Tough Tasks on Cooley’s List

Steve Cooley’s overwhelming victory Tuesday night was one of the few sure things in an election with an abundance of surprises. He will be the next district attorney of Los Angeles County, having defeated two-term incumbent Gil Garcetti by a whopping 64% to 36%. The career prosecutor with the deadpan expression led Garcetti in the polls through most of their long, aggressive campaign.

Tuesday’s vote for Cooley was not only an endorsement of the man and his no-nonsense pledges but also a reflection of widespread public unhappiness with the failures during Garcetti’s tenure--the big trial losses, the Rampart mess and lingering concerns about campaign contributors’ access to the office. Cooley’s task now is to demonstrate to voters that he can make good on his promise to improve operations and morale while maintaining the positive programs Garcetti began, such as those targeting domestic violence, juvenile crime and elder abuse.

Cooley made Garcetti’s harsh line on the three-strikes law a front-burner issue. The outgoing district attorney has put behind bars for 25 years to life some felons whose third strike was a petty or nonviolent crime. Garcetti did give his deputies discretion to “strike a strike” in such cases, but the pattern varied from one branch to another.

Cooley promised that within 30 days of taking office on Dec. 4 he will tell his deputies that unless a potential third strike is a violent or serious felony, the case is not to be viewed as a third strike. With California the only state where a misdemeanor can be the basis for a life sentence, Cooley’s policy will move toward a more logical, appropriate and cost-effective criminal justice system.

The Rampart Division police misconduct scandal must prompt an independent review of office policies, with an eye toward helping deputy district attorneys recognize and root out rogue cops. More immediately, however, Cooley needs to focus on the prosecution of those officers already implicated in the widespread corruption scandal.

The district attorney-elect must also be sensitive to concerns among the talented younger deputies Garcetti brought into the office and those he promoted, many of whom are women or minorities. Some of them fear that Cooley, 53, will return the office to the old days when the perception was that only white men were on the career fast track.

These represent just a short list of the tough challenges that face the next district attorney. But Cooley has a good chance for success as long as he remembers why he was chosen by the voters, and why Garcetti was not.