Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record \u2014 our City Hall newsletter. It\u2019s Alene Tchekmedyian, with an assist from Rebecca Ellis, giving you the latest on all things local government. <\/p>\n
Last summer, the Los Angeles Fire Department enlisted a public relations firm<\/a> to help shape the narrative around its response to the Palisades fire as it geared up to release its long-awaited after-action report.<\/p>\n The optics around the devastating fire hadn\u2019t been good. <\/p>\n A Times investigation revealed that top LAFD officials failed to pre-deploy engines<\/a> in Pacific Palisades, despite forecasts of dangerously high winds. Mayor Karen Bass ousted the fire chief<\/a>. The thousands of residents who lost their homes were growing increasingly angry<\/a>. City and LAFD officials were concerned about how the report, which was intended to examine what mistakes the department made and how to avoid repeating them, would land.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile we have a section that deals with press inquiries, media, and interview requests, they are not equipped to deal with what I call a \u2018Crisis,\u2019\u201d LAFD Deputy Chief Kairi Brown wrote to the Lede Company in July.<\/p>\n The Times obtained the email and other materials this week through the California Public Records Act. Brown wrote in the email that his brother, Jay Brown, who co-founded the entertainment company Roc Nation with Jay-Z, recommended the firm.<\/p>\n At the time, LAFD\u2019s public information director position was vacant, but a staff roster shows that two captains and four firefighters were assigned to the Community Liaison Office. The captains, Erik Scott and Adam Van Gerpen, each made more than $200,000 in overtime alone last year, on top of their roughly $200,000 base salaries, payroll data show.<\/p>\n Scott and Van Gerpen did not immediately respond to a question about what the overtime was for.<\/p>\n Fire officials also met with and considered another PR firm called Cielo Strategic Communications, but ultimately selected Lede for the job. Lede bills itself as a \u201cfull-service strategy, communications and social impact consulting firm,\u201d with high-profile celebrity clients like Kerry Washington and Emma Stone, according to its website.<\/p>\n The Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, which calls itself \u201cthe official nonprofit arm of the LAFD\u201d that provides \u201cvital equipment and funds critical programs to help the LAFD save lives,\u201d took care of the $65,000 bill<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Times has described efforts by Bass and others<\/a> to water down<\/a> the after-action report. Lede\u2019s role, according to internal documents, was to shield the LAFD and the mayor\u2019s office from \u201creputational harm\u201d associated with the report\u2019s release.<\/p>\n Bass also was involved in media spin, with Scott writing in an Oct. 9 email<\/a> that \u201cany additional interviews with the Fire Chief would likely depend on the Mayor\u2019s guidance.\u201d<\/p>\n The documents obtained by The Times this week reveal that Lede embarked on \u201cMedia 101\u201d training for interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva, including basic tips such as: \u201cWhile reporters aren\u2019t always out to get you, they\u2019re not your friends either.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTricks\u201d that reporters use to get people talking, according to a Lede slideshow, include: \u201cSpeculate,\u201d \u201cStir the pot,\u201d \u201cThe long pause\/silence\u201d and \u201cAct like your friend.\u201d <\/p>\n Other advice from Lede: \u201cStay on message and don\u2019t volunteer information that is not asked.\u201d Don\u2019t \u201coffer information to fill the silence (this is a reporter tactic).\u201d<\/p>\n The Lede Company previously declined to comment on its work for the LAFD, citing client confidentiality. An LAFD spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday. <\/p>\n Other records previously released show that Lede also analyzed news articles before and after the Palisades fire \u2014 the goal was to get a sort of vibe check of LAFD from the public \u2014 and found criticism of department leadership as well as support for the rank and file.<\/p>\n And a communications plan developed in the event that the after-action report was leaked to reporters involved convening an \u201cemergency briefing between LAFD, Lede, and the Mayor\u2019s Office within 60 minutes of discovery,\u201d as well as embargoed briefings within a day \u201cto control the narrative and reinforce lessons learned and key actions coming out of the LAFD.\u201d<\/p>\n Lede worked with the LAFD until about mid-November, when Jaime Moore took over as fire chief. A couple of months later, the agency hired a public information director, Stephanie Bishop, to lead the Community Liaison Office.<\/p>\n You\u2019re reading the L.A. on the Record newsletter <\/p>\n Sign up to make sense of the often unexplained world of L.A. politics.<\/p>\n By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service<\/a>, which include arbitration and a class action waiver. You agree that we and our third-party vendors may collect and use your information, including through cookies, pixels and similar technologies, for the purposes set forth in our Privacy Policy<\/a> such as personalizing your experience and ads. <\/p>\n State of play<\/p>\n \u2014 SB CANDIDATE: Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt acknowledged this week<\/a> that he\u2019s living in Santa Barbara County after the Palisades fire destroyed his home. He\u2019s allowed to use his Palisades address to vote and run for office, as long as he intends to return, election officials said<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u2014 BASS BUCKS: Bass and City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado say they want to allot<\/a> more than $360 million to developers and nonprofits creating affordable housing. The money, which comes largely from the \u201cmansion tax,<\/a>\u201d would fund 80 projects. <\/p>\n \u2014 REVOLVING DOOR: A Times analysis<\/a> found the longer the mayor\u2019s signature program to battle homelessness exists, the worse its metrics are. As Inside Safe finished its third year in December, roughly 40% of the people who had gone indoors were back on the street. <\/p>\n \u2014 CHANGE AGENT: Everyone running for L.A. mayor wants to be a champion of change<\/a>. As her first term comes to an end, Bass is campaigning on change, vowing to tackle decades-old problems. So is City Councilmember Nithya Raman, who says her decision to run was based on \u201ca sense of urgency that things needed to change.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014FIGHT FLOP: More than a year after California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta charged 30 probation officers with facilitating so-called \u201cgladiator fights\u201d among youths inside the county\u2019s juvenile halls, almost half of the criminal cases are falling apart<\/a>. State prosecutors dismissed charges against one-third of the officers, and four more entered into plea deals Tuesday that will end with their cases dropped.<\/p>\n \u2014 BADGE BREACH: Sensitive police records<\/a>, including personnel files, were seized by hackers in a breach involving the L.A. city attorney\u2019s office. A group known for conducting ransomware attacks on large entities took credit for the hack, which involves 337,000 files. <\/p>\n \u2014 OLYMPIC OOPS: Los Angeles officials are worried that taxpayers<\/a> could be on the hook for budget-busting costs to support the 2028 Olympic Games, if the profit promised by LA28 doesn\u2019t materialize. City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto and Councilmember Monica Rodriguez both want a contract pledging that LA28 cover any future costs incurred by the city.<\/p>\n \u2014 VANISHING BLUES: Up for reelection and facing a budget deficit, Bass says she\u2019s shifting<\/a> from her original plan to grow the L.A. Police Department to the 9,500-officer force it once was. Her new goal: making sure the department doesn\u2019t shrink from its current total of 8,677 officers, which is the lowest in nearly a quarter-century<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014 PRICEY PROTESTS: A well-known LAPD critic and two attorneys are suing the LAPD<\/a> after officers allegedly fired less-lethal rounds at them during a protest last summer. Activist Jason Reedy says he was shot in the groin after confronting an officer outside LAPD headquarters. <\/p>\n QUICK HITSWhere is Inside Safe? The mayor\u2019s signature homelessness program monitored 126 encampment sites across the city and visited an interim housing site. That\u2019s it for this week! Send your questions, comments and gossip to LAontheRecord@latimes.com<\/a>. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here<\/a> to get it in your inbox every Saturday morning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record \u2014 our City Hall newsletter. 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On the docket next week: L.A. County officials will unveil their budget for the upcoming fiscal year Monday, with the supervisors weighing in at their Tuesday board meeting. Stay in touch<\/p>\n