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/ KCAL News
A new poll shows that less than 20% of Los Angeles residents believed that Mayor Karen Bass handled the January wildfires well.
The latest LA Times-UC Berkeley poll shows that 41% of residents described Bass’ response to the disaster as poor or very poor. Researchers also found that 19% of Angelenos thought she did an excellent or good job during the fires, while 22% classified her performance as fair.
The poll also asked residents about their confidence in her ability to manage the recovery process. A majority, 54%, had little or not much confidence in her ability to lead Los Angeles out of the disaster, while 34% had a great deal or some belief she had the capability to oversee the wildfire recovery.
“This is significant,” said Sara Sadhwani, a politics professor at Pomona College. “This is a mayor who was incredibly popular.”
Sadhwani said Bass’ trip to Ghana days before the fire, her explanations about whether she was properly warned about the devastating winds that fueled the flames and the demotion of the city’s fire chief are likely among the reasons why the mayor’s approval numbers are tanking.
“If there’s an opportunity for her to change something about this recovery process, which already has been marked with controversy and questions about who is actually in charge of recovery,” Sadhwani said. “If she’s able to make some changes, perhaps, she can win some of that support back.”
Responding to the poll, the mayor’s office said she is focused on the recovery process.
“The Mayor is focused on recovery which right now is months ahead of expectations and she is going to continue pushing forward,” the statement said.
Bass toured one of the city’s four fire recovery centers on Tuesday, where victims can get financial help and job placement services.
“When we go to these centers, the people that we are meeting with, the people that are here for services, are still going through incredible trauma,” she said.
Tom Wait joined CBS2 and KCAL9 in March 2013 as a general assignment reporter. He covers the Los Angeles metro area and the Inland Empire. He also anchors our streaming network, CBS News Los Angeles. A Southern California native, Tom has worked in New York City, Detroit and Kansas City, Missouri, before coming home.
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