While visiting the Ford School of Public Policy, Former Mayors Lori Lightfoot and Jenny Durkan gave their advice to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass while criticizing L.A. Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley. The two mayors were speaking on a panel hosted by University of Michigan Law School Professor Barbara McQuade called “Governing in time of crisis,” where they reflected on lessons from their past management of the COVID-19 Pandemic and George Floyd riots, ultimately applying them to offer potential solutions for the Greater Los Angeles Wildfires.
United Front
Lori Lightfoot called out L.A. Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley for blaming Mayor Karen Bass for inefficiencies in the Los Angeles Fire Department. Chief Crowley has expressed her belief that, under Bass, the City of Los Angeles has failed her department in several, specifically targeting the city’s $17M budget cut to her fire department. Crowley has argued that these budget cuts have made it harder to combat the wildfires and offer assistance to the community. In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Chief Crowley said, “The $17M budget cut and the elimination of our civilian positions . . . Did and has and will continue to severely impact our ability to repair our apparatus.”
While some have praised Chief Crowley for defending her fire department, Former Mayor Lightfoot criticized her response as selfish and unnecessary.
“Who does that help in that moment? When fires are raging? To create a political firestorm, no pun intended, by saying: I got screwed and this is about me.”
Lightfoot characterized the move as a failure in communication, ultimately depriving attention from wildfire victims. “That person made this moment about thousands of people whose lives have been completely upended about her.” According to recent reports, at least 27 people have died in the wildfires, over 17,000 buildings have been lost, and tens of thousands have been forced to evacuate.
“It will be interesting to see where her tenure is after the dust clears.”
The former mayor also stressed the importance of unity between California’s city and state governments in the wake of the wildfire crisis. “[Karen Bass] and the Governor [Gavin Newsom] need to be on the same page. Period, full stop.”
She cited her own relationship with Illinois Governor J.B Pritzker during the COVID-19 pandemic, “the governor and I didn’t always agree, in fact, many times we disagreed. . . . We had very different approaches.” Despite all disagreements, Lightfoot argued that public communications from both state and local officials be from a united front. “There can’t be any space.” During the pandemic, Lightfoot and Pritzker often held differing stances on the scale of implemented measures but presented a united front in public responses on the need for action to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Jenny Durkan critiqued the initial “disjointed” responses of Karen Bass and California Governor Newsom. She argued that their failure to present a common message opened the door for critics to start assigning blame, depriving time and attention from solving the crisis at hand. “It’s really important not to point fingers at each other.”
Former Mayor Durkan argued that Karen Bass should ditch the “major press conferences” in favor of “shoulder-to-shoulder” meetings with local firefighters. This, she believes, would better reach out to worried Angelenos by giving airtime to firefighters that could better answer people’s questions. She cited her media strategy in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic as a model for Bass, which she argued was critical to keeping her citizens updated in a time of crisis.
Organization
Lori Lightfoot urged Karen Bass to start formulating recovery plans while the fires still rage. She argued organizational focus is needed to streamline information about insurance and FEMA to displaced Angelenos. Lightfoot argued that the magnitude of the catastrophe requires recovery plans to be immediately ready to go, as a lot of money will need to be rolled out to quickly rebuild the greater Los Angeles area.
“My aunt [and] uncle live in Altadena. Their house is burned to the ground, there’s nothing left.”
Lightfoot advocated for the creation of working groups to divide and conquer the recovery effort, including business, construction company, and supply chain coordination, while the remaining administration handles the active fires.
Lightfoot claimed little help would come from the federal government, citing her own strained relations with President Donald Trump. President Trump has been critical of California’s water restriction policies, which he says caused Los Angeles’s lack of water reserves. During a press briefing on January 22nd, President Trump made the following comment: “Los Angeles has massive amounts of water available to it . . . Millions of gallons of water a week, in a day even . . . Pours into California . . . And they turned it off . . ..”
When asked if he would grant federal aid to California, President Trump said he would give conditional aid to California if “they let water flow into their system,” referencing his theory that restrictive water policies have worsened the fires. Coordinating with the president, House Speaker Mike Johnson has suggested that “there should probably be conditions” on aid sent to California to fight wildfires. President Trump also said he would issue an executive order to revoke California’s restrictive water policies in order to combat the fires.
“We want the water that they’re throwing away to be used for California.”
President Trump flew to Los Angeles on Friday, January 24th to survey the damage.
Communication
Jenny Durkan highlighted the need for quality communication in times of crisis. She emphasized that communication should be frequent, focus on both knowns and unknowns and should be done by first responders and officials relevant to coordinating the disaster response.
“It’s really important . . . to communicate as much as you can, including what you don’t know or what you can’t do.”
Durkan went on to outline her handling of communication during the pandemic as an example for Bass, stating that “at some point, you have to be standing shoulder to shoulder with the governor, the mayor, the fire people” and that “most of it should be the fire people because that’s what people want to know about.” She argues that critics of a response will exist regardless of if they are given a platform, and that communication should be focused on providing information from relevant sources.
“You’re going to get the contrary messages anyway. . . . Knowing who needs to talk is part of [communication] too.”
Blame Game
Jenny Durkan expressed her frustration with critics following the 2025 New Orleans truck attack, where a man plowed his vehicle into a bustling Bourbon Street, killing 10 people and injuring dozens more.
“The whole bollards discussion was bollocks.”
Durkan was referencing outrage against the city for not installing anti-vehicle poles, or bollards, between the road and Bourbon Street. She argues they would have been disruptive to the neighborhood and would have been ineffective anyway, “they are not as effective as the patrol car that was sitting there.” A 2017 report by the city of New Orleans argued the dense crowds were vulnerable and a “target for terrorism”, and a further confidential report reviewed by CBS News showed that city officials had been warned in 2019 that some bollards had become inoperable.
She felt it was wrong for the media to focus on the lack of bollards, arguing it became the narrative for weeks and distracted from other needs. “Let’s take care of people first.”
Lori Lightfoot advised, upon a crisis, to immediately reach out to the media. This, she argued, would help educate them on the situation and government solutions, reducing blame-assigning press coverage. “You’re gonna get a fairer kind of reporting . . . Maybe you mitigate against the ‘well somebody’s gotta be at fault here.’”
Ultimate Reflections
Lori Lightfoot and Jenny Durkan emphasized the importance of a united front among leadership, clear communication, and proactive planning when dealing with crises. Both cited their management of the COVID-19 pandemic as examples of how Karen Bass might go about handling coordinating leadership duties and public messaging.
Lightfoot underscored the need for a united front with her collaboration of J.B. Pritzker during pandemic lockdowns, where she tended to stand with the governor even when occasionally disagreeing on the scale of implemented measures. She also advised Bass to start forming recovery plans, noting that rebuilding plans will need to go into immediate effect to begin rebuilding Los Angeles.
Durkan stressed the importance of frequent, clear communication delivered through relevant first responders in times of crisis. She argued that criticism and blame would exist regardless of how many or few avenues they might be given, and that communication should focus primarily on getting relevant information out as often as possible.
