The embers hadn’t yet been extinguished. Ash blanketed the windshields of vehicles that, amid the chaos, had been hastily abandoned in the middle of the road.
Families were already itching to return, to search the wreckage for that familiar heirloom, that picture frame, that reminder of the place they once called home. The place that they were determined to call home once again.
Rep. Brad Sherman, our longtime congressman, was already explaining what couldn’t be done. He said we simply could not rebuild with power lines underground. Why?
Not because of the engineering. Not because of the labor. Not even because of the cost.
It was because if we undergrounded power lines in the Pacific Palisades, there would be requests to do it in other parts of the district. There would be political pressure.
That was the reason.
Political inconvenience.
Just days later, along with other Los Angeles-area elected officials, Sherman had the opportunity to meet with President Donald Trump and other federal officials. The purpose of that meeting was simple: get LA the resources our families desperately needed.
Instead, Sherman blew it up to pick a public fight on camera.
Three months later, his campaign ad ran, bragging about that “fight.”
Performative politics might feel good in the moment, but it doesn’t rebuild a single home. With 7,000 structures destroyed and families in ruin, that moment called for leadership, not theatrics.
So does this one.
Public service is an honor bestowed upon an individual by the voters, not a perpetual right that vests in an elected official once he wins an election.
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And when a public servant fails to deliver the results that the voters desire, it is not just the voters’ right, but their responsibility, to make a change.
Brad Sherman has failed to meet this moment. He has told constituents that because the White House and Congress are controlled by Republicans, there simply “isn’t much we can do” to receive aid. He has told constituents that they must wait for Democratic leadership to get things done again in Washington.
Back in LA, though, we’re left trying to pick up the pieces. Folks all over our district, nonprofit leaders, local elected officials, and volunteers are trying to figure out the best path forward, and together, we’ve been able to make progress.
The LA Department of Water and Power has announced plans to begin the undergrounding of power lines, a critical step that would increase our fire resiliency and, in the event of a natural disaster, protect first responders from even more harmful conditions.
But without the federal resources to turbocharge the effort, without the billions of dollars in emergency aid that we deserve, our local efforts would prove futile. Brad Sherman has been absent in helping to secure that funding.
Fortunately, LA isn’t letting that stand in the way of working around him to get the support we need.
Undergrounding power lines in the Palisades is critical. But this isn’t just an issue for our community. It grows more urgent every fire season, and this week we got a stark reminder of why.
Last week, the Sandy Fire broke out in Simi Valley, and within hours, it had grown to more than 1,300 acres, destroyed a home, and forced over 33,000 people from their neighborhoods.
This year’s fire season is almost upon us, and every community in our region is increasingly at risk of living through what the Palisades lived through.
We need leadership in Washington that understands both the scale of this problem and the urgency it demands.
We need someone who will champion this issue at the federal level, someone who understands how government works but hasn’t become so jaded as to say that things simply cannot change.
Change is possible.
And if we decide to fight for it, we will build a stronger, safer, more resilient Los Angeles.
Together.
Rick Caruso is a businessman, philanthropist, former LA mayoral candidate, and founder and chairman of Steadfast LA.
The post Failure of leadership is a shame — failure to change is a choice appeared first on New York Post.
