Rocky Delgadillo eases into 2010 race for California attorney general

Three years after falling short in a bid for higher office, Los Angeles City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo has taken the first step toward launching a second campaign for California attorney general, a spokesman said Thursday.

Term limits prevent Delgadillo, 48, from seeking reelection as city attorney this year.

Papers filed with the secretary of state this week allow Delgadillo to begin fundraising for a statewide campaign for attorney general in 2010, according to Delgadillo spokesman Stephen J. Kaufman.

“City Atty. Delgadillo has served as chief prosecutor for the city of Los Angeles for the past 7 1/2 years,” Kaufman said. “He is now exploring the possibility of continuing his work in the law enforcement arena at the state level.”

Delgadillo declined to be interviewed, but a close friend and supporter said the city attorney is meeting with potential financial backers for a campaign, despite what is becoming a crowded race.

“Every indication I have is he plans to run, to go full-bore into it,” said the supporter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak for the campaign.

The filing comes nearly three years after Delgadillo was trounced by Jerry Brown in the Democratic primary election for attorney general. Brown received 63% of the vote to Delgadillo’s 37%. The city attorney raised nearly $5 million for that campaign.

But with Brown considering a run for governor in 2010, Delgadillo might not have to worry about competing against the popular incumbent.

Delgadillo may face other obstacles, including a controversy from two years ago, when he admitted that his wife was driving his city car with a suspended license when she got into an accident in 2004. The SUV was repaired at city expense. He repaid the city $1,222 in 2007 when the incident became public.

In August, The Times reported that federal authorities were investigating Delgadillo and his wife, seeking information about her consulting business and whether she paid all taxes on its income.

He has also recently faced criticism for a 2006 settlement he negotiated with billboard companies that allows 840 billboards to be “modernized” and upgraded to digital displays.

But Delgadillo also has won some victories lately. Earlier this month, a Superior Court judge ruled that he could seek to recover $5 million from a street gang that has long held a monopoly on the downtown heroin trade.

Assistants in Delgadillo’s office also convinced a federal appellate court recently to uphold Los Angeles’ limits on billboards.

“It’s kind of a logical next step up,” said Larry Berg, retired director of the Jesse Unruh Institute of Politics at USC. “But it’s going to be a difficult race.”

Delgadillo believes that past controversies are behind him and will not be an issue for voters outside Los Angeles, the friend and supporter said.

But he would probably face stiff competition.

Other Democrats planning to run for attorney general include San Francisco Dist. Atty. Kamala D. Harris and Assemblyman Ted Lieu of Torrance. Former Assemblyman Joe Canciamilla (D-Pittsburg) has also filed fundraising papers, and Assemblyman Alberto Torrico (D-Newark) is considering a run if Brown does not seek reelection.

Republicans who have filed papers so far include state Sen. Tom Harman of Huntington Beach and former state Sen. Chuck Poochigian of Fresno, who lost to Brown three years ago in the general election.

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patrick.mcgreevy@latimes.com