Former California first lady Maria Shriver is the latest to blame the current Democratic leadership of Los Angeles for the deadly wildfires posing a historic threat to the region.
“LA cannot go forward with the status quo. LA is no longer what it was. It has to be different,” the ex-wife of former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wrote Sunday.
“It has to prioritize the safety of its citizens, police, fire, schools,” Shriver, 69, tweeted on Sunday. “LA residents deserve better.”
Shriver’s post was a response to a tweet highlighting how Los Angeles fire chief Kristin Crowley openly criticized Democratic Mayor Karen Bass for leaving her department “understaffed, underfunded and under-resourced” when the wildfires hit.
“Chief Crowley is saying LA cannot sustain itself. It needs more help. Chief Crowley says she rang the bell,” Shriver, 69, continued in her post viewed nearly 2 million times since Sunday.
Angelinos, Shriver said, need to make their voices heard at the ballot box if they want to see better results from their government.
“The mayoral race presented a clear choice last time around. Moving forward, LA residents have to decide what’s important and what’s not.”
Multiple fast-moving wildfires, fueled by Santa Ana winds, have scorched more than 60 miles in and around Los Angeles — including Shriver’s own neighborhood.
“Our neighborhood, our restaurants. All our friends have lost everything. We have evacuated, but are safe. But people have lost everything,” Shriver posted on Instagram on Wednesday alongside devastating footage of homes reduced to rubble.
At least 24 people have died and 12,000 structures destroyed since last Tuesday in what could be the costliest natural disaster event in US history.
Strong Santa Ana winds are expected to pick up again early this week, spreading the fires further as firefighters continue their desperate efforts to extinguish the flames.
“Right now what’s important is getting this fire under control, getting firefighters the support they need, getting our neighbors the support they need,” said Shriver.
“Once that happens it’s time to rethink what is and imagine what can be,” she said.
Shriver, who is the niece of 35th US President John F. Kennedy, was a Democrat until 2011 when she became an independent.
She joins a growing list of Hollywood celebrities and elites who have turned on Mayor Bass for her botched response to the wildfires.
