LOCAL CONTROL

To those of you still coping with the chaos and devastation wrought by the Palisades Fire, please know this, I don’t just stand with you. I will help you in every way I can to achieve independent status. Had Pacific Palisades been an independent city when the Santa Ana winds blew in this past January, you would have had a greater ability to protect yourselves and your community from
catastrophe.  It is my firm belief that no one makes that many catastrophic errors by accident.  Our California communities are under attack – by arsonists with blow torches; by a county health department running a needle exchange operation adjacent to our business district; by the failure to clear dry brush and dead trees; through onerous taxation; glacially slow permitting; the upzoning of single family home neighborhoods and densification mandates; and the combination of these factors has led to major insurance companies to abandon California.

LOCAL CONTROL IS KEY. 

I will do everything I can from Washington to pressure Sacramento and Los Angeles County into allowing Pacific Palisades and other struggling communities, such as Venice, Marina del Rey, Westchester and Playa del Rey to become charter cities. We must have local control! This pressure will include working with the Environmental Protection Agency to ensure that densification mandates (a/k/a “housing elements”) do not overburden water, gas, electricity, drainage and transportation infrastructure and services.

Though Pacific Palisades is not part of my district, I have long considered it a part of my extended neighborhood. I spent many years working there and countless Sunday mornings at the corner of Sunset and Swarthmore volunteering with Star Paws Rescue. I will push for legislation to ease historic designation of single family home neighborhoods, including Pacific Palisades. The Palisades has a rich history and should have long ago been granted historic overlay status and protection, despite the devastation caused by the January 2025 fire. Moreover, it is clear that the Palisades and Altadena both need a stronger advocate in Washington to pressure the City of Los Angeles and the County to speed up the
 recovery process for both communities.

I will work with both federal state agencies to ensure that dry fuel is removed from forests and brushlands.  I will facilitate the funding of regional fire departments in our district to lessen Southbay and Palos Verdes’ dependence on Los Angeles County in times of crisis. When I am your Congresswoman, Californians will have a real friend in Washington.