LA Can’t Afford to Wait - The Private Sector Must Lead the Rebuild Los Angeles is my home.

LA Can’t Afford to Wait - The Private Sector Must Lead the Rebuild

Los Angeles is my home. I raised my family here and I’ve spent my life building here, creating spaces where people come together. And now, in the wake of the Palisades and Eaton Fires, I’m watching entire communities fight to survive. This is the single biggest disaster LA has ever faced—entire neighborhoods erased, over 40,000 acres reduced to ash, and more than 11,000 homes lost. The economic toll is staggering—more than $250 billion—and it won’t stop at LA’s borders. LA is one of the largest economies in the world, and when this city takes a hit, the entire country feels it.

And let’s be honest: government moves too slowly. We’ve seen it before—bureaucratic gridlock, outdated processes, and endless delays hurting people who need help now. The reality is, our existing systems weren’t built to handle a catastrophe of this scale. Families can’t afford to wait months, let alone years, for solutions. Business owners can’t put their lives on hold. We need speed, innovation, and most importantly, transparency and accountability—to ensure that every step of this process is clear, efficient, and in the best interest of the community.

That’s why I launched Steadfast LA—to bring together the best minds, the strongest resources, and the boldest solutions to rebuild our city. The crisis response playbook we’ve been relying on was written decades ago: in a world before AI, real-time data analytics, and advanced building technology. But we have those tools now, and we must use them. The private sector thrives on cutting through inefficiency and getting things done. That’s exactly what LA needs right now. Our coalition is leveraging the resources of major companies in design, financing, technology, and real estate development to do what government simply can’t do fast enough—like burying power lines to reduce future fire risks and streamlining rebuilding with AI. We need leaders who specialize in execution, working alongside the government but not waiting on it, to tackle these challenges head-on.

The hard truth is that LA’s infrastructure and response systems are outdated. Government agencies are one to two generations behind when it comes to using new technology in recovery efforts. They don’t have the tools to act with the speed and efficiency this crisis demands. But we do. Steadfast LA is making sure the latest innovations—like AI-driven construction planning, advanced materials that make homes more fire-resistant, and real-time logistics management—are part of the rebuild from day one. We are committed to pushing these solutions forward and pressuring government to move faster, not hold us back.

Steadfast LA is nonpolitical, action-driven, and built on transparency and accountability. That means if we see inefficiency, we will call it out. If government agencies stall or mismanage resources, we will push for better solutions. If bureaucracy stands in the way of progress, we will fight to cut through it. The challenges to rebuilding fast and correctly are daunting. The cleanup is an environmental crisis. Toxic ash, hazardous chemicals, and heavy metals contaminate the soil and air, posing health risks. Destroyed vegetation increases the threat of mudslides and erosion, while fire debris can pollute water supplies. Delays could worsen the damage—we need swift, science-backed solutions like efficient debris removal, soil remediation, and reforestation to protect LA’s future. (1/2)