today–Churchill motivated England in its darkest hour–Reardon was instrumental in building back LA after the Northridge earthquake—Giuliani was a focal point in energizing New York City after 9/11–and there are many other historical individuals who made a difference in times of crisis—so here’s my question again—who is actually in charge here? There is no focal point—the hard sad fact of that is it will take longer to rebuild and the people who have suffered the most will have their suffering prolonged. I hate writing this–but the city needs one tough focused individual to be the center and leader of the effort. You don’t have to agree–and you don’t have to like what I write–but a horse designed by a committee is a camel–and it will take close to a decade before the quality of life returns for most of those impacted–I will write more in the next few days–but this needs to be written now–leadership by many is leadership by NONE!!
Let me start by saying–naively maybe– we need to remove all politics from our city for the foreseeable future until we are back on our feet–I’m agnostic–and refuse to be labeled—I care about our future—I care about all residents of the city whose basic needs have been ignored and whose quality of life has seriously diminished over the last 10 years. People are protesting in the streets because of Trump’s policies—this is America they have that right under our laws—-but why aren’t the hard working citizens in the streets demanding more from our local government–(we have become sheep)–safety in our homes and on the streets–infrastructure that actually works—city agencies that work for the residents instead of against them—a thriving business community that encourages businesses to locate here–and I could go on–today the city is Woke & Broke–quite the quinella—what a pathetic state of affairs –and some on the City Council think this is ok because of their idiotic ideas and policies–(hi Nithya) This is a perfect example of the ineptitude in the city—a reservoir needs to be emptied for repairs-fine–but before one drop is removed there needs to be a plan in place to do the repairs and replace the water in 90 to 120 days–don’t tell me it’s not feasible–but it requires leadership and people with a sense of urgency–not to mention planning—-which does not exist–because we have so many governmental agencies, no one is in charge. The head of that agency should both be fired and run out of the city (unfortunately the city does not have a supply of tar and feathers–although it does have a lot of tents)–it still needs 18 months before it can be refilled—and did the Mayor even know about–actually did the Mayor even know where the reservoir is–and how do you do this before the fire season—-if I was a resident of the Palisades, I would be livid–and everyone in this city should be. Not only should every resident sue the city–and some already have–but so should the insurance companies and so should every resident who is going to have their homeowner policy premiums go up.
At the end of many national news programs–there is a segment that says –there is good news tonight–but that’s only 5 minutes. As I’ve said before, the first ten minutes should be about good news—how Americans help Americans–a daily occurrence–from every part of the country–and then the announcer should say and now for people who make our lives worse. Look at the outpouring of assistance for our neighbors who have been devastated by the horrific fires–from people opening their homes, clothing drives and acts of kindness that would fill volumes. That said our citizens deserve so much better from our elected so-called leaders. No one has had the courage to tell the people whose lives have been seriously impacted that the rebuilding process will take 6 to 10 years. There’s no quick fix for this–and as I said below, no one is in charge–which will make the process even longer. We have gone from 9 years of Eric the Useless to the present administration of Karen the Klueless. I don’t say this lightly–she is a lovely human being in the absolute wrong position for her–her lack of executive skills are dramatic and open for all to see. Because no one is in charge–the following events have happened. Last Sunday the Pacific Palisades was to reopen to the general public but that decision was scuttled at the last minute by the Mayor–which makes the point–no one is in charge. Then this week the Mayor has selected a consulting firm from Chicago to support the Palisades Fire Recovery–to assist with infrastructure restoration and environmental mitigation. (UGGH)—what do these people even know about LA—daily life in Chicago is different than daily life in LA—why do I want someone from another state solving this issue–there are consulting firms with the requisite knowledge here—when you don’t have any clue of what you are doing you hire a consulting firm–which enables you to prolong making any decisions–and hiring one from another state is intergalactically idiotic.. What’s required here is a CEO from Los Angeles—someone in charge who can make the decisions that need to be made to accelerate the timetable of the recovery–in my 50-year career, I have yet to encounter a consulting firm that has any sense of urgency. You do this when you are out of your comfort zone and are afraid of making a decision–what’s needed is a seasoned, tough leader–a son of a bitch– –who knows how to make decisions and build a capable coterie of employees around him/her who can enact and set forth a path to recovery. Look at what Dick Reardon accomplished after the North Ridge earthquake–everyone says the Mayor in LA is weak–but leaders bring people into the room and bang heads and make things happen–results or lack of them speak for themselves. A compelling reason on its face for Karen to resign–we need a different voice and a different leader. …