As a fast moving brush fire triggered evacuation orders in Simi Valley this week, leaders gathered in Pacific Palisades with a message reflecting a broader question surfacing across Los Angeles as communities continue rebuilding after devastating fires, whether government systems are still capable of delivering solutions at the scale communities now need.
Jake Levine, candidate for California's 32nd Congressional District and former Senior Director for Climate and Energy at the National Security Council, has increasingly framed his campaign around that question. Rather than centering his candidacy solely around political differences, Levine argues that voters are looking for a government that can work effectively, coordinate across agencies, and produce tangible outcomes. "We need people who actually want to work effectively rather than just getting a soundbite; people are done with performative politics," Levine said.
That conversation took on added urgency as Levine joined Rick Caruso, businessman, philanthropist, and founder and chairman of Steadfast LA, at a press conference Monday calling for federal action to underground dangerous overhead power lines across the highest fire risk communities in the district. The proposal focused on communities including Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Encino, Sherman Oaks, Woodland Hills, and surrounding areas increasingly facing wildfire threats.
For Levine, wildfire recovery and resilience have become among the clearest examples of what he sees as larger challenges around government coordination and infrastructure investment. "If you overlay wildfire maps with power line maps, the difference becomes striking. We need federal funding to properly rebuild infrastructure in a way that is more resilient," said Levine.
Levine, whose childhood home was lost during the fires, argues that rebuilding efforts require more than isolated projects. Instead, he says they require systems and agencies working together in ways that have often been missing. "One thing that has been missing is coordination, legislative staffs at city, county, state and federal levels often do not know one another and are not talking to each other; that should not happen," Levine said.
Caruso echoed similar concerns around long term resilience efforts and the need for urgency. "The people of Los Angeles deserve leaders who will stand up for them when it matters most and take their safety seriously. Undergrounding power lines in our red flag areas, where the risk to lives and homes is greatest, is one of the most important things we can do to protect these communities," said Levine.
Caruso also argued that communities recovering from devastating fires require leaders willing to undertake the "heavy lifting" needed to secure long-term protections and funding partnerships, but some of the strongest reflections on what these conversations mean on the ground came from local leaders who have lived through the realities of disaster response and recovery.
Malibu City Council member Haylynn Conrad, who also endorsed Levine's candidacy alongside Caruso, connected Levine's message around effectiveness and coordination to what many residents have experienced first-hand. "What I learned was that what we have right now is not working. We need new energy, a new direction and politics without all of the performative stuff. I want effectiveness. I do not care about appearances if people are not getting results," said Conrad.
Conrad pointed specifically to concerns surrounding agency coordination and infrastructure vulnerabilities facing Malibu and neighboring communities, noting that major transportation and evacuation routes remain susceptible during disasters. "PCH could literally face major issues and communities could become cut off during future disasters," Conrad said. "People are asking where resources are going and whether agencies are talking to one another. We need government working for us."
Her comments reflected a broader concern increasingly surfacing throughout recovery conversations across Southern California; for many communities, resilience is no longer simply about rebuilding structures. It is becoming equally about whether systems, agencies, and leadership can work together effectively when communities need them most.
Levine's experience spans climate policy, national security strategy, clean energy deployment, and work across federal agencies, including within the Obama administration and the White House. During discussions surrounding wildfire recovery, he repeatedly emphasized that solving challenges of this scale requires bringing agencies and stakeholders together around practical solutions rather than political silos.
Levine has also expanded his message beyond wildfire recovery into broader economic concerns including California's entertainment industry and workforce displacement. "The economic displacement we are seeing is on the scale of what happened to the Detroit auto industry. These are not just industry jobs; these are restaurants, construction workers, electricians and communities being affected," said Levine.
For Levine, the conversation ultimately extends beyond policy proposals and infrastructure projects into a larger generational question. "I think about people in Gen Z and what they have lived through. Many have never really experienced a government that has done something productive for them. We can make big changes, but we need people willing to step up and do it," said Levine
Whether voters embrace that message remains to be seen, but as Los Angeles continues rebuilding from one crisis while preparing for the next, the debate increasingly appears to center on something larger than a single election, whether leadership will ultimately be defined by politics as usual, or by a renewed focus on urgency, collaboration, and getting things done.