Police Union Backs Feuer in Runoff for City Attorney

Reaching out to more conservative voters in the June 5 runoff election for Los Angeles city attorney, Councilman Mike Feuer on Wednesday trumpeted endorsements that included that of the politically active Los Angeles Police Protective League.

“I want to announce how proud I am to have the support of Los Angeles’ law enforcement team,” Feuer said at a news conference outside the offices of the league, which is the police officers union.

He was joined by league President Mitzi Grasso and by leaders of the Los Angeles Police Command Officers Assn. and the City Attorneys Assn. of Los Angeles, both groups that had backed Feuer in the four-way April 10 primary. Also on hand to throw his support to Feuer was a former rival, Deputy Dist. Atty. Frank Tavelman, a reserve police officer and first-time candidate who finished last in the primary with 7% of the vote.

Feuer is facing a tough battle with Deputy Mayor Rocky Delgadillo, a moderate who heads up the economic development efforts of Mayor Richard Riordan, who has endorsed Delgadillo and helped him raise money. Feuer had been considered the favorite in the race since announcing his candidacy two years ago, but Delgadillo overtook him in fund-raising and nearly tied him in last month’s balloting, pulling 38% of the vote to Feuer’s 39%.

The police union endorsement was especially important to Feuer, a liberal perhaps best known for his efforts to tighten gun controls and crack down on billboards, because it might well improve his prospects with moderate and conservative voters.

Additionally, the police union has the resources to spend money on political mailings or other methods to support its candidates, as it did in the primary for two officers running for city council seats. Grasso said Wednesday the union has not yet decided whether to make expenditures on Feuer’s behalf.

The league backed Deputy Dist. Atty. Lea Purwin D’Agostino, a conservative, in the primary, but Grasso said she did not see anything unusual in the union moving to the left in its choice this time around.

“We don’t always agree on the issues, but we feel he brings the experience that is necessary . . . and we have always had a very close working relationship” with Feuer, Grasso said. She said the union’s board of directors made its unanimous choice of Feuer last week.

Feuer was one of the first city officials to support the consent decree arising from the Rampart Division police corruption scandal, while the league strongly opposed the settlement with the federal government. Feuer also chairs a council committee that is dealing with budget and finance issues, including fiscal matters important to the department and its officers, but Grasso strongly denied that she and her colleagues felt any pressure to back Feuer because of his council role.

Delgadillo was planning to announce a series of new endorsements of his own, beginning today, a campaign spokeswoman said Wednesday. The spokeswoman, Kristina Scott, downplayed the significance of the police endorsement.

“Rocky is a strong law enforcement candidate. That is why [Los Angeles County] Sheriff Lee Baca has endorsed him, as has Police Commission President Raquelle de la Rocha,” Scott said.

“Rocky is the coalition builder in this race, and our endorsements will show that,” she said.