Traci Park’s Real Estate Loyalties Exposed: How Her Donors and Policies Fueled LA’s Fire Crisis1/30/2025 As Los Angeles grapples with the aftermath of the devastating 2025 wildfires, which displaced thousands and left countless families homeless, it’s worth revisiting a critical piece of reporting from Knock LA that sheds light on Councilmember Traci Park’s priorities. The article, “Major Traci Park Donor Is Fighting Against Fire Safety in Buildings”, reveals how one of Park’s largest campaign donors, real estate investor Douglas Emmett, actively lobbied against fire safety measures. This connection is not just a scandal—it’s a damning indictment of Park’s willingness to prioritize real estate interests over the safety and well-being of her constituents.
The Knock LA investigation detailed how Douglas Emmett, which owns the Barrington Plaza apartments, fought against retrofitting the building with fire sprinklers after a 2020 fire displaced dozens of tenants. Instead of siding with tenants and advocating for life-saving measures, Park aligned herself with the owner, opposing mandatory fire safety upgrades. Her actions at the time were a clear signal that her loyalties lie with wealthy real estate developers, not the people she was elected to serve. Fast forward to the 2025 wildfires, and Park’s pattern of putting profits over people has only become more apparent. While thousands of Angelenos have been displaced by the fires, Park has done little to address their immediate needs. Her response has been eerily silent on the role of climate change in fueling the disaster, and she has failed to advocate for robust tenant protections or housing solutions for those who lost their homes. This should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with her record. Park’s history of siding with real estate interests over vulnerable tenants is well-documented. Following the fires, she played a key role in defeating a rent freeze proposed by Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez that would have provided critical relief to renters facing economic hardship. Her opposition to these protections further cements her reputation as a politician who prioritizes the profits of landlords and developers over the needs of everyday Angelenos. Now, after wildfires ravaged her district, Park’s inaction speaks volumes. While her constituents face displacement and uncertainty, she has remained silent on policies that could prevent future disasters, such as stronger fire safety regulations, climate resilience initiatives, and tenant protections. Instead, her focus has been on deflecting blame onto infrastructure issues and emergency response failures—conveniently ignoring the systemic problems she has helped perpetuate. The 2025 wildfires are a tragic reminder of what happens when leaders prioritize special interests over public safety. Traci Park’s record is clear: she will always side with real estate moguls, even when it means putting lives at risk. As Los Angeles rebuilds, voters must ask themselves: can we afford leaders who put profits over people? The answer, for the sake of our city’s future, must be a resounding no.
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Archives |