Delgadillo Sets Ambitious Goals

Los Angeles City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo announced a “new agenda” for a more activist office Wednesday, vowing to step up prosecution of slumlords, gang members and those who commit hate crimes, while cutting the city’s $1-billion liability by one-third in four years.

He also promised a more active role in education, with attorneys looking into whether he can use his litigation powers to force schools to improve the quality of instruction.

In his first major policy speech since taking office in July, Delgadillo told supporters, students and teachers at USC that his priorities for the next four years will be crime prevention, police reform and saving taxpayer dollars.

“The time has come for new leadership--leadership bold enough to experiment, brave enough to fail and strong enough to succeed.”

But some questioned whether all of Delgadillo’s goals are realistic, such as reducing the number of lawsuits filed against the city while at the same time slashing its financial liability. ‘That’s going to be hard,” City Councilman Nate Holden said. “With the Rampart [police corruption] cases still open and these kinds of police incidents still happening, people are suing the city more.”

Delgadillo said better risk management can reduce the number of lawsuits and workers compensation claims against the city, which are a large part of its liability.

Holden and others praised the city attorney’s commitment to fight crime, however.

With gang crime up 23% this year, Delgadillo is preparing to expand the city’s gang injunction program by going to court in the coming weeks against gangs in South Los Angeles.

The city has obtained several injunctions in the past that restrict the activity of known gang members in specific neighborhoods, including their ability to congregate in public.

“Right now, we are losing the battle, and if we do not act now, we are in danger of losing the war,” Delgadillo said.

“My office will expand upon Mayor Hahn’s policy of fighting gangs with injunctions, and will institute other legal measures to free our communities from the pall that gangs cast upon us.”

As part of his emphasis on crime prevention, Delgadillo plans to get more involved in improving education, including initiatives to link schools and businesses to provide mentors and resources.

His office also will work to streamline school construction and improve school safety.

“And if necessary, I will take further, bolder steps to revamp and reform the way we teach children,” Delgadillo said. “My pledge to you is that I will not rest until we lift this cloud of neglect that casts an appalling shadow over us all.”

Delgadillo’s office is exploring whether the city can use litigation to force changes in the schools if education officials fail to improve the system, one source said.

Although some question whether he has any authority to do so, Delgadillo said that his office is looking at ways to get more involved in school issues.

Caprice Young, president of the Los Angeles Unified School District board, said the city does not have jurisdiction over the schools and that litigation would not be constructive.

“I’m not sure what that would achieve, and on what basis it would be done,” Young said. “We can do much more working together.”

The idea of the city going to court to press for school reform also has doubters at City Hall.

Holden said it would be more effective to have the state hold the district accountable, because the state controls school funding.

Having the city get involved, Holden said, “is a slingshot approach which is going to miss the target.”

Delgadillo also plans to launch a neighborhood prosecutor program, assigning city attorneys to oversee neighborhood issues throughout the city.

“These attorneys will work with the neighborhood councils and community groups to aggressively prosecute crimes that often go ignored--such as vandalism, litter and graffiti--before they mushroom into crimes that deteriorate and debilitate entire communities,” Delgadillo said.

At the same time, Delgadillo said he will champion police reform, calling a court consent decree “our last, best hope” for change in the LAPD.

He pledged to redouble the city’s efforts to prosecute slumlords and perpetrators of hate crimes. The city attorney also said he will soon announce a major reorganization plan for the 500-attorney office.