Former LAFD chief Kristin Crowley appeals her dismissal
Former Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley took the extraordinary step Thursday of appealing Mayor Karen Bass' decision to dismiss her, in part, for her performance during a catastrophic wildfire that destroyed much of the Pacific Palisades.
The appeal, which would require the approval of 10 of 15 City Council members, is unlikely to succeed. But it will almost certainly cause further public turmoil for Bass, who has struggled to regain her political footing since the Palisades fire erupted Jan. 7.
The move comes less than a week after Bass ousted Crowley, criticizing the former chief for her decision not to fully pre-deploy engines amid dire wind forecasts and her alleged refusal to participate in an after-action report on the fire.
"I choose to proceed with the Council appeal provided for in Los Angeles Charter, Article V, Section 5.08(e), due to Mayor Bass's removal of me, on February 21, 2025, from the position of Fire Chief of the Los Angeles City Fire Department," Crowley wrote just before 1:30 p.m. Thursday in an email to members of the City Council. "I look forward to hearing from you about next steps, if any."
Bass spokesperson Zach Seidl said Thursday that Crowley "has the right to appeal her dismissal."
The L.A. City Charter gives the mayor the power to remove most department heads, such as the fire chief, without City Council approval. The charter also gives Crowley the right to appeal the decision to the council within 10 days of her removal, with a two-thirds vote required to reinstate her.
Crowley will face an uphill climb in convincing 10 members of the council to side with her.
Four of the council's members — including Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson — stood behind Bass at a press conference Friday as she announced her decision to remove Crowley.
In addition to those four, Councilmember Bob Blumenfield said he believes the mayor has "the right to hire and fire whom she wishes."
"She needs to have the full confidence of her general managers and her chiefs. If she has lost that confidence, she has every right to change out the head of a department" or fire chief, he said in an interview earlier this week.
Blumenfield said he was also troubled by Crowley's decision Jan. 10 to appear on multiple news shows decrying the lack of funding for her department, at a time when the Palisades fire was still burning out of control.
"While the fire is raging, the focus has to be on putting out the fires," he said.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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Politico
24 minutes ago
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Cuomo and Mamdani trade fire in the final New York City mayoral debate
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'Those are just bold-faced lies,' the former governor shot back. It was one of several pitched exchanges as five candidates aimed to improve their standings and the two frontrunners desperately sought to weaken the other just two days before early voting begins in the June 24 Democratic primary. Surging in recent polls but generally still in second place, Mamdani was subject to the frontrunner treatment as his opponents knocked his paltry record in the state Legislature, far-left views and criticism of Israel. 'Experience matters and I think inexperience is dangerous in this case,' Cuomo said. 'Mr. Mamdani has a staff of five people. You're now going to run a staff of 300,000 employees.' Mamdani, in turn, sought to portray the 67-year-old Cuomo as part of a political establishment many voters have grown tired of. 'I've never had to resign in disgrace,' Mamdani said, referring to Cuomo's 2021 resignation from the scandals encapsulated in state attorney general reports. He denies all wrongdoing. 'I've never cut Medicaid. I've never stolen money from the MTA. I've never hounded the 13 women who credibly accused me of sexual harassment.' Cuomo, Mamdani, Lander, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, former city Comptroller Scott Stringer, state Sen. Zellnor Myrie and businessperson Whitney Tillson — squared off in the debate, sponsored by NY1, WNYC and THE CITY. In a shift from last week's debate, some of the candidates opted not to aim their fire at Cuomo when given the chance to ask another candidate a question of their choosing. The differences between the leading men could hardly be more stark. Cuomo would be the oldest mayor elected in modern history and is running on his lengthy record; Mamdani is hoping to bypass concerns about his inexperience by inspiring Democrats looking for a change from the status quo. Cuomo has pledged to tackle subway crime and bring his aggressive leadership brand — which critics call bullying — to City Hall. Mamdani wants to fund free bus services and create government-run grocery stores by increasing taxes on wealthy New Yorkers. His priorities will need approval from state officials in Albany, and Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul has already said she opposes tax hikes. Similar to the first debate, Cuomo was often on the defensive, particularly as he traded heated exchanges with Lander. Lander, who has struggled in the race, had one of his best days yet Thursday: After getting the backing of a panel convened by the New York Times in lieu of a traditional newspaper endorsement, he found his footing on the debate stage. He trained his attacks on Cuomo again and again, including on the former governor's management of the MTA and COVID. An investigation by state Attorney General Letitia James' office determined Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women; the then-governor resigned weeks after a report detailed the findings of the probe. Cuomo — who initially apologized to some of the women — has since insisted he's done nothing wrong and said Thursday night the findings were 'all political.' The city comptroller even laid a trap of sorts. He directed Cuomo's attention to the audience where Peter Arbeeny, whose father was one of thousands of nursing home deaths during the pandemic, was waiting. Arbeeny blames Cuomo for directing nursing homes to admit COVID patients. 'Andrew, this is Peter Arbeeny,' Lander said. 'Will you finally apologize to Peter and other grieving New Yorkers? Or will you just keep gaslighting them?' Cuomo responded he was 'very sorry' that Arbeeny's father died, but insisted the state was following federal guidelines when his administration required nursing homes to receive Covid-positive patients. The ex-governor is making his comeback bid by leaning heavily on his record — including his televised Covid briefings that turned him into a national star. But he is now reportedly under investigation for lying to Congress after he initially told a House subcommittee that he did not review or edit a state Department of Health report on nursing home deaths. He said in subsequent testimony he did not 'recall' seeing it. In last week's debate, Cuomo declined to say if he edited or saw the report before its release. In an interview with PIX 11 this week, he acknowledged he reviewed it and if he had read it, he likely made edits. He's denied lying to Congress. Lander and the others used sledgehammers to go after the former governor's record — and the sexual harassment allegations that pushed him from office — and scalpels to spotlight other missteps, including his mispronunciation of Mamdani's name. While Cuomo was expected to attack Mamdani's resume, surprising pokes came from Lander — who not-so-subtly suggested Mamdani's social media savvy would not translate into managing a government of roughly 330,000 people. Adams, a reserved legislative leader, questioned the state assemblymember's qualifications. Adams, who ran through a list of her governmental accomplishments and would be the first Black woman to lead City Hall, let a hammer drop: 'In a recent New York Times article, you said you were the most qualified person to lead the city. Given what I've laid out, do you think you're more qualified than me to lead the city?' Mamdani responded — sheepishly — that all the candidates likely believe they're the most qualified. 'The objective is to beat Andrew Cuomo. Let's keep that clear. He is not fit to be mayor,' Adams told reporters after the debate. 'My question to the assemblymember was basically just to get my experience out there on the table so everybody can hear it.' Just as telling: the attacks that didn't happen. At one point in the two-hour ordeal, Adams jabbed Cuomo for his description of New York as a city so dangerous residents are scared to leave their houses at night. 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When Cuomo arrived in his black Dodge Charger muscle car, union workers cheered as Mamdani's musicians played 'The Imperial March' from Star Wars — Darth Vader's theme. The clash of candidates earned attention online, including from former Mayor Bill de Blasio, who gleefully live-tweeted along with the attacks on his political foe Cuomo. 'Wow, @andrewcuomo is REALLY scared of @ZohranKMamdani! He's not even faking it…' de Blasio wrote. 'And Andrew is REALLY disrespecting all the New Yorkers who support Zohran.' Top Cuomo adviser Melissa DeRosa said his debate commentary was 'a sad fall from grace for the former mayor.' She listened to the other candidates speak with reporters in the spin room after the debate. Cuomo was the only candidate who declined to appear. Asked after the debate if he would accept an endorsement from de Blasio, Mamdani answered in the affirmative, labeling de Blasio ' the architect of universal pre-K, which is one of the most effective examples of what city government can do to alleviate an affordability crisis.' Emily Ngo, Joe Anuta and Michael Gartland contributed to this report.
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Cuomo and others take aim at Zohran Mamdani in heated NYC mayoral debate
Zohran Mamdani has rocketed from relative obscurity to become one of the top contenders in the New York City mayor's race. In a debate Thursday, he started catching heat for his place among the top of the heap. Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist, found himself the target of jabs from the crowded field of Democratic mayoral primary candidates, reflecting the upstart state lawmaker's growing popularity in a race that has for months been dominated by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The swipes came fast. City Comptroller Brad Lander, drawing a contrast between himself and Mamdani, noted he's not great on TikTok but has deep experience, a subtle dig at the social media adept Mamdani. Scott Stringer, a former city comptroller, said 'we cannot have a mayoralty on training wheels,' a slight aimed at Mamdani over his short time in government. Whitney Tilson, a former hedge fund executive, spent most of his time on stage criticizing Mamdani, saying his platform was full of 'pie-in-sky promises.' Cuomo, the presumed front-runner, threw the hardest blows. 'He's never dealt with the City Council. He's never dealt with the Congress. He's never dealt with the State Legislature. He's never negotiated with a union. He's never built anything. He's never dealt with a natural emergency. He's never dealt with a hurricane, with a flood, et cetera. He's never done any of the essentials. And now you have Donald Trump on top of all of that," Cuomo said. Mamdani has run an energetic campaign centered on lowering the city's astronomical cost of living, proposing a bold slate of populist ideas that have turned him into a liberal darling and won him the endorsement of progressive star U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. But his critics are quick to point out that he has few legislative accomplishments in his handful of years in government, while questioning his ability to get his lofty agenda over the line if he were to become mayor. On Thursday night, Mamdani brushed off most of what his opponents had to say, instead locking onto the former governor. 'To Mr. Cuomo, I have never had to resign in disgrace. I have never cut Medicaid. I have never stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from the MTA," Mamdani said, referencing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. "I have never hounded the 13 women who credibly accused me of sexual harassment, I have never sued for their gynecological records, and I have never done those things because I am not you, Mr. Cuomo.' Mamdani continued, chiding Cuomo for mispronouncing his name: 'And furthermore, the name is Mamdani. M-A-M-D-A-N-I." The city's Democratic mayoral primary, on June 24, has in some ways narrowed into a contest between Cuomo and Mamdani, with the two opposing politicians amassing endorsements and gathering momentum as the election nears. Cuomo, who is in the midst of a political comeback after resigning as governor over a sexual harassment scandal, has long been the favorite, bringing fundraising prowess, the power of a political dynasty and a long record of accomplishments to the contest. He has, throughout the race and during Thursday's debate, faced intense attacks over his political record and scandal. Cuomo stepped down from office in 2021 after a report from the state attorney general concluded that he sexually harassed at least 11 women. He has said he did not intentionally mistreat the women but had simply ran afoul of what was considered appropriate workplace conduct. On Thursday, Cuomo said 'nothing has come, except political fodder for my opponents," from the scandal. The former governor has cast himself as an experienced moderate who has the political acumen to deal with the Republican president and save a city that he has described as out of control with crime and homelessness. Mamdani, who was first elected in 2020 to represent a state Assembly seat in Queens, has offered a more optimistic vision and focused on cost-of-living concerns. He's pitching free city buses, free childcare and higher taxes on the wealthy, all articulated in well-produced social media videos that have gained attention online. At one point in Thursday's debate, moderators allowed the candidates to ask questions of each other. Adrienne Adams, the speaker of the New York City Council, directed her question at Mamdani, first detailing her long work experience and then asking, 'Given what I've just laid out, do you think you're more qualified than me to lead the city?' Mamdani smiled and praised Adams' leadership, but said he believed he was the most qualified 'because I believe the most pressing crisis we're facing here is one of affordability, and that is something that my campaign has been laser-focused on,' before touching on some of his policy points.
