Michel Valentine, former U.S. attorney, blamed Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass for what he described as failures in the local government’s response to the wildfires.
“In my opinion, as a former prosecutor, this verges on criminal negligence. I say it’s just wrong,” Valentine said in an interview Tuesday on NewsNation’s “Elizabeth Vargas Reports.”
“A lot of people are at fault,” he continued. “I think Mayor Bass bears the ultimate responsibility for this failure, and I think she should be held accountable. There’s no way that that I could trust her again as my mayor in light of this tragedy. There’s no way.”
Valentine — who said he lives at the top of the Pacific Palisades, next to the ridge line where the fire broke out — described seeing the initial plume of smoke grow rapidly in size last Tuesday. The former federal attorney said his wife called 911, but it took nearly 45 minutes for a helicopter to respond and dump water on the fire.
“I have no idea why that is,” Valentine said, responding to why it took so long to respond. “It could have been confined. It wouldn’t have touched any of the homes.”
“You’re talking to somebody that’s been up in this community for 40 years, and I’ve seen fires. I’ve seen fires during those 40 years, and there’s always been a good response. I don’t know what happened this time,” he added.
The interview comes as Bass faces mounting criticism for her response to the devastating wildfires decimating southern California.
Critics point to Bass’s decision to travel out of the country ahead of the wildfires after she vowed not to go abroad before taking office, as well as her approval of a budget that decreased funding for the city’s fire department.
On Monday, the owner of the Los Angeles Times, Patrick Soon-Shiong, called the publication’s endorsement of Bass “a mistake,” noting he “thought it was very important early on for me to come out.”
President-elect Trump has attacked both Bass and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) over the fires. And, as of Tuesday, a Change.org petition calling for Bass to step down has received more than 134,000 signatures.
In a statement to The Hill on Tuesday, Bass’s office slammed what it called misinformation surrounding the crisis and her response.
“Mayor Bass is leading our city through one of the worst crises in our history. Hurricane-force winds and unseasonably dry conditions drove these firestorms — misinformation surrounding this crisis has been staggering,” the mayor’s spokesperson Zach Seidl said.
“Mayor Bass issued a sweeping executive order last night to clear the way to rebuild homes fast and that will do everything she can to get Angelenos back home,” Seidl added.
He continued, saying she “has secured the federal, state, and local resources we need to continue fighting these fires and is moving forward on an all-of-the-above plan for recovery.”
NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns The Hill.
