Steve Soboroff, who was hired to lead Los Angeles’ fire recovery efforts after the deadly Palisades Fire, wraps up his 90-day commitment on Friday. Reflecting on the brief gig, he said he was mostly ignored by city leaders and left out of key decisions.
Want to get caught up on what's happening in SoCal every weekday afternoon? Click to follow The L.A. Local wherever you get podcasts.
Soboroff was initially offered a $500,000 salary for his brief stint as the recovery czar, but after public backlash, he announced he would work for free. He later told the Hollywood Reporter he was lied to about his salary, then backtracked and said he was “disappointed in what happened” but couldn’t prove the mayor deceived him “on purpose.”
In one of his few public events, Soboroff and Bass led reporters on a whirlwind walking tour of the burned-out Palisades, where the recovery czar promised he had “a whole bunch of ideas” and suggested building a “pop-up” supermarket in the parking lot of a destroyed Ralphs.
According to the L.A. Times, within weeks of his appointment, Soboroff was shut out of key decisions and wasn’t invited to press conferences. He told the outlet he wasn’t offended because he “was too f— busy.”
However, Soboroff also said the city hasn’t “asked [him] to do anything in a month and a half, nothing, zero.”
“At times Steve sent confusing messages to residents but we are grateful for his service and contributions,” Bass spokesperson Zach Sield told the L.A. Times.
Soboroff told the New York Times he left his position reluctantly amid deep divisions with Mayor Karen Bass, and after learning the city had started looking for his successor without notifying him.
Bass announced Thursday that the city is in the process of finding a new chief recovery officer.
The city has also tapped Illinois-based Hagerty Consulting as the main fire recovery contractor. Soboroff expressed concerns about that decision, telling the L.A. Times the firm’s pitch was one of “the worst presentations ever done in the history of the world.”
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
