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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.
LA is a shadow of itself----and the loudest voices do not speak for the majority--they speak for themselves---the frustrated majority needs to find a voice--and that needs to be the loudest. My last comment --and one certainly to infuriate many people--I understand why people are infuriated by some of the national issues our city is facing---but dumb old me--we need to put our house in order first--and our house is an unmitigated mess....
Have a lovely weekend--let’s all try to be kinder to each other especially to those who have suffered from the fires--and maybe our elected leaders will learn that strength thru knowledge is a much more important and desired quality. Trying to please everyone--is to please no one---and our city leaders have their priorities all screwed up. You may not like what I write--but someone needs to say it.
[Comment from Steve Soboroff – Fire Recovery Czar]
I join you as a FOF (Friend of Fred) and want to make a couple of clarifications.
No city has the ability to deal with a tragedy of this magnitude without help. That is why I, as Chief Recovery Officer, recommended that the city hire an "owner's representative" firm(s) to guide the city.
AECOM and Haggerty will fill that role. They don't build. They engineer what is needed and schedule efficiently the work and FEMA reimbursements to be done in clearing the lots (Phase 2 Rubbish Removal). Before rebuilding begins. Also utility and infrastructure rebuilding.
This is a smart step, done in every calamity and announced today.
Thanks for all you do
PS: The army Corps FEMA state boots on the ground are in the thousands and heroic. If u see one, buy them a coffee.
Steve--
[Fred Rosen continues]
Appreciate your response and your efforts---and you were there when Dick Riordan was our Mayor and helped him--and you know she's not Riordan--doesn't have even 1/4 of his executive ability--your term is limited and you don't have the final decision--because you have to interact with the Mayor's office---and that's where the problem starts---this is no time for politically correct---it’s time for competence and knowledge. Karen is, in my opinion, and probably the majority of the city, incapable of doing the job. This isn't personal---. Yes, the city needs help---so did Eisenhower on D-Day--but he was the final authority---all good and capable CEOs are the final authority. We need an independent leader--CEO--who can coordinate all the different agencies---but someone must have the final authority----you don't--and management by all is management by none!!
Before this is finished, this will be a field day for attorneys----and yes the city is going to have a plethora of lawsuits--and I believe some of the city officials face the possibility of being individually named in them---I'm fairly sure there is negligence here--whether it rises to gross negligence or dereliction of duty the courts will ultimately decide.
Yes--this is a tragedy of major magnitude--and leaving politicians in charge will only lengthen the time to solve it. Mark my words---someone needs to be a leader and focal point of the effort and free from political interference.
No one has to listen to what I write--but this I know--events will prove me correct.
Before I even get to the substance of this note, I cannot say enough about the courage and fortitude of our firefighters---their courage, determination, competence and grit cannot be measured--we all owe them a debt of gratitude that far exceeds simple words---special people---and we all need to appreciate the amazing courage and fortitude of our police officers--watching officers driving into fire areas to rescue people under dangerous circumstances---there are no adequate words for that--they are special people--having said that-- my praise is totally inadequate--both departments are continually screwed over by our City Council--resources for the fire department and police department are nowhere near adequate--there are even some on city council who are clueless to the consequences of their behavior--we have people like "Nothing" Ramen--who has earned that nickname I have given her because that's what she has accomplished for the majority of the residents of our city---NOTHING!--three things to know about this disgraceful council person--1. She voted against keeping the homeless 500' away from schools----because silly me---I didn't recognize that the homeless have more rights than the safety of our children. 2. She lied to her constituency about ULA---she said it was a Mansionization Tax--without explaining to her constituency that it applied to all building projects both commercial and residential--today new building permits in LA are less than 30% of what they were 10 years ago--rather than soak the rich--she soaked the city-cost the city construction jobs-and she's proud of it -so I've arranged to have her be the first recipient of the Dirty Garbage Can Cover Award--and for those of you who are offended by this comment--let me suggest that her ideas and socialist philosophy belong in the trash--so the award is appropriate---she's part of the reason the City is Woke and Broke--hasn't done one thing to bring business back to our city--a barnacle on the residents; and 3. She is against hiring more police--because we all know the city is safe enough even though the police force is down about 30% from where it should be.
Thomas Paine wrote a book in 1776 entitled Common Sense---among its tenets was protection and enshrinement of individual rights (read the Bill of Rights) and a strong central government. Even in our city the question of the day--who exactly is in charge here? It's like the Balkan states--except we have more vowels--and the quality of life diminishes on a weekly basis.
Now as to Steve's note below--further comments are appropriate--I'm glad he's trying to help---but let’s be clear--while Karen the Clueless calls him her rebuilding Tsar--she forgot to look up that definition--a Tsar has unlimited authority----the only thing he has unlimited authority for is to decide what he wants for lunch--he reports to the Mayor and her office---and how as that worked out so far?
This morning, I made the mistake of googling Haggerty's website. The opening page talks about recruiting people to work in Los Angeles on the exciting project to help LA recover from the devastating fires--and then it shows 20 job openings that people can apply for. That means for them to get up to speed that will take another 2 to 4 months in going thru the hiring process---so much for the sense of urgency--and another reason why hiring this company is a mistake. The only consulting firm a real leader or CEO would hire is a company who could put boots on the ground immediately. Another example of how Karen and her office have no clue of what they are doing----the best thing she can do is resign--she is ill suited to be Mayor---part of the cast of mediocre and lesser bureaucrats that this city is drowning in.
Please don't tell me I'm not being nice---I'm not--but I am being accurate and honest--and the great line from A Few Good Men is totally appropriate here--- "You can't handle the truth".
The only real hope for the residents of the Palisades is the new Foundation Rick Caruso has just set up--Steadfast LA----and that's where progress will come from.
(Fredric D. Rosen is a retired Businessman who has served on multiple corporate (both public and private) and charitable boards. He was Ticketmaster's CEO for 16 years and was responsible for making it the leading ticket company in the world.)
