130,000 People Sign Online Petition Demanding the Resignation of Los Angeles Mayor

Los Angeles wildfires remain uncontained, with a demand for Mayor Karen Bass to resign gaining momentum as a Change.org petition has garnered over 130,000 signatures since it went online on the 8th. The petition accuses Bass of “poor management” and claims that under her leadership, the city government has failed to effectively respond to the devastating wildfires.

The petition on Change.org highlights the destruction caused by the Palisades Fire, Eaton Fire, and Hurst Fire in Los Angeles communities. Due to extreme weather and inadequate emergency response coordination, over 100,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes, over 400,000 residents are facing power outages, and the entire city is shrouded in hazardous air. Local services are overwhelmed, critical resources are delayed, and when the fires began on January 7th, Mayor Bass was attending a presidential inauguration ceremony in Ghana, West Africa, over 7,400 miles away.

The petitioners argue that budget cuts of $17 million to the city’s fire department by the mayor’s office in recent years have resulted in a lack of firefighting funding, manpower, and equipment, leaving them ill-equipped to handle large-scale disasters.

“The consequences of this dereliction of duty are clear,” the petition states. “Our ‘first responders’ are struggling to protect lives and property in the face of insufficient resources, working beyond their limits.”

The petitioners also criticize Bass for “lack of foresight, coordination, and preparedness,” turning natural crises into humanitarian disasters, leaving residents in distress, evacuation challenges, and public communications in chaos and delays.

“The mayor should have strengthened emergency infrastructure, but instead, the passivity of the leadership… has resulted in losses of residents’ lives, homes, and livelihoods,” they wrote. “The mayor must resign to make way for a leadership that can protect Los Angeles residents, rebuild trust, and prioritize the safety and well-being of the community to ensure that tragedies do not recur.”

According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, as of 5 p.m. on the 13th (Monday), the Palisades Fire has burned an area of ​​23,713 acres, destroyed 1,280 buildings, damaged 204 buildings, threatened 12,250 buildings, resulting in 8 resident fatalities, 3 injuries, and a containment rate of 14%. The Eaton Fire has burned an area of ​​14,117 acres, destroyed 1,902 buildings, damaged 258 buildings, threatened 39,428 buildings, resulting in 11 resident fatalities, 5 firefighter injuries, with a containment rate of 33%.

According to the National Review, Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley criticized the city government for failing to meet public expectations, with firefighters lacking water during firefighting operations, some areas experiencing water usage, while others faced reduced water pressure. “I don’t know how the water gets to the hydrants, that’s a question for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) or whoever runs that to solve,” she stated. She also expressed ignorance about the large Pacific Palisades reservoir, which can hold 117 million gallons of water, being dry.

Regarding the city’s reduction of fire department budgets last year, Crowley stated that from the first day of the fires, the department realized significant gaps in its service and firefighters’ on-the-ground operational capabilities. In the 2025-2026 budget, “we still lack manpower, resources, and funds”.

The petition also criticizes the severe water scarcity in Los Angeles, stating that “billions of taxpayer dollars have been misallocated or gone missing, leading to many deaths.”

Actress, producer, and podcaster Sara Foster wrote on social media, “We pay the highest taxes in California, but our hydrants are without water, vegetation is overgrown, bushes remain uncleared, reservoirs have been depleted by the governor—to save fish; the fire department budget cuts by the mayor, drug addicts get drugs, extreme left policies destroy our state.”

According to the State Legislative Office, in the 2024-25 California fiscal budget signed by Governor Newsom, the wildfire and forest recovery funds were reduced by $101 million, as one of the budget cuts aimed at reducing a multi-billion dollar deficit.

In a press release on the 13th, Governor Newsom’s office stated that with strong winds returning this week, California has mobilized over 15,000 people, including firefighters, security services, highway patrol personnel, and transportation teams, along with 1,990 firefighting equipment, including fire trucks, aircraft, bulldozers, and water tankers, for firefighting efforts.