The wildfire disaster highlights the importance of competence over party in choosing leaders: L.A. Times owner.

Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, owner of the Los Angeles Times, criticized American voters for their leaders' inadequate response to the wildfires in the L.A. area.

Soon-Shiong criticized the competence of local officials on X, stating that their handling of the crisis demonstrates why voters should not base their electoral decisions on party affiliation.

The entrepreneur wrote on Thursday that the lesson learned from the catastrophe in California is to vote based on competence rather than political affiliation.

"Yes, competence matters," he added, emphasizing the importance of electing based on competence.

Recently, Soon-Shiong has been vocal about the dangers of political polarization in the US. As a result, he has decided that his newspaper will not support any candidate for the 2024 presidential election, which has caused controversy among his staff and readers, who tend to lean left.

The owner of the Times has announced the establishment of a new, impartial editorial board and other measures to prevent it from becoming an echo chamber of one side.

Soon-Shiong aims to establish the paper as a reliable, balanced news source.

The owner's emphasis on being impartial influenced his recent criticism of California and Los Angeles leaders, as he emphasized that the wildfire disaster demonstrates the importance of evaluating leaders based on their ability to handle a crisis rather than their political affiliation.

Earlier this week, Soon-Shiong expressed his view that Democratic leaders in the state are incompetent.

On Wednesday, he stated in an X post that the LA Fire Department's budget was cut by $23M, despite the Mayor's knowledge of the frequency of fires in the area. The reports of empty fire hydrants raise serious concerns about the department's competence.

Last year, city authorities reduced the Los Angeles Fire Department's budget by $17 million, despite Bass' initial proposal to cut $23 million.

In a follow-up post on Thursday, he stated that the "false" alarm warning to evacuate the entire LA county was another instance of the incompetence of California's leaders.

On Thursday at 4 p.m. PT, a false mass evacuation alarm was sent out for the entire Los Angeles County, which was later retracted.

Residents living near Calabasas and Agoura Hills were advised to disregard the previous evacuation warning as it was specific to the Kenneth fire only.

A "technical error" was attributed to the false evacuation order by a local official.