Warning Flag for Garcetti

It’s deja vu for Gil Garcetti. Four years ago, the incumbent Los Angeles County district attorney, despite a fat war chest and wide name recognition, was forced into a runoff by an all-but-unknown challenger from within his own ranks. Tuesday, Garcetti once again was pushed into a runoff, this time by career prosecutor Steve Cooley, who raised barely half of what the D.A. took in.

The November runoff campaign, however, promises to be very different from 1996, and that could be heartening for Cooley and ominous for Garcetti, the two-term incumbent.

In Tuesday’s primary, voters gave a slight edge to Cooley. He picked up 37.9% of the vote to Garcetti’s 37.5%. By contrast, in the March 1996 primary Garcetti won a plurality by more than 15 percentage points over prosecutor John Lynch.

On Tuesday, more than 60% of voters picked someone other than Garcetti--Cooley or the other challenger, Barry Groveman.

The unfolding Rampart Division police scandal promises to be a key factor in this race. Some voters may seek to unseat Garcetti to express dismay over allegations of corruption by Los Angeles police officers. Garcetti’s decision to disband his office’s “roll-out” unit, which investigated officer-involved shootings, sparked sharp criticism. Garcetti also faces tough questions about whether his office played any role in creating a climate that allowed the police abuses to occur.

The Times endorsed Steve Cooley for district attorney in Tuesday’s primary; we believe he would bring needed professionalism and less emphasis on internal politics to the office. With Garcetti sitting on nearly $1 million in unspent campaign funds, it’s certain that the district attorney will wage an aggressive campaign. But the fact that the incumbent will have to fight so hard to hold his job is telling.

Garcetti’s refusal to debate his two challengers during the primary campaign surely didn’t sit well with voters. He did promise to debate if he was forced into a runoff. Now he owes it to voters to keep that pledge. After a series of missteps and controversies during his eight years in office and with the Rampart scandal growing, Garcetti has much to account for.