Mike Feuer Wins, Carmen Trutanich Ousted as L.A. City Attorney
Former Assemblyman Mike Feuer beat incumbent Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich tonight, ending one of the most bitter races of the runoff election.
Sniping between the two candidates reached new heights in the 10 weeks after the March 5 primary election, in which Feuer finished on top but fell short of the 50 percent needed to win the seat outright.
With 22 percent of precincts reporting, Feuer had 60 percent of the vote to Trutanich's 40 percent.
"I can walk out of here knowing I've done a great job," Trutanich told supporters as he conceded defeat.
In the run-up to the general election, Trutanich pressed accusations that Feuer illegally obtained matching campaign funds from the city, giving him an unfair advantage in the primary. Feuer maintained his expenditures were under the limit for qualifying for the city funding.
The pair sparred most recently on the subject of prison realignment. Trutanich blasted Feuer's support of AB 109, a law that transferred responsibility of some felons from the state to the county, claiming the change led to the "early release" of a suspect in the kidnapping and sexual assault of a 10-year-old Northridge girl. Feuer's campaign shot back, saying Trutanich himself supported the law last year when he ran unsuccessfully for district attorney.
When the two candidates were not attacking each other, they focused on listing their achievements. Trutanich laid claim to a litany of accomplishments during his four years in office, while Feuer emphasized his involvement in authoring gun control laws.
Feuer said he would create a gun violence prevention unit, a continuation of his interest in promoting gun control, first as a Los Angeles City Councilman and later as a member of the Assembly. He recently authored a state law requiring bullets to be tracked through a "micro-stamping" process.
This was Feuer's second bid for city attorney. He lost to Rocky Delgadillo in 2001.
Trutanich said that in his four years as city attorney, he prosecuted more than 1,000 graffiti vandalism cases and obtained an unprecedented injunction against a tagging crew. He also went after two banks in court for not maintaining foreclosed homes, sued a health insurance company that was attempting to drop a client with breast cancer, and claims he collected $28.5 million back taxes for the city while working with a smaller department budget.
