A POLCOMM MEMBER REFLECTS ON THE UPCOMING LA CITY ATTY RACE

The two candidates for Los Angeles City Attorney, Jack Weiss and Carmen Trutanich, who received the most votes in the first round on March 3, will face each other in a runoff election on May 19. After evaluating the candidates, the Sierra Club decided not to make an endorsement, but to provide some background on the candidates so you, our members, can make an informed decision in this election. Jack Weiss currently holds the District 5 seat on the City Council. When he first ran in 2001, the Sierra Club actively campaigned for environmental champion Tom Hayden in an unsuccessful attempt to stop Weiss from winning. During his first term, Weiss did support several water issues of interest to the Sierra Club, which in good faith decided to endorse him for re-election in 2005. However, Weiss proceeded to advance the interests of developers, particularly large campaign contributors, being fined for ethics violations regarding campaign fundraising, and earning a recall effort signed by over 20,000 voters due to his lack of responsiveness to consituents' concerns. In particular, several massive high rise developments that were inconsistent with existing zoning were approved with little mitigation or additional mass transit, causing traffic congestion to worsen significantly. Outside his district, he was also one of the councilmembers who supported the expansion of the Playa Vista project at the expense of the Ballona Wetlands. Weiss is a former federal prosecutor. Carmen Trutanich is a former Assistant District Attorney who had served on the environmental team established by Ira Reiner. He successfully prosecuted a series of polluters and had a record of being a tough enforcer of environmental laws that had been flouted in the past. However, when he went into private practice, Trutanich did defend several polluters among the clients his law firm represented. While for an attorney to provide representation to undesirable defendants is not the same as an elected official who is found in violation of ethics laws, the Sierra Club decided neither candidate sufficiently met our criteria for endorsement. It is up to you to pick whom you would prefer based on these and other factors.