Newsom taps Magic Johnson, Casey Wasserman, Mark Walter to lead philanthropic L.A. fire recovery initiative

Gov. Gavin Newsom is tapping Magic Johnson, Dodgers Chairman Mark Walter and 2028 Olympics organizer Casey Wasserman to lead a new private-sector initiative to support wildfire recovery in Los Angeles.

The California governor’s office said the philanthropic effort, called LA Rises, will bring together business leaders to work with city, county and state officials to support rebuilding after the devastating fires. Walter, his foundation and the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation will provide up to $100 million to jump-start fundraising.

“It’s not just about the state and federal government supporting local responses, it’s about the private sector, the civic society coming together,” Newsom said Tuesday, standing with Wasserman, Johnson and Dodgers Chief Executive Stan Kasten in the stadium parking lot overlooking the city. “It’s about active, engaged citizenship. It’s about people volunteering.”

The decision to lean on high-profile Angelenos outside government comes as state and local leaders face the monumental challenge of rebuilding the mixed-income community of Altadena and the wealthy Pacific Palisades neighborhood.

There will be enormous pressure on leaders to not just rebuild swiftly but also equally.

If the Palisades — where now-burned homes look out on sweeping ocean vistas and the newly homeless include enormously well-connected political donors — appears to be favored over the diverse enclave of Altadena, the disparity will undoubtedly become emblematic of the recovery efforts and potentially haunt Newsom’s political career.

Altadena is an unincorporated area, meaning its rebuilding effort will fall outside the purview of Mayor Karen Bass.

“My focus will be on Altadena because those people may be left behind and I want to make sure that that doesn’t happen,” Johnson said Tuesday.

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The governor said he asked Johnson, the Hall of Fame Lakers point guard-turned-entrepreneur; Wasserman, an entertainment and sports executive; and Walter, the chief executive of the investment firm Guggenheim Partners and controlling owner of the Dodgers, to serve as co-chairs of the initiative because of their “proven leadership and deep commitment to Los Angeles.”

LA Rises will expand access to the philanthropic and private capital needed to rebuild in close coordination with government at all levels, come up with financing strategies to “close the gap between available resources and the cost to rebuild” and communicate information to residents, the governor’s office said.

Newsom’s new initiative comes weeks after Bass detailed her own plan to look outside City Hall to support recovery.

Bass appointed longtime civic leader and real estate developer Steve Soboroff to pilot the first phase of the city’s rebuilding efforts.

Soboroff, a onetime senior advisor to former Mayor Richard J. Riordan, also previously led the police commission and helped bring Crypto.com Arena (formerly Staples Center) to downtown Los Angeles.

As the city’s chief recovery officer, he will help build out the city’s plan for debris removal and streamlining rebuilding approvals and create a detailed program to rebuild parks and libraries, among other things.

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Bass said her and Soboroff’s efforts would be closely coordinated with the governor’s office.

“Efforts to rebuild are underway in the City of Los Angeles and this announcement will be a vital component of a comprehensive effort to bring Angelenos home,” Bass said in a statement. “The number one question on the minds of Angelenos is about recovery and rebuilding.”

Wasserman, who worked with former Mayor Eric Garcetti to land the Olympics for the city, and Johnson, a part-owner of the Dodgers who has invested heavily in South L.A., have both long been involved in L.A. civic life.

“The private sector has to come together, both operationally and philanthropically, as part of the rebuild and in many ways, the rebirth of L.A.,” Wasserman said, noting that the Olympics will be welcoming the world to Los Angeles in 2028. “This process and this journey we’re about to start with LA Rises is not about the next month or the next year. This is about what L.A. is going to be like for the next 50 or 100 years.”

Newsom said Tuesday that community organizations had also received tens of millions of dollars in additional donations, including money from the Latino Community Foundation and the California Community Foundation. Kasten declined to specify Tuesday what “up to $100 million” meant, or if $100 million had been definitively pledged to LA Rises.

“The LA fires have wreaked havoc on LA’s neighborhoods,” Walter, who was not present Tuesday, said in a statement. “It’s time for those with means to come forward and make a positive impact to build back better.”