A pair of petitions calling on California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to resign over their handling of the Palisades Fire disasters are starting to pick up steam.
While outlets like TMZ report that the Newsom petition is trailing far behind the Bass effort, there is some vital context to take into consideration. The Bass petition had a three-day head start by its creator. And it is far more detailed in its demands.
The Newsom petition, initiated by real estate investor Grant Cardone, points out a bevy of issues with the governor, including his environmental record and “fringe agenda.”
It has just over 33,000 signatures thus far and demands Newsom’s “immediate resignation.”
Cardone has been on social media soliciting followers to join him “in a class action suit against the state and county for neglect & incompetence.”
Gavin Newsom And Karen Bass Hit With Petitions Over Mismanagement Of Wildfires
While the Gavin Newsom petition is still trying to gain traction, the one for LA Mayor Karen Bass has been exploding. The effort, shared on X by Elon Musk and conservative actor James Woods, now has over 118,000 signatures.
“We, the undersigned residents of Los Angeles and concerned citizens, urgently call for the immediate recall of Mayor Karen Bass due to her gross mismanagement and failure to effectively respond to the devastating 2025 fires in and around the city of Los Angeles,” the petition reads.
Bass, who is in her first term as mayor, was initially ripped by critics for being absent during the crisis and then returning from a trip to Ghana using a military plane. Why the mayor of an American city was visiting Ghana for the African nation’s presidential inauguration is anyone’s guess, though she campaigned on a promise not to go abroad during her mayoralty.
She then failed to comfort suffering residents when she held a bizarre press conference after refusing to speak to reporters about her initial absence and the city’s lack of preparedness.
The Karen Bass petition demands a “full, transparent investigation into the failures in disaster preparedness, response, and resource allocation that left our city vulnerable.”
“The people of Los Angeles deserve a leader who is present, accountable, and actively working to protect and serve our community,” it concludes. “Mayor Bass’s actions—or lack thereof—have shown she is unfit for the office she holds.”
LA Mayor Karen Bass refuses to answer and freezes when a reporter asks her if she regrets cutting the Fire Department’s budget by nearly $20 million and being in Africa during a devastating wildfire pic.twitter.com/BlLUri98zR
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 8, 2025
RELATED: LA Mayor Karen Bass Goes Full Biden During Wildfire Press Conference As Old Tweet Shows Her Mocking Ted Cruz For ‘Fleeing’ During A Crisis
They Are The Ones Most Responsible
As the petitions suggest, Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass are the individuals most responsible for the Palisades wildfires raging out of control.
Bass certainly bears some responsibility for the city’s recent tragedy, having cut the fire department’s budget by more than $17 million last year to redirect funds toward supporting the homeless population.
A leaked memo, which has come under scrutiny, indicates that the mayor initially proposed budget cuts to the LAFD that were nearly four times larger, aiming to reduce funding by an extra $49 million just one week prior to the onset of the wildfires.
President-elect Donald Trump repeatedly advised the Democrat governor to clear out forest floors in an attempt to limit wildfires throughout his first term. He didn’t heed the warnings.
Additionally, Governor Newsom signed a 2024-2025 fiscal year budget that reduced funding for wildfire and forest resilience programs by $101 million.
In a sane world, both of these pols would have already resigned in disgrace.
