Maria Shriver calls out LA mayor amid fire, says city ‘cannot continue with status quo’
Journalist and former first lady of California, Maria Shriver, warned that “the people of LA deserve better” than their current Democratic leadership.
Many people, including celebrities, have lost their homes in the Pacific Palisades area as wildfires continue to rage there and elsewhere in Los Angeles County, burning more than 27,000 acres, destroying more than 10,000 structures and killing more people, according to local officials.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was met with condemnation for her trip to Ghana last week, meaning she was thousands of miles away from her city during the first day of destruction on Tuesday.
She also faced fierce criticism from Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, who told CNN’s Jake Tapper that “it’s been clear over the last 3 years that firefighters need help,” and stressed that “understaffed, The LAFD is under-resourced and under-funded.” She claimed, “I rang the bell that these additional cuts could be very, very devastating to our ability to provide public safety.”
As a bad management response to the fire he put California Democratic Leaders in Spotlight, some of the more famous party donors turned to them.
Former California First Lady Maria Shriver, who previously endorsed 2022 challenger Karen Bass, wrote a scathing rebuke of California’s current leadership. (Photo by Shriver River Callaway/Variety via Getty Images | Bass photo by Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
Shriver, ex-wife of former California governor and film star Arnold Schwarzenegger, shared Crowley’s remarks, declaring that California’s future “must be different.”
“LA cannot continue with the status quo. LA is not what it used to be. It has to be different. It has to prioritize the safety of its citizens, police, fire, schools. The people of LA deserve better. Chief Crowley says LA cannot sustain itself , he needs more help,” Shriver wrote. “Chief Crowley says she rang the bell. The mayoral race was a clear choice last time. Moving forward, LA residents must decide what’s important and what’s not. What’s important right now is to get this fire under control, get firefighters the support that When that happens, it’s time to rethink what is and imagine what can be.”
According to official FEC records, Shriver has a history of donating to Democratic Party campaigns in the recent past, including “Gallego for Arizona” and “Harris for President.”
A firefighter battles the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Jae C. Hong/AP)
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In July, Shriver wrote a post on Facebook supporting Vice President Kamala Harris’ candidacy for president. She praised Harris, who is herself from California and has served in her government for years, saying that those who donated to her “put their money in hope. They put their money in democracy. They put their money in this woman and what this administration has already done the work that needs to be done, this is a people’s revolution, which we, the people, are instigating!
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Shriver has consistently opposed Karen Bass, after endorsing her opponent, real estate developer Rick Caruso in 2022.
