An interesting piece in LA City Watch questions the entire culture at City Hall under Karen Bass as she tries to explain away her failures in the epic tragedy in the Pacific Palisades fire. While Bass was partying in Africa–and parts of the city burned–the man who would have played a pivotal role in the emergency response, Brian K. Williams, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety, was on leave for calling in a fake bomb threat at City Hall. True.
As Deputy Mayor for Public Safety, Williams oversaw:
- the Los Angeles Fire Department,
- the Los Angeles Police Department,
- the city’s Emergency Management Department,
- airport and port police,
- and broader interagency public-safety coordination.
In a major fast-moving disaster like the Palisades Fire, that office would ordinarily be deeply involved in:
- coordinating between fire, police, evacuation, and emergency operations,
- briefing the mayor,
- helping manage resource requests,
- interfacing with county/state/federal agencies,
- and assisting with emergency decision-making from City Hall.
Seems like Williams could have lent a hand–but he was on leave (repeated for emphasis!). Willams admitted his guilt and was replaced in April 2025 by former FBI official Robert Clark as deputy mayor for public safety.
The author of Bomb Threat at City Hall: What Was the Deputy Mayor Trying to Stop, Eliot Cohen makes a number of educated suggestions as to why this all happened and how it may have reached a breaking point, all borne of a cloud of secrecy and an absence of journalistic curiosity.
Read the LA City Watch report here and judge for yourself. Cohen details a culture of covering-up, blame dodging and flat out incompetence, all left fatally at Karen Bass’ doorstep.
