CANDIDATES—Not Business as Usual

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Los Angeles’ City Attorney Candidates Discuss What They’d Do for the Local Economy

The race to replace termed-out L.A. City Attorney James Hahn is one of the fiercest in years, with a city councilman, a deputy mayor and two deputy district attorneys vying for the job. Because of the closeness of the race, a runoff is expected in June.

Running in the April 10 primary election for the post are termed-out City Councilman Mike Feuer; Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Rocky Delgadillo; and Deputy District Attorneys Lea Purwin D’Agostino and Frank Tavelman.

The Business Journal asked each of the four candidates to submit a brief statement answering the following two questions:


1)

“Why should a business owner or executive living in Los Angeles vote for you?” and


2)

“What would you do as City Attorney to help people who do business in the city of L.A.?”

Here are their responses.


Lea Purwin D’Agostino

Prosecutor/Deputy District Attorney


Reducing Crime Means Better Business

As a former business owner, I know businesses need a far less complex tax structure, and a far more responsive government to give them freedom to grow their companies without undue regulation and red tape. We must create incentives to retain old businesses and attract new businesses by becoming a true partner, because business is the economic stabilizer of our city.

Businesses, like individuals, cannot thrive in gang-infested neighborhoods. Reduction in crime fosters a climate that is conducive to business. I am the most qualified candidate to ensure this, to work with the police to free neighborhoods of drug dealing, gangs and prostitution and to fulfill one of the most important duties of city attorney protecting the safety and quality of life of all the city’s residents.

As a 24-year Los Angeles County deputy district attorney, I’ve put hundreds of murderers, rapists, child molesters and other violent criminals behind bars. I’ve helped reform the criminal justice system, increasing penalties for rapists and affording greater protections to children who are victims of kidnapping.

I’m proud to have the endorsement of Los Angeles’ law enforcement organizations and the thousands of front-line officers they represent. These police officers and sheriffs support my candidacy because they know my record. They know I won’t be afraid to tackle the entrenched bureaucracy at City Hall.

Another important aspect of the city attorney’s job is being the city’s fiscal watchdog. Skyrocketing workers’ compensation claims and other lawsuits have sent our liability soaring past $1 billion! I will implement risk management programs. The liability facing us as a result of Rampart is enormous. Who better than an experienced prosecutor, not a politician, to evaluate the legitimacy of each claim brought against the city and make the critical determination about which cases to settle and which to take to trial. What’s at stake here is the economic future and solvency of our city. My experience will save the taxpayers millions of dollars.

Los Angeles needs an independent advocate who will demand accountability.

As your city attorney, I’ll fight to achieve these goals and protect L.A. and its residents.


Rocky Delgadillo

Deputy Mayor


Educational Void Threatens Prosperity

During the last seven and a half years that I have led Mayor Richard Riordan’s efforts to turn around Los Angeles’ economy, I have worked with the business community in every neighborhood to bring the city over $20 billion in investment and more than 200,000 jobs. With projects like the former General Motors plant in Van Nuys and the Magic Johnson Theatres in South Central, we have been able to bring prosperity back to Los Angeles and improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods.

As deputy mayor, I have also had the opportunity to impact how the city attracts new businesses by creating the Business Team, establishing the Minority Business Opportunities Committee and leading the business tax reform effort. As city attorney, I pledge to use the bully pulpit of the office to take our economy to new heights.

However, our city faces a challenge that threatens the very core of our current prosperity: the failure of our schools to educate our children. Whether I am talking to CEOs of large companies or to small business owners, I hear the same thing over and over: If they had employees who could read and write, they would be amazingly successful.

If elected city attorney, I will use all the tools of my office to improve our public schools. I will fight to make our schools safe by strictly enforcing safe school zones and taking a hard stand against violence in schools. We must also provide our kids with positive alternatives to prevent crime, and I will use public-private partnerships to expand L.A.’s Best, the city-run after-school program, to every school.

We need to build more classrooms, because our schools are so crowded that some students have to stand in class. As deputy mayor, I have cut red tape to speed up the building process for job-creating businesses. As city attorney, I cannot wait to shake up the bureaucracy to help build more schools faster.

I hope you agree with me that improving our schools will immeasurably improve Los Angeles as a place to live and do business.


Mike Feuer

City Councilman/Attorney


Bringing A Record of Accomplishments

As city attorney, I will continue my aggressive efforts to reform and rebuild the police department, work to improve neighborhood quality of life, combat gun violence, fight for equal rights and protections for all residents, and promote government reform, including business tax reform. The city attorney is essentially Los Angeles’ attorney general, with the responsibility to provide top-quality legal advocacy and the opportunity to shape policy on Los Angeles’ most critical issues.

You can often tell the most about a candidate from what they’ve already accomplished. My leadership of the City Council’s business tax reform efforts reforms I will continue to advance as city attorney is one example.

As chair of the council’s Ad Hoc Committee on Tax Reform, I authored the law exempting the first $500,000 of a start-up company’s gross receipts from business tax in the company’s initial, riskiest year. I pushed successfully for an unprecedented new city policy that directs 75 percent of new taxes generated from tougher compliance measures into tax reform and rate relief. And I’m working closely with leaders of the Business Tax Advisory Committee to develop other reform measures, including tax simplification, tax rate reduction and increased compliance. By encouraging recruitment and retention of new businesses, especially small businesses, we can promote the job growth necessary to make our city thrive.

The next city attorney can play a key role in assuring these reforms take hold, drafting laws and pressing to assure policies like these get enacted.

I’m the one city attorney candidate with extensive experience directing a legal staff handling thousands of cases, having led one of the nation’s best public interest law firms for eight years prior to serving on the City Council. This experience, along with my record of accomplishments and vision for the office, have earned me the endorsements of a strong citywide coalition of business, labor, political, legal and community leaders, including two past presidents of the Chamber of Commerce and the chairs of both Charter Reform Commissions.


Frank M. Tavelman

Deputy District Attorney


A Practical, Problem-Solving Approach

The Los Angeles city attorney prosecutes all misdemeanor crime occurring in the city, and advises the mayor, city council, city commissions and agencies on legal matters. I am the candidate who has experience both as a criminal prosecutor and as in-house counsel for the Capital Group Cos./American Funds mutual funds, one of the largest investment management companies. Having experience in both areas, I am uniquely qualified to serve as Los Angeles’ next city attorney.

With violent crime up 25 percent in Los Angeles, every Angeleno should be concerned with public safety. If you and your family are not safe, then government is failing its primary mission. As a deputy district attorney, I understand how to use the criminal justice system to protect all Angelenos. In addition, as a reserve Los Angeles police officer, I have worked thousands of hours responding to your calls for police service.

Having advised a Los Angeles-based business, I understand the frustrations and concerns businesses have over ambiguous, vague and obscure city laws. As Los Angeles’ next city attorney, I will work with businesses in three important ways:

– First, I will draft ordinances and regulations that are clear and, when possible, contain safe-harbor provisions. Business owners and executives should focus on what is important their business not whether they are in compliance with ambiguous, vague and obscure city laws.

– Second, I will maintain a dialog between the city and interested parties in drafting laws that have a significant impact on business.

– Finally, I will fairly enforce the city’s codes, ordinances and regulations. I recognize that the city’s maze of laws may be inadvertently transgressed, and often compliance may be achieved by simply forwarding a notice from the City Attorney’s office, rather than criminal prosecution or a civil lawsuit.

I believe that a good lawyer does not tell people what they cannot do, but rather works with them to legally accomplish their objectives. This practical, problem-solving approach to the practice of law results in a more productive environment for all Angelenos.

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