By JOSE HERRERA
Days after Mayor Karen Bass ousted Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley, the L.A. City Council president said on Monday, Feb 24, that he encouraged the mayor to “separate” from the now-former chief weeks ago.
Bass removed Crowley as head of LAFD on Friday, citing failures in leadership ahead of the January windstorm that led to the deadly Palisades Fire, as well as what the mayor said was Crowley’s refusal to prepare an after-action report.
On Monday, Marqueece Harris-Dawson, leader of the 15-member City Council, told City News Service in a phone interview the firing was a “solemn and sad moment.” Some council members supported the mayor’s decision, while at least one has publicly opposed it.
“We’re council members, so we don’t agree on everything,” Harris-Dawson told CNS. “I will say, I was one who was encouraging the mayor to separate with the chief weeks ago.”
“I was unable to convince the mayor of that, and there are other people who thought the mayor and the fire chief should stay on indefinitely,” he added. “There are definitely differences of opinion based on where we sit in the work.”
Harris-Dawson and council members Curren Price, Hugo Soto-Martinez and Adrin Nazarian stood by Bass at a Friday news conference announcing the chief’s firing, and the appointment of former Chief Deputy Ronnie Villanueva, a 41-year LAFD veteran, as interim fire chief.
“It’s something that you don’t want to do, but it’s part of the job of being a council member,” Harris-Dawson said. “We were committed to the city and standing with the city’s leader on this Friday.”
Bass had called for a full investigation of everything that occurred leading up to the devastating Palisades Fire on Jan. 7 — such as why a water reservoir sat empty in the Pacific Palisades, issues with water pressure, inoperable fire hydrants, and the LAFD’s model of pre-deployment during last month’s windstorm and critical fire danger, among other things.
Bass has faced a barrage of criticism over the handling of the wildfire, in particular because the mayor went on a diplomatic trip to Ghana days before the fires erupted despite the warnings about anticipated severe wind and fire-danger conditions.
The mayor contended last week that she would normally receive a call from the fire chief about the approach of severe fire conditions, but did not receive any such notification in January.
Harris-Dawson said he also did not receive any such notifications during Bass’ absence.
“I was acting mayor at the time and I was not getting a flow of information from the chief during that time period,” Harris-Dawson told CNS. “Frankly, I did not talk to her until I showed up to a press conference at four o’clock that afternoon of the fire.”
The council president also said he thought the former chief demonstrated “incredibly poor judgment” when Crowley gave interviews in which she said the city “failed” the department through a lack of resources and a reduction in its operational budget. Some city officials have refuted that claim, insisting that LAFD received more funding when the fiscal year 2024-25 budget plan was adopted.
“While firefighters were out fighting fires, facing fires, you’re in the comfort of your office doing an interview with a news outlet that you know to be antagonistic toward the mayor and several of the council,” Harris-Dawson told CNS. “I thought that demonstration of poor judgment was enough to warrant separation. The mayor didn’t agree with me.”
Meanwhile, during an interview with KTLA5 Monday morning, Councilmember Monica Rodriguez accused the mayor of “misrepresenting the facts” regarding Crowley’s firing.
Rodriguez said she and others were notified appropriately by Crowley when the fires affected their districts.
She released a statement in response to Bass’ firing of Crowley, saying she was “outraged by the scapegoating revealed by the mayor’s actions.”
Rodriguez said she planned to use her authority to set the record straight and encouraged Crowley to appeal the mayor’s “baseless termination to City Council.”
The former chief exercised her civil service right to remain with the agency at a lower rank. The interim chief will be responsible for assigning her duties.
If Crowley does appeal her firing, she would need 10 of the City Council’s 15 members to vote with her to succeed, which would appear to be a tough challenge.
Harris-Dawson told CNS that as of now there’s no appeal.
“So, I can’t imagine supporting an appeal,” he added. “If she makes an appeal, I’m not going to prejudge it like others have done. I want to see what’s in your appeal. … There might be something compelling there from the information I have now.”
“I don’t have any problem with what the mayor’s done,” he added.
According to the council president, he doesn’t believe there are tensions among council members as a result of the mayor’s decision.
“I think we move forward by rallying around Interim Chief Ronnie Villanueva, making sure he has the tools that he needs to restore confidence in the department,” Harris-Dawson added.
On Saturday, Crowley gave her first public comment since being fired by Bass.
“As a humble public servant for over the past 30 years, 25 of those with the LAFD, it has been an absolute honor to represent and lead the men and women of one of the greatest fire departments in the world,” Crowley said in a statement. “As the Fire Chief, I based my actions and decisions on taking care of our firefighters so that they could take care of our communities. Serving others before self, having the courage and integrity to do what is right, and leading with compassion, love and respect have guided me throughout my career. I am extremely proud of the work, sacrifice and dedication of our LAFD members, both sworn and civilian.”
A spokesman for Crowley said she would “make no further comment regarding this matter.”
Leaders of United Firefighters of Los Angeles City Local 112 also blasted Crowley’s ouster.
“We are outraged at the termination of Fire Chief Crowley,” UFLAC President Freddie Escobar said Friday. “In our opinion, Crowley is being made a scapegoat and she’s being terminated for telling the truth.”
Escobar refuted Bass’ claim that Crowley refused to conduct an after-action report on the Palisades Fire. He contended that Crowley told the Fire Commission that the commission was the “wrong arena” for an investigation. An investigation into the handling of the fire was instead being conducted — with the assistance of LAFD — by the Fire Safety Research Institute. The independent organization was authorized by Gov. Gavin Newsom to analyze the totality of the multiple fires that erupted in the L.A. region and what issues contributed to the disaster.
Escobar also challenged comments made by Bass regarding the LAFD’s pre-deployment model and her FY 2024-25 budget.
“What she didn’t say is — there weren’t enough resources. I worked there at the command post that night. I was here in Los Angeles. … We had more members willing to participate than we had seats to put those members in because we didn’t have enough engines or trucks,” Escobar said.