Residents of the devastated Pacific Palisades make up the majority of the initial proponents of the petition to recall Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, signaling Palisades residents assign heavy blame to Bass for their community’s destruction.
The five proponents on the recall petition are reportedly two Democrats, two Republicans and one independent, suggesting broader dissatisfaction with the mayor across party lines.
“As Los Angeles faced extreme red flag warnings — high winds, dry conditions, and the looming threat of wildfires — Mayor Karen Bass chose to leave the city for an overseas trip instead of preparing for disaster,” wrote residents in their filing of their intent to recall the mayor. “While emergency officials braced for potential devastation, Bass was attending political events abroad.”
Bass departed to Ghana, Africa, for the nation’s presidential inauguration as part of a Biden administration delegation, soon before the fires, and returned after the fires broke out. Evidence shows the mayor’s office was warned of the potential danger, but Bass has demanded an investigation into why she was still allowed to leave for Africa.
Former vice presidential candidate for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and recent Democrat Nicole Shanahan is listed as a “major” funder of the campaign.
“This failure is part of a pattern. Crime continues to rise, with businesses and residents suffering from unchecked theft and violence. Homeless encampments are growing, despite billions spent with no clear result,” continued the recall notice. “It’s time for new leadership.”
The recall petitioners include Gelena Wasserman, Heather Marie Hilterbrand and Sarah Jane Peterson of the Pacific Palisades, Susan Collins of Sherman Oaks and Jonathan Sebastian Garcia Ramirez of Westlake.
A new Los Angeles Times poll found Los Angeles residents split on Bass’s wildfire response, while a narrow majority had a low degree of confidence in her ability to help the city recover.
Forty-one percent of Los Angeles residents think Bass did a very poor or poor job responding to the wildfires, 41% a fair to excellent job, and 18% had no opinion. Fifty-four percent had “not much” or “a little” confidence in Bass’s ability to guide the city’s recovery, while 34% had “some” or a “great deal” of confidence and 12% had no opinion.
For wildfire response, the plurality, or 28%, said Bass did a very poor job, while the fewest number of respondents, or 6%, said Bass did an excellent job.
For confidence in recovery, the plurality, or 36%, said they have “not much” faith in Bass, while the fewest number of respondents, or 11%, said they have a “great deal” of confidence.
Combined, these figures suggest a plurality of Angelenos have very negative feelings regarding mayor’s performance and abilities, while very few have the same level of positive feelings toward the mayor.
While Bass has not put out an official statement on the recall, her political strategist, Douglas Herman, dismissed the campaign as “another extreme right-wing political stunt designed to divide Los Angeles.”
In an interview Tuesday with Los Angeles AM radio station KNX, Bass said she’s running for re-election in 2026 and is not stepping down.
“I would never quit on my city,” said Bass. “Did I know that it was a difficult job? Absolutely. Am I ready for the job? Most definitely.”
