Let your imagination run riot . . . how much do you think LA’s “water chief” is paid?

Photo above - no, this is NOT a supermodel. She's the Los Angeles "water chief". Because looks are more important than talent?

What would you (as a taxpayer) be willing to pay the “water chief” in your city? Before you answer, let’s put some context around this:

- A US senator earns $175,000

- California’s Governor (Newsom) earns $201,000 a year (the highest of any governor)

- The Mayor of Los Angeles apparently outranks the governor, and earns $281,000

- President Joseph Robinette Biden earns $400,000 a year

Okay – ready to proceed? How much does the Los Angele’s “water chief” get paid?

You’re wrong. It’s THREE QUARTERS OF A MILLION DOLLARS - $750,000 a year (see link below). About double what we pay “the leader of the free world”.

Water woman's name is Janisse Quinones, and she was hired by Mayor Bass less than a year ago. It’s not clear if Bass and Quinones were personally acquainted before she began banking her awesome $750,000 salary, but you can’t rule it out.

Now for the fun part. Water czar Quinones knew – for months – that the Santa Ynez reservoir was “closed for repairs”. In fact, she’s the one who closed it! In the middle of brushfire season!

Where do we find diligent and highly skilled public servants like Ms. Quinones? It's apparently quite easy - Janisse was previously an SVP with Pacific Gas and Electric – the utility that actually CAUSES California brushfires. You absolutely cannot stuff like this up.

Quinones should be fired on the spot. Mayor Bass should resign in shame. Joe Biden should stop promising that taxpayers will rebuild Hollywood celebrity mansions for free. If your policy was discontinued, it's on YOU to get a replacement policy, Paris Hilton!

I’m just sayin’ . . .

LA water chief knew about empty reservoir, broken hydrants months before fires: Report

This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »

Jokersswild · 22-25VIP

Bass is not at fault here. She’s the mayor, not the fire chief. The Fire Chief is trying to shift blame. When examining Los Angeles’ fire budget, what you guys are missing is that unlike most states, California has a massive statewide fire response agency known as CalFIRE. CalFIRE, the largest firefighting agency in the world, operates networks of fire stations across the state and works on fire prevention year-round. Those planes/helicopters dropping water from the sky? They belong to CalFIRE.

I recommend you verify your facts before jumping on the 'blame' bandwagon:

https://gavinnewsom.com/california-fire-facts/

FACT: The number of CalFIRE personnel has nearly doubled since 2019 (from 5,829 to 10,741)

FACT: CalFIRE’s budget has nearly doubled since 2019 ($2 Billion to $3.8 Billion)

FACT: The budget for managing the forest (AKA “raking the forest”) is now TEN TIMES larger than it was when the Governor Newsom took office. It was a $200 million annual budget in 2018. The state has now invested $2 billion, in addition to the $200 million annually.

FACT: California dramatically ramped up state work to increase wildland and forest resilience, as well as adding unprecedented resources to support wildfire response. California officials treated more than 700,000 acres of land for wildfire resilience in 2023, and prescribed fires more than doubled between 2021 and 2023.

Broadly, there is no water shortage in Southern California right now, despite Trump’s claims that he would open some imaginary spigot.

Orange County Water District, which supplies groundwater to the north half of the county, has enough supply to carry its 2.5 million customers through the worst of any potential droughts for 3 to 5 years.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California also has an abundance, with a record 3.8 million acre-feet of water in storage. That’s enough water to supply 40 million people for a year.