So LA: Mayor Bass Okayed 'Wildfire Czar' for $500K for 3 Months Work

The recent wildfires in Los Angeles, which virtually destroyed the Pacific Palisades and Altadena neighborhoods, were a tragedy for so many and also exposed a multitude of failures in leadership and planning—the Santa Ynez Reservoir in the hills above Pacific Palisades, which holds 117 million gallons of water, was empty, the fire department was obsessed with social justice issues instead of firefighting excellence, the underbrush isn’t regularly cleared… the list goes on.

It won’t surprise you then to hear that the inept Mayor Karen Basis is now involved in another controversy: she planned to bring in a wildfire recovery czar—real estate developer and longtime civic official Steve Soboroff—who would be paid a shocking $500,000 for 90 days of work. Longtime real estate executive Randy Johnson was to help out too, for the minor sum of $250,000.

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After the obscene arrangement made the news, Bass said Soboroff had changed his mind and agreed to work for free. How big of him.

The Los Angeles Times first reported Saturday morning that Soboroff, a real estate developer and longtime civic official, would be paid $500,000 over the course of three months for working as the city's "chief recovery officer."
His compensation was to come from charity organizations, but Bass, who first tapped Soboroff for the job on Jan. 17, quickly reversed course by Saturday evening. She said Soboroff would now manage the rebuilding of the city free of charge.
"Steve is always there for LA. I spoke to him today and asked him to modify his agreement and work for free. He said yes," Bass said, according to the Times. "We agree that we don’t need anything distracting from the recovery work we’re doing."

Presidential Envoy for Special Missions Richard Grenell called out the scheme:

He’s getting paid $500,000 for 3 months of work? And they call this a charity.

Gross. Offensive.

I’m getting paid $0 - as are many people.

It’s a good thing there will be strings on the Federal money for California. https://t.co/ZWabYTxOxg
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) February 8, 2025

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Some question whether Soboroff will really be working for free:

🔥 Make no mistake: “Recovery Czar” Steve Soboroff, hand picked. G @KarenBassLA, does nothing for free.

He’ll be repaid with cushy “board” & “advisory” positions by those who get contracts.

BTW WHY do we NEED a czar or outside consulting firm? Don’t we already have $$… https://t.co/BeJi2nlfAJ
— Houman David Hemmati, MD, PhD (@houmanhemmati) February 9, 2025

The tweet continues:

Don’t we already have $$ management of every city department? The head of @LADWP makes $750k no? So why pay even MORE for consultants from CHICAGO to tell us what to do?
It’s all one massive scam. Here’s how you rebuild:
1. Replace utility lines exactly as they were OR underground.
2. Rebuild every building exactly as it was without lengthy permit process.
3. Clear the brush & supply water to hydrants.

Even some LA officials questioned the deal:

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez, a member of the five-person committee tasked with recovery, told the Times it was "infuriating" that philanthropic groups would pay two people $750,000, calling the amount "obscene."

The man who had been set to make almost $167,000 a month defended the high price tag:

Soboroff, who previously served in volunteer roles on the Board of Police Commissioners and on the commission that oversees the Department of Recreation and Parks, defended the $500,000 amount to the Times earlier Saturday.
He said he has specialized expertise, is taking on sweeping responsibilities, including communicating with federal agencies, and is giving up other real estate and environmental consulting work to become the wildfire recovery czar.

Karen Bass and Soboroff may have backtracked, but it’s only because they were exposed. It’s yet another black eye for the leadership of LA and the formerly Golden State, and similar things will keep happening until the voters wake up and force some of these folks to find a different line of work.