Speak Up, Mr. D.A.

A word to Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti: Come reelection time, the incumbent is expected to defend his or her record in office. Challengers, by definition, can be counted on to attack the incumbent’s accomplishments and question decisions. That’s what challengers do, and that questioning serves the democratic process. Yet Garcetti refuses to debate. Given his tremendous advantages over his opponents--a well-known name and a bulging campaign war chest--why should Garcetti fear their public challenge of his record?

Garcetti, seeking a third term as Los Angeles County’s top prosecutor, faces two opponents on the March 7 primary ballot, Steve Cooley and Barry Groveman. Cooley heads the district attorney’s welfare fraud unit; Groveman is a private lawyer who has been a paid legal advisor to the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Incumbents often duck debates early in a race, but to flat-out refuse face-to-face encounters is a slap at voters. A number of lawyers groups and a few radio and television programs have invited Garcetti and his challengers to face-to-face debates. The Los Angeles County Criminal Courts Bar Assn., for instance, is planning a candidate forum on Feb. 11, but Garcetti has refused to appear. His campaign spokesman, Bill Carrick, dismissed these debates as simply a chance to attack the incumbent: “When we did this before, they all turned into food fights. People . . . heckled Gil with a lot of off-the-wall questions.” Carrick says debates are not an opportunity for voters to get useful information. Does he think that slick 30-second TV ads are better?

Garcetti has far outpaced both Groveman and Cooley in fund-raising. And if his last reelection bid--against Deputy Dist. Atty. John Lynch in 1996--is a guide, Garcetti will spend that money in a TV advertising blitz. Look for well-produced images and veiled charges that his opponents are inexperienced or incompetent, but little in the way of substance.

Substance is what county voters should expect from the man who has occupied the top prosecutor’s job for eight years. Voters should take note if Garcetti continues to stonewall his challengers and the electorate.