Invoice Maher Slams LA Mayor As ‘The Nero Of American Politics’ Over Wildfires Response – The Boston Courier

Invoice Maher has joined a burgeoning refrain of pundits in railing towards Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass over an ill-timed journey to Ghana she took as her metropolis turned engulfed in ongoing wildfires.

The wildfires have devastated Southern California since final Tuesday: Greater than 40,000 acres have burned, with some 80,000 residents nonetheless below obligatory evacuation orders, a minimum of 27 individuals lifeless and over 12,000 constructions destroyed, per CalFire.

Bass reportedly left for Ghana on Jan. 4 to attend the inauguration of the brand new president on Jan. 7, and the Palisades Fireplace broke out later that day.

“I’m sure it’s very complicated,” Maher mentioned on his present, “Real Time,” Friday. “That’s why I pay 13% of my income in this state every year to people who I assumed were working on things like this.”

He continued, “When asked why so many of the hydrants in the Palisades ran out of water, Governor Newsom said, ‘The local folks are trying to figure that out.’ Yeah you gotta do that before the fire.”

Maher famous that “one of the three reservoirs for the Palisades was offline at the one time of year when it was most needed,” referring to the Santa Ynez Reservoir, which has been closed since February as a consequence of repairs, officers informed the Los Angeles Occasions final week.

“LA’s mayor, Karen Bass, the Nero of American politics, was fiddling in Ghana while the city burned and later placed the blame on ‘eight months of negligible rain, and winds that have not been seen in LA in at least 14 years,’” mentioned Maher. “Yeah, that’s not that long a time.”

He then countered her declare final week that there “were no reductions” within the hearth division finances that may have impacted the response by quoting LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley, who informed Fox 11 that it “was cut” and “did impact our ability to provide service.”

(Per reporting from The New York Occasions, The Los Angeles Occasions and others, there was in truth a decrease finances authorised for the hearth division final 12 months as a result of further funding for firefighter salaries was quickly held up amid union negotiations. However the reductions in extra time and different sources nonetheless “severely limited” the division’s capability, Crowley reportedly warned.)

Maher segued right into a rant in regards to the division’s variety efforts and steered Crowley might’ve been employed as a result of the town needed “a lesbian in that job,” echoing related feedback from quite a few conservative figures.

Orange County Fireplace Captain Lauren Andrade disputed these costs earlier this week in an interview with Politico, and mentioned there may be “nobody more qualified for that position” than Crowley, who has been firefighting for greater than 20 years and “has worked her way up.”

However Maher in the end appeared most annoyed with the partisanship that emerged throughout this disaster and the forms that retains energy traces — sparks from which usually trigger wildfires — precariously uncovered, as an alternative of buried underground.

“I’ve heard people say, ‘Do you want to pay more taxes to fund this?’” Maher continued. “No, I want you to use the exorbitant taxes you already collect to prioritize it.”