Filmmaker calls out LA County's 'useless' management over wildfires that 'destroyed people's lives'
Filmmaker and former "Family Ties" star Justine Bateman ripped Los Angeles County officials for their apparent mismanagement and lack of preparedness for the wildfires still ripping through parts of the city.
"I'm pretty pissed, and I think a lot of people in Los Angeles are pissed," Bateman told "Jesse Watters Primetime" Thursday, insisting that city leaders should be better at handling these types of situations.
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The Palisades Fire, Eaton Fire, Hurst Fire, Lidia Fire and the Sunset Fire have ravaged LA County. As of Friday, officials had reported that the death toll was at least 11 and the fires had burned more than 36,000 acres and destroyed over 10,000 structures.
"If you are going to run a city or run a state, you have to take care of the basics, and that's to make sure that your fire and your police department are well-funded," the filmmaker said, stressing the importance of having "rehearsed" planning in place to hopefully minimize the consequences of natural disasters. For California, that includes wildfires, earthquakes, heavy rain and consequent mudslides.
Bateman argued California's elected officials are ‘’incapable'' of planning for these major events, saying they are "useless" if they are not doing everything in their power to tackle disasters before they occur.
"If you can't cover the basics, get out of our city. You are useless to us. You are a liability and you have destroyed people's lives because you didn't do your job," she said. "You didn't do what you were hired for. You didn't do what we pay you for." Bateman added officials should "resign out of shame and responsibility for the people whose lives you've destroyed right now."
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have received major backlash over their handling of the rampant fires. One resident was caught on video confronting Newsom, demanding "tell me what you're going to do" regarding fire preparations and recovery efforts.
On whether Newsom or Bass knew they were "incompetent," Bateman argued that people that are incapable "don't understand" they're incompetent.
She acknowledged the "incredibly unusual" windy weather that swept through the LA area, causing further inferno and added difficulty for firefighters working to extinguish the flames.
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"If you know what's coming, you make sure that you are prepared for what might occur. And they weren't," Bateman said.
To prevent further catastrophic damage from natural disasters in the future, Bateman stressed how voters need to approach elected officials.
"Stop looking for the ‘R’ and the ‘D’ next to these names. Just stop it. You need to look at the person. Do you think this person can do the job?," she said, highlighting how Californians have predominantly voted based off of the "D's" in the past.
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"We have voted in people who are not competent to handle these things. If somebody is competent and they've shown their competence, and they have a ‘D' next to them, fine, vote for them. If they have an ‘R’ next to their name, who cares, vote for them. Vote for somebody you think can do this job," she said.
Bateman explained that when looking for a plumber, housekeeper, somebody to fix your car, or anyone you're getting a service from, you are looking at their "ratings" and not their political affiliations.
"You're asking other people who have had experience with them, do they do a good job? Please do that with the politicians, please. Or you see the results of it," she continued.
Bateman expressed further concern over Los Angeles being able to host the 2028 Olympics with the current leadership's "inability to adequately prepare."
"If people want something to pray for, here's what you pray for. Pray that we don't have an earthquake in Los Angeles while these two people, Newsom and Bass, are in charge. Pray that we don't have an earthquake, because they will not be able to handle that," she said.