PARADISE –Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) met Saturday with Maui Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii), at the Paradise Town Hall to discuss disaster relief.
“They’re pretty ideologically apart,” said Bipartisan Policy Center co-director Jonathan Perman about LaMalfa and Tokuda. “But what they do have in common, somewhat sadly, is that they both in their districts experienced deadly fires.”
Tokuda is the representative of Lahaina, the Maui city that experienced the worst U.S. fire in over 100 years, which killed 101 people. LaMalfa is the representative of Paradise, where over five years ago the Camp Fire devastated Butte County killing 85 people and displacing thousands.
LaMalfa will visit Lahaina next week to learn about the recovery efforts there.
The two representatives, of opposite political parties, are “united by fire,” Tokuda said.
Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) hosts Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii) in Paradise, California on Saturday, March 23, 2024. (Molly Myers/Enterprise-Record)
The visits are part of the American Congressional Exchange Program hosted through the Bipartisan Policy Center. These organizations work together to bring members of the U.S. Congress from different political parties together to learn from each other.
The following people were also in attendance at the Saturday meeting: Paradise Town Council member Steve Crowder; Katie Simmons, Paradise Disaster Recovery director; Ron Lassonde, Paradise mayor; and Jennifer Gray Thompson, founder and CEO of After the Fire USA.
Crowder began the meeting by providing context on the Camp Fire and drawing parallels between Lahaina and Paradise.
“Our hearts go out to your community because we know how tough it is,” Crowder said.
At the meeting, Paradise Recovery and Economic Development Director Colette Curtis, gave a presentation on Paradise and the recovery efforts that have been made in the past five years.
Tokuda asked questions and took notes during the presentation.
Part of Curtis’ presentation focused on the Building Resilience Center, which Curtis said is a “one stop shop” for people who are rebuilding. At the center, people can get things like building permits and help planning their rebuilding efforts.
“I think it’s an outstanding thing that the city did that here,” Tokuda said about the Building Resilience Center. “We need to do something like that back at home.”
Another big topic at the meeting was insurance rates going up after the fire.
Lassonde said there is “… example after example of the insurance slowing down or inhibiting people from repopulating Paradise.”
In 2023, State Farm stopped offering new policies in the California.
Related Articles
Sewer contract approved by Paradise Town Council
California lawmakers witness rebuild in burn scar
LaMalfa said State Farm pulling out of California is “devastating.”
Also of interest to Tokuda, are problems that policy making and disaster relief programs can’t necessarily fix.
“The other thing I would love to talk to some folks about is how they dealt with things we can’t rebuild, the emotional part,” Tokuda said. “We have so much emotional trauma that’s taken place, so much hurt, fear … how can people feel safe?”
After the meeting Tokuda and LaMalfa went on a tour of Paradise to see the rebuilding efforts in Paradise.
LaMalfa will leave for Maui on Monday for a visit similar to Tokuda’s.
+ There are no comments
Add yours