Friday with Pete
What a week...
“Steve, you really hammered on some folks over the weekend, what’s going on?”
“Looks like things went as expected in Altadena. We had the betrayal of our legislation, but the bigger knife was put into the back to our rebuild. A portion of our community groups were mobilized in their self-interest to undermine the path to move Altadena’s rebuild with more than federal money. The result is typical- it undermined where we were going. It effectively showed discord when we needed unity. It did so for on the surface, self interest of one cause with misinformation, but below it all, it was to preserve the path the “machine” wanted. The events are exactly why controlling these nonprofits through the fiscal sponsors and foundational funding creates the conflicts of interest to advance a single cause is why we are concerned about the model being used by our political-philanthropic institutions.”
“Ok, that is a lot to unpack. There is not a lot more to say than what you did right? I mean, you laid it out pretty bluntly over the past few days?”
“Yup, but it is also curious how about a year ago interest groups were helping to shape what became the Community Stabilization Act. They were instrumental in fact, groups which were versed in land trusts and other mdoels. They were concerned about all the issues the Eaton Fire Collaborative (EFC) brought up. They changed the original draft legislation to address those concerns now being mentioned locally to undermine support from the land trust cadre. In other words, the input was there, so it makes one wonder what really was going on- why the EFC land trust felt they had better knowledge of the matters, or were their motives not so ‘pure,’ like trying to get money for an idea which would be undermined by such a bill?”
Pete thought for a second. “Shocked, not shocked. Typical of the political realm, people out of their depth for the bigger game. Well, since then Altadena got the motion from the Supervisor.”
I interject, “yah, and did you read it? I mean, the Administration must have come down on them, because man it sounds a lot like the issues we have identified here as what the Administration has said all along from our trips to DC.”
Pete smiled, “It is hard not to see it right?”
I nod. “Not often you get that kind of public vindication right?”
“Seriously, so ok, so how do you take it,” said Pete.
“Well, you read it, and you see the County is setting up another Authority,” as I roll my eyes. “It is the first step of receiving direct money from the feds, though it is curious why they did not want to use the ‘vaunted’ CRD they started with. I get it though. A counter party from a government is necessary to receive federal funds, so maybe this allows a ‘ringing’ of the money separate from the CRD for liability reasons. My question is, will they get any federal money or is it a ruse to test whether the State will push back and how? Who knows. The feds said ‘jump,’ and boy did they move. And, here is the key question, can they get money? I mean, there will be restrictions on the money in the first place, but what if events occur, like the Press Conference yesterday with AG Bonta, and the State finds evidence of civil rights violations? Does that finding open the door to bigger problems for the funding to flow? Lawsuits flying in all different directions? And is the civil rights the beginning or the end? We have the State Auditor doing its findings around the fire response too. We have my co-host mentioning issues related to environmental concerns. What happens now? Could there be other bombs to drop like what happened with the City last week with the fire report?”
Pete thought. “Man, it could get bad. Where will the money all go? As you have been saying, why are we only going down one path?”
“I agree. We left ourselves exposed, which goes back to the fallacy of what the EFC did. They did the work of the “philanthropic machine,” showing where their loyalties rest. They thought they were doing the right thing because they did what they were told. It aligned with their own worldview, so they did not think twice about it. Now look. We lost an alternate path to financing which we could be kicking in right now. Our State lost another 4 months, or more, if you think about how long it is going to take to get things moving now that we are having to re-establish a bill which was done and vetoed. What a mess, because people just do not understand the terrain.”
“Isn’t this typical,” Pete said. “You deal with these people who are more dangerous, but not because they are scheming, but because they do not understand what they are doing, than helpful, and here is an example of it. People were put into positions of authority they were not ready for, asked to be part of the big Game while they were definitely not ready.”
I nod. “Exactly. The State and County are already feeling their way through the dark, and unnecessarily because we have shown them the light switch multiple times. I mean, we have 500 Substacks (many of which should help). It is frustrating they did not engage when we got the original bill done. They also did not engage when we put forth second and third bills. We spoke to electeds at all levels, from the Governor on down, federally, State, and locally. We said there was not enough money and other flaws with the financing district (which was really all about control anyhow). They had their own thoughts. They did it their way. ‘Legends in their own minds.’ Nobody wanted to listen- the media, the government, the philanthropic orgs (except for a few select ones). People said ‘off the record,’ many of the things we have said were right, but officialdom did not want ‘right.’ They had their path.”
Pete recalled, “Didn’t DC say ‘California would try and do it their way and screw it up?’”
“Indeed they did. They were right huh? Now we have the State potentially suing the County, which could trigger the US DOJ coming in. While AG Bonta’s investigation is to support civil rights, it could also be seen as preserving the State’s role as the disaster distributor because if the lawsuit if filed by the DOJ if the investigation turns up civil rights violations, it could change the legal calculus of how the money comes to California, putting the State in the position of being the counterparty to the feds instead of the County. Such a move is not just about money. It is about Power. If the shift happens here, if the State gets bypassed, then what? Civil rights is a wrench in the plans of getting federal funds direct to the County, and with our ‘ostensible’ Republican Supervisor, a Republican led initiative. California would never allow that to happen, as I was told last April.”
Pete paused. “So now what? The feds did this to embarrass us?”
“No,” I said. “Honestly, the feds do not really care. We embarrassed ourselves to tell the truth. In fact, I think it is a real ‘heads I win, tails you lose’ decision from the feds. This fight is California fighting with itself. For the feds, they will or won’t send the money depending on the outcome. They just threw ‘bloody chum’ in the shark pool. In their minds, the actual funding level will be fraction of what we have asked for, like North Carolina. They want California to do its own solution, and not just California, everyone else after. The EO was minded that way, it was a justification for greater federal participation and reframing the rebuilding resources away from the grants and toward more resources. There is so much the State is withholding because it is holding out hope for federal money. Think about it this way. If the State fights among itself with the County, that fight is self-inflicted, further elongating the timeline, forcing the State into a more untenable position. The feds are offering up money, but the State cannot get its sh*t together, another example of the issues they have been trying to highlight for the past year. Then, as a result of the delays, if the State goes its own way because it needs to do something, it proves the federal point, the point we have said all along here, that much of the funding could be found internally with some creativity.”
Pete smiled that wry smile, shanking his head at the same time. “So typical. And, by having the State and the County fight against one another, under an ostensible civil rights case, which is justified as you know, you now have the State making the choice, do I allow the fed funds to bypass me, changing the disaster calculus going forward, or do I do something to stop it, potentially delaying the funds more? And, if I delay, what do I do to counter that delay? I have to raise money, which then proves the circular federal argument?”
“And there you have the ‘check mate’ of the federal response. They may bluster, but they are not stupid,” I said. “So, we can fight over the money or we can get going on a solution.”
Pete sat back. “It is amazing how the predictions of the past year are starting to show up. Remember when I jokingly said, ‘what if the feds come in and take over the rebuild?’ You mentioned it on your podcast after the veto. You said it. We said it. The hijacking of our rebuild left the door wide open to this desmadre as Gustavo Arellano of the Times likes to say. They did this to us.”
“I know. That is the worst part. As we said when the Governor vetoed the bill in October, it was not going to age well. I remember the fictitious account I did. I remember the whole thing. What a mess. What a cluster. We warned them. They thought, like everything else, the NDAA deal was done. They had Tim Scott. They had housing and therefore the bill would move. They thought they could go all in. They wanted nothing to stop it, like an alternative idea which the House could glob onto (though they knew about it in the House). We warned them it was a mistake. They had their lobbyist. They were drinking the Kool Aid. They kept going. As we said a long time ago, ‘who is the real lobbyist for Altadena?’ Yah, we do not get the money, but look at the scoreboard.”
Pete thought for a moment. “What did those lobbyists do? Did they write the bills to solve the problem? Did they bring the political strategy together to drive it home? Did they have the intel to survive the federal gauntlet? What about the State? While 797 may have failed, it did so much to clarify what we all knew. It was not a failure at all. It was a success. It showed the true colors of the players, the poseurs, who was where and why. It allowed the State to fail and showed there was another path. It was there all along. It opens the door to the other options we have been discussing. You should be a lobbyist and call your firm, Scoreboard Advocacy. Your line? You want results, look at the Scoreboard.”
I smile. “Funny bud. I am not a lobbyist. I just want my home back. I just want to protect my community. It is why we did the Substack in the first place. It is why we continue to educate, almost 500 Substacks later. People thought we would go away, and that is not happening. The situation is more dire. The issues are more real. Options have been foreclosed. Timing is more real. The pressure is ramping up. The low lying fruit is gone and decisions need to be made. Look at what is surfacing and what continues to surface. Who knows what comes next with this cluster. The trend line is our governments have failed. They continue to fail. Operationally, they were exposed. Politically, they miscalculated. They obfuscate for the media, which falls for the ‘Trump did it’ line. Trump did not regulate our utilities. Trump did not water down our reports. Trump did not go to Ghana instead of be here for a firestorm. Trump did not underinvest in infrastructure over 100 years old. Trump did not leave a fire smoldering. Trump did not decide brush clearing requirements. Trump did not create a fire fund to incentivize a private utility to operate with public risk capital if a disaster hits. Trump did not veto 797. Trump did not allow the philanthropic community to take over our town. Trump did not create a CRD and remove community votes. Trump did not create a model on homelessness which is driving our politics and philanthropic community. Trump did not fail to put in place emergency procedures for the largest county in the nation after a previous wildfire destroyed adjacent neighborhoods. Trump did not decide to not have the satellite imagery to know where the fire was going and leaving vulnerable communities exposed. Trump did not decide to press the bets for waiting on federal grant money instead of taking alternate paths. No, it was not Trump. The blame is right here. The blame rests at the feet of our electeds, our government leaders, our philanthropic leaders, and that is something they cannot hide from.”