For Traci Park, the Palisades Fire is the PR Gift that Keeps On Giving

A recent "article" in City Watch by Deegan on LA attempts to paint Traci Park as a bold, independent leader standing up for her constituents in Pacific Palisades. But scratch beneath the surface, and this is little more than a glorified puff piece designed to prop up a failing councilmember who has actually made her district less prepared for future wildfires.

Park’s much-touted "leadership" centers around opposing Mayor Karen Bass’s decision to lift checkpoints in Pacific Palisades after the devastating fires. The implication? That Bass was recklessly exposing the community to danger while Park rode in like a savior, bypassing the mayor to appeal directly to Governor Newsom.

This narrative is not only misleading but deeply cynical. The checkpoints were not some critical lifeline preventing crime and chaos—they were temporary measures, and keeping them indefinitely does nothing to address the root issues of disaster preparedness. Park’s grandstanding wasn’t about securing real resources for fire prevention or recovery but about posturing for political gain, signaling to a wealthy constituency that she would stand against the mayor, no matter the cost.

The article touts Park as “bold” and “decisive” for circumventing the mayor. But what it fails to mention is that under Park’s leadership, resources that should have been allocated to actual fire prevention—such as brush clearance, fire-resistant infrastructure, and emergency preparedness programs—have been neglected in favor of theatrics. Fire experts agree that long-term mitigation, not checkpoints, is the key to protecting communities. Where is Park’s advocacy for that?

Moreover, her self-serving political maneuvering undermines coordinated disaster response efforts. Emergency management relies on collaboration, not grandstanding. By sidestepping the mayor, Park set a precedent that could make future crises even harder to manage. If every councilmember lobbied the governor individually rather than working through the city’s unified response, disaster relief would turn into a fragmented, politically driven mess.

The article also conveniently glosses over Park’s broader failures when it comes to protecting Angelenos from climate-fueled disasters. Has she fought for increased funding for the Los Angeles Fire Department’s understaffed wildfire units? No. Has she pushed for more resilient infrastructure in fire-prone areas? No. Has she prioritized long-term strategies to combat climate change, which is fueling more frequent and severe wildfires? Again, no.

Instead, we get performative opposition to the mayor, a hollow "ad hoc committee" that sounds impressive but will likely accomplish little, and a PR blitz designed to elevate her profile rather than actually serve the people of District 11.

Traci Park’s allies, including billionaire developer Rick Caruso, are clearly laying the groundwork for a political challenge to Bass. But make no mistake: what’s happening here is not about good governance. It’s about using crises as opportunities to score political points, even when it means making LA’s disaster response weaker in the long run.

Real leadership would mean focusing on fire prevention, supporting emergency responders with the tools they actually need, and working with—not against—the broader city and state response efforts. Instead, Park has chosen political gamesmanship over public safety, and her constituents will be the ones who pay the price the next time disaster strikes.