Latest news with #Harris-Dawson
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
"No responsive records" of communications from active mayor during Palisades Fire, says L.A. City
On May 19th, the City of Los Angeles responded to KTLA's request for public records of the officials involved in the city's response to the Palisades fire by closing the case, saying there were 'no responsive records matching [the] search parameters.'As permitted in the California Public Records Act of 1968, KTLA had been pursuing records of communication from key officials relating to the fires just weeks after they occurred. One of the officials targeted was Los Angeles City Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, the acting mayor of the city while Mayor Karen Bass was out of the country on a visit to Ghana. The parameters established by KTLA's initial request were intentionally broad so as to cover any relevant information to the city's wildfire crisis response, seeking 'ANY digital communications (including email/ text/ WhatsApp/ or other) originating FROM or TO Harris-Dawson over a period of days'. When the news outlet failed to receive a response, they resubmitted the request on March 11th. The city got back to them 10 days later, saying it had 'records that match [KTLA's] request and will… provide them no later than May 21, 2025.' This runs directly counter to the most recent update from Harris-Dawson's office, claiming the case would be closed because there were no relevant records. In their response to KTLA, the Councilmember's office did not explain the discrepancy between its first response, saying the documents existed, and its most recent update, saying they did not. The city's response to the public records request, already longer than the standard turnaround time for such a request, has raised concerns about the transparency of the city government on social media. Defense lawyer and legal expert Allison Triesl states to KTLA: 'I can think of nothing more central to the conduct of the people's business than knowing why Los Angeles County was ill-prepared to combat one of the greatest natural disasters in this State's history.'
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
L.A. city says no digital communications exist for acting mayor during the Palisades Fire
Months after the wildfires scorched a path of destruction through several Los Angeles County communities, the city of L.A. says no digital communications exist for the acting mayor during a critical period of the Palisades Fire. KTLA has been pursuing public records requests for key officials involved in both fire incidents, from the initial response to the aftermath, with some requests facing significant delays. One outstanding request from KTLA targeted Los Angeles City Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who served as acting mayor during the Palisades Fire while Mayor Karen Bass was out of the country. KTLA had sought communications from Harris-Dawson to gain insight into his response during those critical hours. Deleted messages, disappearing chats, and a firestorm of L.A. controversy The initial request, filed weeks after the fires, sought 'ANY digital communications (including email/ text/ WhatsApp/ or other) originating FROM or TO Harris-Dawson over a period of days' related to the Palisades Fire, the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), the mayor, or former LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley. The request was intentionally broad to encompass various topics an acting mayor might address during a wildfire crisis. On March 11, KTLA resubmitted the request after receiving no response. The office stated the request was too complex for a 10-day turnaround and required an additional 14 days, with a new response date of March 22. On March 21, KTLA was informed, 'We have records that match your request and will review them and provide them no later than May 21, 2025.' KTLA expressed concern about the additional two months needed and was told the office was processing a 'higher than normal amount' of public records requests. However, on May 19, months after the fires, KTLA received a one-sentence email from the City Council member's office stating, 'We have reviewed your search criteria and have found no responsive records matching your search parameters. This request is closed.' This means no emails, texts, or other digital communications from Harris-Dawson related to the Palisades Fire, the LAFD, the mayor, or the former fire chief were provided for the requested period. Harris-Dawson's office did not explain why they initially stated on March 21 that matching documents existed, only to later claim no responsive records were found. KTLA is not alone in this experience. The Los Angeles Times received a similar response from Harris-Dawson's office regarding a separate request related to the wildfires, as reported in their article, 'How much did Bass talk to her acting mayor while she was in Ghana?' KTLA continues to pursue requests with other agencies, including the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management. Legal expert Alison Triessl commented on the public records process and KTLA's efforts, stating, 'Since its inception in 1968, The California Public Records Act was enacted to promote public access to public records. As the Act clearly states, 'access to information concerning the conduct of the people's business is a fundamental and necessary right of every person in this state.' I can think of nothing more central to the conduct of the people's business than knowing why Los Angeles County was ill-prepared to combat one of the greatest natural disasters in this State's history.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
L.A. council members were told a vote could violate public meeting law. They voted anyway
When Los Angeles City Council members took up a plan to hike the wages of tourism workers this week, they received some carefully worded advice from city lawyers: Don't vote on this yet. Senior Assistant City Atty. Michael J. Dundas advised them on Wednesday — deep into their meeting — that his office had not yet conducted a final legal review of the flurry of last-minute changes they requested earlier in the day. Dundas recommended that the council delay its vote for two days to comply with the Ralph M. Brown Act, the state's open meeting law. "We advise that the posted agenda for today's meeting provides insufficient notice under the Brown Act for first consideration and adoption of an ordinance to increase the wages and health benefits for hotel and airport workers," Dundas wrote. The council pressed ahead anyway, voting 12-3 to increase the minimum wage of those workers to $30 per hour by 2028, despite objections from business groups, hotel owners and airport businesses. Read more: L.A. council backs $30 minimum wage for hotels, despite warnings from tourism industry Then, on Friday, the council conducted a do-over vote, taking up the rewritten wage measure at a special noon meeting — one called only the day before. The result was the same, with the measure passing again, 12-3. Some in the hotel industry questioned why Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who runs the meetings, insisted on moving forward Wednesday, even after the lawyers' warning. Jackie Filla, president and chief executive of the Hotel Assn. of Los Angeles, said the decision to proceed Wednesday gave a political boost to Unite Here Local 11, which represents hotel workers. The union had already scheduled an election for Thursday for its members to vote on whether to increase their dues. By approving the $30 per hour minimum wage on Wednesday, the council gave the union a potent selling point for the proposed dues increase, Filla said. "It looks like it was in Unite Here's financial interest to have that timing," she said. Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who opposed the wage increases, was more blunt. "It was clear that Marqueece intended to be as helpful as possible" to Unite Here Local 11, "even if it meant violating the Brown Act," she said. Harris-Dawson spokesperson Rhonda Mitchell declined to say why her boss pushed for a wage vote on Wednesday after receiving the legal advice about the Brown Act. That law requires local governments to take additional public comment if a legislative proposal has changed substantially during a meeting. Mitchell, in a text message, said Harris-Dawson scheduled the new wage vote for Friday because of a mistake by city lawyers. "The item was re-agendized because of a clerical error on the City Attorney's part — and this is the correction," she said. Mitchell did not provide details on the error. However, the wording on the two meeting agendas is indeed different. Read more: Faced with a $30 minimum wage, hotel investors start looking outside L.A. Wednesday's agenda called for the council to ask city lawyers to "prepare and present" amendments to the wage laws. Friday's agenda called for the council to "present and adopt" the proposed changes. Maria Hernandez, a spokesperson for Unite Here Local 11, said in an email that her union does not control the City Council's schedule. The union's vote on higher dues involved not just its L.A. members but also thousands of workers in Orange County and Arizona, Hernandez said. "The timing of LA City Council votes is not up to us (sadly!) — in fact we were expecting a vote more than a year ago — nor would the precise timing be salient to our members," she said. Hernandez said Unite Here Local 11 members voted "overwhelmingly" on Thursday to increase their dues, allowing the union to double the size of its strike fund and pay for "an army of organizers" for the next round of labor talks. She did not disclose the size of the dues increase. Dundas' memo, written on behalf of City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto, was submitted late in Wednesday's deliberations, after council members requested a number of changes to the minimum wage ordinance. At one point, they took a recess so their lawyers could work on the changes. By the time the lawyers emerged with the new language, Dundas' memo was pinned to the public bulletin board in the council chamber, where spectators quickly snapped screenshots. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
16-05-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
L.A. council members were told a vote could violate public meeting law. They voted anyway
When Los Angeles City Council members took up a plan to hike the wages of tourism workers this week, they received some carefully worded advice from city lawyers: Don't vote on this yet. Senior Assistant City Atty. Michael J. Dundas advised them on Wednesday — deep into their meeting — that his office had not yet conducted a final legal review of the flurry of last-minute changes they requested earlier in the day. Dundas recommended that the council delay its vote for two days to comply with the Ralph M. Brown Act, the state's open meeting law. 'We advise that the posted agenda for today's meeting provides insufficient notice under the Brown Act for first consideration and adoption of an ordinance to increase the wages and health benefits for hotel and airport workers,' Dundas wrote. The council pressed ahead anyway, voting 12-3 to increase the minimum wage of those workers to $30 per hour by 2028, despite objections from business groups, hotel owners and airport businesses. Then, on Friday, the council conducted a do-over vote, taking up the rewritten wage measure at a special noon meeting — one called only the day before. The result was the same, with the measure passing again, 12-3. Some in the hotel industry questioned why Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who runs the meetings, insisted on moving forward Wednesday, even after the lawyers' warning. Jackie Filla, president and chief executive of the Hotel Assn. of Los Angeles, said the decision to proceed Wednesday gave a political boost to Unite Here Local 11, which represents hotel workers. The union had already scheduled an election for Thursday for its members to vote on whether to increase their dues. By approving the $30 per hour minimum wage on Wednesday, the council gave the union a potent selling point for the proposed dues increase, Filla said. 'It looks like it was in Unite Here's financial interest to have that timing,' she said. Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who opposed the wage increases, was more blunt. 'It was clear that Marqueece intended to be as helpful as possible' to Unite Here Local 11, 'even if it meant violating the Brown Act,' she said. Harris-Dawson spokesperson Rhonda Mitchell declined to say why her boss pushed for a wage vote on Wednesday after receiving the legal advice about the Brown Act. That law requires local governments to take additional public comment if a legislative proposal has changed substantially during a meeting. Mitchell, in a text message, said Harris-Dawson scheduled the new wage vote for Friday because of a mistake by city lawyers. 'The item was re-agendized because of a clerical error on the City Attorney's part — and this is the correction,' she said. Mitchell did not provide details on the error. However, the wording on the two meeting agendas is indeed different. Wednesday's agenda called for the council to ask city lawyers to 'prepare and present' amendments to the wage laws. Friday's agenda called for the council to 'present and adopt' the proposed changes. Maria Hernandez, a spokesperson for Unite Here Local 11, said in an email that her union does not control the City Council's schedule. The union's vote on higher dues involved not just its L.A. members but also thousands of workers in Orange County and Arizona, Hernandez said. 'The timing of LA City Council votes is not up to us (sadly!) — in fact we were expecting a vote more than a year ago — nor would the precise timing be salient to our members,' she said. Hernandez said Unite Here Local 11 members voted 'overwhelmingly' on Thursday to increase their dues, allowing the union to double the size of its strike fund and pay for 'an army of organizers' for the next round of labor talks. She did not disclose the size of the dues increase. Dundas' memo, written on behalf of City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto, was submitted late in Wednesday's deliberations, after council members requested a number of changes to the minimum wage ordinance. At one point, they took a recess so their lawyers could work on the changes. By the time the lawyers emerged with the new language, Dundas' memo was pinned to the public bulletin board in the council chamber, where spectators quickly snapped screenshots.
Los Angeles Times
12-04-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
How much did Bass and her acting mayor communicate while she was in Ghana?
Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record — our City Hall newsletter. It's Julia Wick and David Zahniser, giving you the latest on city and county government. As virtually every Angeleno now knows, Mayor Karen Bass was on a diplomatic trip to Ghana when the Palisades fire exploded. What remains hazier is how the mayor interacted with the person assigned to lead in her absence — City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who was the acting mayor during her trip, including the day the fire broke out. Following a protracted back and forth last month, The Times obtained some of Bass' text messages from the nearly 24 hours she spent in transit from Ghana to Los Angeles on Jan. 7 and 8. After initially saying the mayor's texts had been deleted, her staffers revealed they were able to recover them, providing about 125 messages, while also noting that an unspecified number of additional messages were 'redacted and/or withheld' based on exemptions to the California Public Records Act. The cache of messages was revealing. But one name was notably absent: Harris-Dawson. (The Times sued the city last month over the mayor's texts. Even though city officials ultimately provided some texts, The Times is contesting the city's argument that releasing them was not required under state law.) Back on March 10, while we were still waiting to see if Bass would provide any of her texts, we filed a separate public records request with Harris-Dawson's office, seeking all of his communications with Bass (via email and text message, as well as messaging apps like Signal and WhatsApp) sent or received between Jan. 6 and Jan. 16. Three weeks later, Harris-Dawson's office said it had 'conducted a search and found no responsive records for this request.' It didn't seem possible that there weren't any messages between the two of them. Was the council president's office saying that he and the mayor did not communicate at all in writing during this period? Not even on Jan. 6, when the National Weather Service put out a warning that sounded downright apocalyptic? Or on Jan. 7 and 8, with Bass in transit during one of the worst catastrophes in city history? We asked Harris-Dawson's deputy chief of staff, Denise Jackson, on April 1 if the city was withholding any records. She did not respond. We followed up the next day with similar questions, asking if records had been deleted. And the next day. Still nothing. On April 4, Jackson responded, saying that if records had been withheld, her office would have specifically stated that. In this case, there were no records, she said. We asked again (and again) if emails or texts had been deleted. She did not respond. This week, we looped in Harris-Dawson's communications director Rhonda Mitchell, saying we were planning to write about the matter. Mitchell did not answer questions about whether Harris-Dawson had deleted messages or emails. 'I can only go by what the CPRA returned and the CPRA returned that there were no records found,' Mitchell said Friday, using an abbreviation to refer to a request made under the California Public Records Act. Bass spokesperson Zach Seidl said Friday that 'the Mayor and the Council President communicated by phone multiple times during this period.' He declined to say whether any messages with Harris-Dawson were among those previously withheld by his office in response to our request for Bass' texts. He also did not address whether Harris-Dawson and Bass had emailed during this period. Which all brings us back to our original question: How was the mayor interacting with Harris-Dawson as he led the city in her stead? Yes, they spoke on the phone, but the seeming lack of written communication raises serious questions. If such messages exist, they're an important part of the historical record and a crucial piece of the puzzle in understanding Bass' response to the fire. If they exist, Harris-Dawson's office can't legally withhold them without providing a reason. If they were deleted, the public should be told that — along with why. And if Bass and Harris-Dawson really didn't communicate in writing, they should address why that was. The Times did obtain some emails between Harris-Dawson's team and the mayor's office. Last month, in response to a separate records request, Harris-Dawson released a collection of emails sent between Jan. 2 and Jan. 7 to and from his office regarding wildfire conditions, high winds, emergency preparations and the National Weather Service. Harris-Dawson was acting mayor on four of those days. The most significant communication from Bass' team was a Jan. 7 email from Thomas Arechiga, the mayor's deputy director of legislative affairs, asking Harris-Dawson to sign a declaration of local emergency. 'Note, there are no changes to the Mayor's planned return tomorrow morning,' Arechiga wrote. Harris-Dawson's office sent the signed document back to Arechiga about 10 minutes later. — SOBOROFF SIDELINED: In a sprawling exit interview, outgoing Chief Recovery Officer Steve Soboroff said he was shut out by the mayor's office, noting: 'They haven't asked me to do anything in a month and a half, nothing, zero.' He also raised concerns about the role of Hagerty, the city's recovery consultant. Soboroff and real estate executive Randy Johnson went into greater detail about their work in a six-page 'Report of the Chief Recovery Officer,' which was delivered to Bass this week. — NEW LEADERSHIP: Bass named a new deputy mayor for public safety Monday, installing former FBI official Robert Clark as her top aide overseeing police, fire and emergency preparedness. Clark's predecessor, Brian K. Williams, was put on administrative leave last year after being accused of making a bomb threat against City Hall. Williams is still on the city payroll but 'is retiring,' said Seidl, the Bass spokesperson. Seidl did not respond when asked how long Williams would remain on the payroll. Williams makes about $245,000 a year and has been paid nearly $75,000 since being placed on administrative leave, according to the City Controller's office. Clark will make a similar salary. — WHO'S RUNNING? With Bass looking increasingly vulnerable, chatter about who will run against her has reached a fever pitch. But it's unclear whether anyone will mount a serious challenge to an incumbent who still wields considerable clout. We surveyed the field. — SECURING HER BASE: But Bass is very much on the campaign trail. This week, she dropped by an Los Angeles County Democratic Party meeting to give a quick speech, and she met with Valley Democratic club leaders at El Mariachi Grill in Encino last weekend. — ALL SMILES: They could end up as rivals in next year's mayoral election. But on Thursday, Bass and her former opponent, real estate developer Rick Caruso, appeared together to announce a partnership for rebuilding the Pacific Palisades Recreation Center, which was severely damaged in the Palisades fire. — TASK MASTER: U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli, recently appointed to oversee federal prosecutions in Southern California, announced the formation of a task force to look for potential fraud or corruption in homelessness programs. That work could create new headaches for Bass, depending on how wide-ranging the probe turns out to be. — THE TRUMP FACTOR: Essayli, whose boss is Trump's Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi, has been a sharp critic of the state's approach to the crisis, making derisive references to 'the homeless industrial complex.' Bass, for her part, said she doesn't know 'what kind of Trump appointee' Essayli will be. 'Is he going to do a fishing expedition?' she told KNX earlier this week. 'Or is he going to actually look and study the system and work with us to correct it?' — TRASH TALK: The City Council endorsed a plan for five consecutive years of trash fee hikes — and the first one will be by far the largest. Single-family homes and duplexes will see a 54% increase next year, while triplexes and four-unit buildings will see their trash bills double by next year. — A WIN FOR LABOR: The City Council voted 14-1 to spend another $27.7 million on design and technical work on a planned expansion of the Convention Center. The vote provided a big win to the construction trade unions, who mobilized to keep the project alive amid a major budget crisis. Although this week's vote did not authorize the renovation itself, it showed the council is firmly behind an overhaul of the structure. — PERMIT PUSH: Los Angeles County failed to issue a single rebuilding permit in the three months since the Eaton fire devastated Altadena. Now, the Board of Supervisors is trying to speed up that process. — FIGHT FOR THE 1ST: Two candidates have emerged to challenge Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez in the 1st District, which stretches from Highland Park to Westlake and Pico-Union, in June 2026. Raul Claros, a former member of the city's affordable housing commission, announced his bid in a news release this week. Meanwhile, Sylvia Robledo, a onetime aide to former Councilmembers Jan Perry and Gil Cedillo, recently created her own campaign committee to run for the seat, according to ethics filings. — TWO WORDS: The council's rules committee moved ahead with a plan to prohibit the utterance of two slurs — one against Black people, the other targeting women — during the council's public comment periods. — HOUSING CRUNCH: L.A.'s so-called mansion tax, approved by voters in 2022, has likely led to a dropoff in the construction of apartments across the city, according to a report released by UCLA and Rand researchers. Joe Donlin, who represents the coalition that supported Measure ULA, responded by saying the report was based on 'highly questionable assumptions' and only furthers the interest of 'real estate millionaires and billionaires.' — FEEL THE BERN: Plan for plenty of traffic in the Civic Center area Saturday, with big crowds gathering for Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's rally in Gloria Molina Grand Park. Councilmembers Hernandez and Ysabel Jurado are expected to speak. It will also be a Spring Street homecoming for Sanders' communications director Anna Bahr, who started her political career in Mayor Eric Garcetti's office and ran communications for Bass during her mayoral primary.
