The Daily Signal Pacific Palisades Should and Can Seceding from Los Angeles | Elaine Culotti
Jan 21, 2026
Elaine Culotti dives into the idea of de-annexing Pacific Palisades from Los Angeles, highlighting the city's overloaded emergency services. She discusses the benefits of fusion safety models, which combine police, fire, and EMT training to improve efficiency. Through Sunnyvale's example, she showcases the advantages of cross-training and better resource allocation. Culotti argues for local autonomy to enhance rebuilding efforts, while emphasizing the need for pilot cities to empower communities. The discussion wraps up with a focus on effective policing as essential for economic growth.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
When Neighborhoods Outgrow City Care
- Large cities can become functionally irrelevant to wealthy or invested neighborhoods that then lack adequate city resources.
- Elaine Culotti argues de-annexing can empower local owners and residents to manage recovery and services more effectively.
Sunnyvale Fusion Safety Example
- Culotti compares Los Angeles's stretched services to Sunnyvale's model where officers are cross-trained as police, fire, and EMTs.
- She highlights Sunnyvale's lower population-per-officer and higher pay as evidence the fusion model works.
Scale Drives Inefficiency In Big Cities
- Los Angeles has far fewer officers per resident and a much larger public-safety budget per person compared with smaller cities.
- Culotti uses these numbers to argue scale and inefficiency harm recruitment and response quality.