Guest Essay | Rick Cole on His First Seven Months in Office: Fire and ICE

I was sworn in as the Councilmember representing District 2 last December. It had been 29 years since I’d held that office. Having spent most of those three decades as a City Manager working with Councilmembers in other cities, I thought I knew what to expect.

Of course, I understood that external events could confound expectations. As Ventura’s City Manager, I’d navigated the devastating economic impacts of the 2008 Great Recession As Santa Monica City Manager, I’d led our response to the COVID pandemic.

Yet who could be prepared for the last seven months of Fire and ICE?

Mayor Victor Gordo recalls this year’s Rose Parade theme of “Best Day Ever”—immediately followed by our worst. By itself, the 100 mile an hour windstorm wreaked havoc – hundreds of trees toppled, including the top third of a sycamore I planted in my front yard when I bought my home in 1984.

Then came the devastating firestorm and the desperate battle to stem the flames. When the last embers were doused, more than 40% of Altadena was gone, along with more than 120 homes in Pasadena.

The impact was incalculable. Schools destroyed or disrupted. Power blackouts. “Don’t drink the water” orders. Dangerous smoke and ash. Businesses wiped out. Desperate scrambling for shelter and places to relocate. Landlord/tenant fights over clean-up responsibilities. Fights with insurance carriers. And everywhere: fear, confusion and aching loss.

Pasadena responded. Within hours, we stood up a regional shelter to house thousands of displaced residents and converted the Rose Bowl into the fire command center for thousands of firefighters. We experienced a massive outpouring of generous donations and assistance. Thousands rallied to volunteer. The Pasadena Day Laborer Center not only became a a hub for food and supplies, it organized a remarkable effort to help City crews clear streets of thousands of tons of debris. Out-of-work undocumented immigrants rallied with a labor of love.

Yet lingering questions hung in the air. Was the air safe to breathe? Were our homes, schools, parks and gardens contaminated? Were could you find reliable guidance – and help? With housing already unaffordable, how could we protect existing residents from eviction or rent gouging? Could Pasadena’s notoriously restrictive building regulations be relaxed to enable expeditious rebuilding?

Pasadena’s part-time Mayor and Councilmembers found ourselves deluged with immediate demands for action and reliable information. Everywhere there were heart-rending pleas for help. The scale and scope of the crisis forced long emergency meetings and constant calls to show up as events unfolded.

Obviously, routine business suffered and had to be postponed. Less than a month into office, I had to defer many of the priorities I ran on during my campaign. It reminded me of the joke about how to make God laugh. Tell him your plans.

The upheavals continued. The Trump Administration inaugurated a chaotic and demoralizing reign of error. Vitally needed Federal funds capriciously withheld. Routine grants suddenly coupled with demands for adherence to arbitrary Executive Orders. All this turmoil sparked a “No Kings” protest in downtown Pasadena where more than 5000 citizens marched and rallied.

Then came the terror campaign launched against our region by the Federal Immigration Customs and Enforcement agency: ICE. Suddenly, three local workers waiting to go to work at a Pasadena bus stop were seized by masked gunmen. One aimed a pistol and threatened to shoot a bystander for attempting to take a picture of his unmarked car’s license plate.

More raids, more protests, and a huge hit to our local economy as even legal immigrants and native-born Latinos fear being randomly abducted. Churches, schools and recreation programs impacted. Again, our Mayor and Council have been summoned to respond to an unfolding crisis.

Last week, our Council convened a special meeting to join a lawsuit brought on behalf of the three local residents seized at the bus stop, along with the hundreds of others similarly affected across the Southland. Together with the City and County of Los Angeles and other local cities, including Montebello, Monterey Park, Culver City and Santa Monica, Pasadena is asking a Federal judge to defend our Constitutional order and restore due process to immigration enforcement. Last week, the judge halted the unlawful practices of ICE with a temporary restraining order.

The trials by fire and ICE have challenged all of us on the Council to meet the moment. We still must grapple with the rise in homelessness, the affordable housing crisis, the growing pressure on our operating budget, $2 billion in unfunded capital infrastructure needs – along with the threat of more climate disasters in a hotter and drier future and the Trump Administration’s unrelenting attacks on our region and our democracy.

Of course, elected officials are not alone in facing these challenges. It is all of us.

In these troubled and unpredictable times, we can’t afford to be divided.  Just as day laborers organized to aid the victims of the firestorm and assist in the clean-up, we can rally in their defense against having their lives and families torn apart by a lawless Federal administration. That’s the spirit of One Pasadena.

I hardly expected my first months back in office to unfold in this way. But as my Welsh grandmother used to say, “No use crying over spilt milk, it only makes it salty for the cat.” This is an historic opportunity for us to rise to the occasion. It’s our best and only hope.

Councilmember Rick Cole previously served 12 years on Pasadena’s Council (1983-95), including terms as Vice Mayor and Mayor. Reelected last year, he took office last December. He recently stepped down as Chief Deputy Controller for the City of LA to focus on his Council duties in Pasadena.