Published at Open the Books Substack

While homes and businesses in Los Angeles are being destroyed by wildfires, Mayor Karen Bass is herself taking a beating by California residents and the press for being outside the country while her city burns.

It’s not quite as bad as when New York City Mayor Eric Adams — currently under indictment for unrelated alleged crimes — left the city as it was hit by an icy winter storm in December 2022.

Sure, LA Mayor Bass was already in Ghana for the inauguration of President John Mahama when the fire started, and she was making her way back to LA on Wednesday, The Hill reported.

But the real scandal is her $300,154 pay in 2023, plus benefits, making her the second highest paid mayor in the country, just after her San Francisco counterpart.

Read the full story at Open the Books Substack!