Former Los Angeles Hearth Chief Kristin Crowley took the extraordinary step Thursday of interesting Mayor Karen Bass’ choice to dismiss her, partially, for her efficiency throughout a catastrophic wildfire that destroyed a lot of the Pacific Palisades.
The attraction, which might require the approval of 10 of 15 Metropolis Council members, is unlikely to succeed. However it can virtually definitely trigger additional public turmoil for Bass, who has struggled to regain her political footing for the reason that Palisades hearth erupted Jan. 7.
The transfer comes lower than per week criticizing the previous chief for her choice to not totally pre-deploy engines amid dire wind forecasts and her alleged refusal to take part in an after-action report on the hearth.
“I select to proceed with the Council attraction supplied for in Los Angeles Constitution, Article V, Part 5.08(e), as a result of Mayor Bass’s removing of me, on February 21, 2025, from the place of Hearth Chief of the Los Angeles Metropolis Hearth Division,” Crowley wrote simply earlier than 1:30 p.m. Thursday in an electronic mail to members of the Metropolis Council. “I look ahead to listening to from you about subsequent steps, if any.”
Bass spokesperson Zach Seidl mentioned Thursday that Crowley “has the best to attraction her dismissal.”
The L.A. offers the mayor the ability to take away most office heads, resembling the hearth chief, with out Metropolis Council approval. The constitution additionally offers Crowley the best to attraction the choice to the council inside 10 days of her removing, with a two-thirds vote required to reinstate her.
Crowley will face an uphill climb in convincing 10 members of the council to facet along with her.
4 of the council’s members — together with Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson — stood behind Bass at a press convention Friday as she introduced her choice to take away Crowley.
Along with these 4, Councilmember Bob Blumenfield mentioned he believes the mayor has “the best to rent and hearth whom she needs.”
“She must have the total confidence of her basic managers and her chiefs. If she has misplaced that confidence, she has each proper to vary out the pinnacle of a division” or hearth chief, he mentioned in an interview earlier this week.
Blumenfield mentioned he was additionally troubled by Crowley’s choice Jan. 10 to seem on a number of information exhibits decrying the shortage of funding for her division, at a time when the Palisades hearth was nonetheless burning uncontrolled.
“Whereas the hearth is raging, the main target must be on placing out the fires,” he mentioned.
