GUEST COMMENTARY - Recently, I had the heartbreaking experience of walking through the neighborhoods I grew up in, places that shaped who I am, that have now burned to the ground. In January, the Eaton Fire tore through Altadena, leaving behind ashes, toxic air, and the painful silence of a gutted community.
For too long, fossil fuel companies have knowingly fueled the climate crisis while leaving communities like yours and mine to bear the costs. That’s why, as a former mayor, I’m calling on my fellow local elected officials to support California’s Make Polluters Pay legislation. Right now, county supervisors in Los Angeles are considering a resolution in support of the Polluter’s Pay Climate Superfund Act, a bill that would require the worst corporate polluters to fund a statewide recovery and resilience program. There are already 100 local elected officials across the state who have endorsed the Climate Superfund Act. The L.A. County Board of Supervisors should be next.
This is a common-sense policy rooted in justice, and it’s long overdue.
It’s one thing to watch disasters unfold on the news. It’s another to stand in the rubble of your own childhood. Everywhere I looked, memories were gone. The emotional, psychological, and financial toll left in the wake of these disasters is staggering.
As a mother, an elected official, and a lifelong climate activist, I know what it means to hold a community together during hard times, even in the best of circumstances. But with climate disasters accelerating, local governments are being pushed to the brink.
Cities are on the frontlines of climate chaos. Local governments are the first to respond to climate-fueled wildfires, floods, heatwaves, and displacement. These impacts hit our budgets hard: from emergency response and infrastructure repair to housing, health, and economic recovery.
It’s heartbreaking and just plain wrong that the fossil fuel industry has known for decades that their toxic products would lead to this and did nothing to stop it. Instead, they created doubt, bought political influence, and blocked climate action.
The Climate Superfund Act would make them pay their fair share. It also directs at least 40% of funds to environmental justice communities, helping cities like ours plan for resilience with more certainty and support. Most importantly, it sends a clear message: we will no longer allow profit-driven corporations to harm our people and our planet without consequence.
Many of us entered public service out of a deep love for our communities and a commitment to future generations. The choices we make now, especially around funding and accountability, will shape the safety and stability of our neighborhoods for decades to come. Supporting this bill is not just a political act. It’s a moral one.
By passing a resolution in support of this legislation, you’ll join a growing list of cities—San Francisco, Berkeley, Los Angeles, San Diego—taking a stand for justice and economic accountability. Our communities deserve to be made whole, and those responsible for the harm must help fund the recovery.
No single bill can stop the fires or hold back the floods. But this one helps fulfill the promise we made when we took our oaths of office: to protect the people we serve.
Passing a local resolution isn’t just symbolic. It points our moral compass toward justice and resilience. In times of crisis, that clarity is essential.
So, to my fellow electeds in LA County;
Join us. Let’s make polluters pay.
(Heidi Harmon is a Senior Organizer, Greenpeace, Former Mayor, San Luis Obispo, CA)
