Los Angeles Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong again criticized Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass over her handling of the wildfires that continue raging through Southern California, saying he regrets the outlet endorsing her run for office.
"We endorsed Karen Bass. I think right now, that's a mistake. And we admit that," Soon-Shiong said in an interview on Monday. He went on to address a now-viral publication of his, in which he had criticized Bass for slashing the budget of the fire department.
"I thought it was important early on for me to come out. We were one of the few to say 'competence matters.' We got like 20, 23 million million views. It shows how that was really dear to the heart of most people, whether you are right or left," he added.
Our hearts go out to those who have lost their homes and are seeking shelter. Fires in LA are sadly no surprise, yet the Mayor cut LA Fire Department’s budget by $23M. And reports of empty fire hydrants raise serious questions. Competence matters… Follow @latimes for live…
— Dr. Pat Soon-Shiong (@DrPatSoonShiong) January 8, 2025
A petition requesting Bass' resignation on Change.org has already gotten over 125,000 signatures, with over 26,000 signing on Monday alone. The petition was started by user "Frustrated Californian" and "urgently" requests the recall of mayor Bass over her "gross mismanagement and failure to effectively respond to the devastating 2025 fires in and around the city of Los Angeles."
Bass has been the subject of criticism over the handling of the fires, especially as she was outside the country when they started. Critics were quick to point out that she had promised to not go abroad and focus on the city while campaigning for office but was in Ghana last week.
Soon-Shiong then called for a review of "how we elect people on the basis" of how prepared they are to perform rather than "having professional politicians whose only job is to run for office."
LA Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong says it was a mistake for his paper to endorse Karen Bass.
— Derrick Evans (@DerrickEvans4WV) January 13, 2025
"We endorsed Karen Bass. I think right now, that's a mistake. And we admit that."
Looks like the incompetence around this fire is waking a lot of people up. pic.twitter.com/6NY2ucLsVY
"We are at a stage of the nation, and the world, where you need people to understand how to fix (the problems of) the man on the street, how it affects the working type of person. I think President Trump in this election has understood that," Soon-Shiong added.
The Change.org petition adds criticism of its own, saying that "water supplies have been severely strained, billions of taxpayer dollars have been misallocated or left unaccounted for, and countless lives have been lost." "Families have been displaced, homes destroyed, and livelihoods shattered—yet Mayor Bass has been absent from the frontlines, choosing to travel abroad while her constituents suffer," the document adds.
Consequently, the document demands the "immediate resignation" of bass, a "full, transparent investigation into the failures in disaster preparedness, response, and resource allocation that left our city vulnerable," and "accountability for the mismanagement of taxpayer funds intended for disaster relief and recovery," as well as a "comprehensive plan for ensuring the safety of all Angelenos in the face of future disasters."
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