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THE BOTTOM LINE - One year after the Palisades Fire tore through homes, memories, and any lingering sense of security, Angelenos expected leadership rooted in empathy, accountability, and urgency. Instead, many residents were stunned to hear Mayor Karen Bass suggest that those protesting the City’s handling of the disaster were “profiting” from grief. The remark did not come across as a defense of effective governance; it landed as a dismissal of lived pain.
Families who lost their homes, residents still trapped in insurance disputes, and neighbors navigating rebuilding delays, permit backlogs, and mounting financial strain are not profiteers. They are survivors.
Public protest is rarely a first choice, especially for people already burdened by trauma. When residents gather under banners reading “They Let Us Burn,” they are not seeking attention or gain. They are seeking acknowledgment and answers. For many Palisades residents, the past year has been defined not only by recovery, but by frustration. Conflicting guidance, slow approvals, and opaque decision-making have left families feeling unheard and sidelined. When institutional channels fail to provide clarity or relief, protest becomes the last remaining tool.
To frame that expression of grief and frustration as opportunism is not only inaccurate; it undermines the legitimacy of civic participation itself.
Natural disasters test more than infrastructure. They test character. Leadership in moments of crisis is not measured by how quickly criticism is deflected, but by how sincerely it is received. Words spoken by those in power carry particular weight when directed at people still grappling with loss and uncertainty. When the mayor of the nation’s second-largest city implies that grieving residents are exploiting their own suffering, it sends a deeply troubling message: that pain becomes suspect when voiced publicly, and that accountability is an inconvenience rather than a duty.
That is not how trust is built, nor how it is rebuilt.
Too often, City Hall treats criticism as a threat to progress. In reality, it is essential to it. Residents asking hard questions about evacuation readiness, fire mitigation, emergency response coordination, infrastructure capacity, and rebuilding timelines are not undermining recovery. They are trying to ensure the next disaster does not repeat the same failures. Angelenos are not demanding perfection; they are demanding honesty. They want transparency about what went wrong, what is being fixed, and what remains unresolved. Deflecting those concerns does not accelerate recovery. It delays it.
This moment could have been handled differently. The mayor could have stood alongside residents and said, “We hear your frustration. We acknowledge the delays. Here is what we are doing and here is where we must do better.” Such an approach would not have weakened City Hall; it would have strengthened it. Instead, the City now finds itself defending rhetoric rather than restoring confidence, explaining tone rather than demonstrating progress. That is a failure of political judgment and a missed opportunity for moral leadership.
Los Angeles is entering an era defined by climate risk, extreme weather, and growing public skepticism toward institutions. How leaders respond to disaster survivors today will shape public trust tomorrow. We cannot afford a recovery culture that treats grief as a nuisance, protest as profiteering, or civic engagement as hostility. What this moment requires is leadership that listens before it labels, engages before it dismisses, and understands protest not as opposition, but as a plea to be seen.
The Palisades Fire was a natural disaster. The erosion of trust that followed was not.
City Hall still has time to correct course, to center empathy, restore credibility, and demonstrate that recovery is not just about rebuilding structures, but about honoring the people who lived within them.
(Mihran Kalaydjian is a seasoned public affairs and government relations professional with more than twenty years of experience in legislative affairs, public policy, community relations, and strategic communications. A respected civic leader and education advocate, he has spearheaded numerous academic and community initiatives, shaping dialogue and driving reform in local and regional political forums. His career reflects a steadfast commitment to transparency, accountability, and public service across Los Angeles and beyond.)
