Delgadillo May Run for State Attorney General

Eight days after he was reelected, Los Angeles City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo filed papers Wednesday to explore a run for state attorney general next year, a move that would pit him against Jerry Brown, Oakland’s mayor and the former governor, in the Democratic primary.

Delgadillo filed a statement of intention to run for the state office as well as a statement of organization for a fundraising committee, but Brown has a huge head start, having already raised $1.8 million toward a $5-million goal for the race.

“I’ve said all along I want to fight for neighborhoods all over the city,” Delgadillo said Wednesday. “Today, I’m saying I’m ready to fight for every Californian.”

Delgadillo said he realizes a campaign against Brown in the June 2006 primary would be difficult, but he said he would highlight his different experiences.

“Yes, it’s a tough fight, but I relish a tough fight,” Delgadillo said. “I want to give Californians a choice of a different kind of leader. I’m not the son of a governor. I grew up in Highland Park. I am from the community. I have a different perspective.”

If Delgadillo were elected next year, the city of Los Angeles would face having to hold a special election to fill the 2 1/2 years of his term as city attorney that would remain.

Special elections can cost $500,000 or more, but the election could also be incorporated into the regular March 2007 ballot for City Council seats.

Brown, who first ran successfully for office in 1969 when he was elected to the Los Angeles Community College District board, said he is taking Delgadillo’s challenge seriously.

“I’m very confident, but I would never underestimate a serious candidate,” Brown said. “I never take competition lightly, and he must recognize that because he is declaring for a new office before he has been sworn into the old office.”

Political observers were surprised that Delgadillo filed papers so soon after his reelection and warned he faces a major challenge to compete with Brown.

“A lot of people in Southern California have heard of Rocky Delgadillo,” said Bay Area political consultant Dan Schnur. “Everybody in California has heard of Jerry Brown.”

Schnur said Delgadillo would have to raise a lot of money and spend more time in Northern California to raise his profile.

Larry Levine, a Los Angeles-area political consultant, said he found it shocking that Delgadillo would weigh a run for another office just days after being reelected, and he said that could inspire a backlash from voters in Los Angeles.

He also called Delgadillo’s chances of beating Brown slim.

“In order to overcome Jerry Brown, he is going to have to go negative, which means bringing up Rose Bird and all that,” Levine said, referring to the controversial Brown appointee to the state Supreme Court who was ousted by voters in 1986. Some believed her opposition to the death penalty made her soft on crime.

While Brown has opposed the death penalty, Delgadillo favors capital punishment, a spokesman said.

When asked if Bird would be an issue, Larry Grisolano, Delgadillo’s political consultant, changed the subject, saying Delgadillo would talk about his success at ridding Los Angeles neighborhoods of gangs and blight.

Brown has been secretary of state, governor, a three-time presidential contender, a U.S. Senate candidate and mayor of Oakland.

On the Republican side, contenders who are weighing a potential run for attorney general include state Sen. Chuck Poochigian (R-Fresno).

Delgadillo was unopposed for reelection on March 8, but spent nearly $1.3 million on his campaign.

Before he became the highest-ranking Latino official elected citywide in L.A. in more than 100 years, Delgadillo was a deputy mayor for economic development in Mayor Richard Riordan’s administration.