Developer and philanthropist Rick Caruso called on Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to fire L.A. Department of Water and Power (LAWDP) CEO Janisse Quiñones on Monday, citing failure to maintain a key reservoir.
As Breitbart News and the Los Angeles Times reported in January, the Santa Ynez Reservoir above Pacific Palisades, which holds 117 million gallons, was nearly empty when the Palisades Fire erupted in January.
The reservoir was apparently empty because a worker discovered cracks in a cover that was required by federal regulations. Repairing the cover required draining the reservoir. It had not been refilled, a year later.
Officials began filling it again after the fire, but the Times reported last month that the reservoir has to be drained again because new cracks were discovered in the cover.
Last week, the New York Times reported that the city had tried to find an alternate solution for several months before the fire broke out, but failed to do so in time to stop the fire that scorched 24,000 acres.
That prompted Caruso to speak out on X.
How the head of DWP still has a job is unthinkable. Incompetence at the highest level. Only in LA does failure this big come with job security.
— Rick J. Caruso (@RickCarusoLA) May 5, 2025
Seven months. Empty reservoirs. Dry hydrants. The more we learn about the pre-fire failures of our city leaders, the more baffling the… pic.twitter.com/0kiM7aip5o
Bass appointed Quiñones in 2024, citing her “extensive experience managing large scale gas and electric companies” and her service over two decades in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserves, among other qualifications.
However, Quiñones has also distinguished herself through her “woke” politics, notably saying (before the fire) that “equity” was her top priority.
LA's $750,000-a-year water chief who allegedly oversaw the emptying of the Santa Ynez Reservoir, previously said the "number one" thing she cared about in her role was "equity."
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 11, 2025
No wonder why LA is burning. Every leader is a DEI hire.
During a recent podcast, Janisse Quiñones,… pic.twitter.com/dr9lWFS4a9
She continues to emphasize identity politics in her public activities.
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Quiñones has become a target of criticism and opposition, some of it extreme: the LADWP recently considered hiring private security for her. She earns $750,000 per year, nearly twice what her predecessor earned.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of Trump 2.0: The Most Dramatic ‘First 100 Days’ in Presidential History, available for Amazon Kindle. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
Photo: file
