Carmen Trutanich

Monday night's debate of the principal city attorney candidates at Temple Israel of Hollywood was the first time all four had shared a stage. Although devoted in part to questions of faith, morality and responsibility, the discussion also featured a number of sharp exchanges over the effectiveness of the incumbent, Carmen Trutanich, and the credentials and ideas of his challengers, Assemblyman Mike Feuer and private lawyers Noel Weiss and Greg Smith. Smith, for instance, questioned whether voters should believe Trutanich, who once promised not to seek another office and then ran for Los Angeles district attorney.

Former lawmaker Mike Feuer and City Councilman Dennis Zine continue to hold leads in their races for citywide Los Angeles offices, new polling released Monday showed. In polling conducted April 29 through May 7 by the Edmund G. "Pat" Brown Institute of Public Affairs at Cal State L.A., Feuer, a former member of the state Assembly and L.A. City Council, led City Atty. Carmen Trutanich, who is seeking reelection in next week's balloting, 35 to 24%, with 41% of voters still undecided.

As the race for city attorney winds down, insiders are poring over poll data and other indicators with one question in mind: Will incumbent Carmen Trutanich make the runoff? Most observers consider former Assemblyman Mike Feuer the front-runner, likely to finish first in a field of four candidates -- himself, Trutanich and private lawyers Greg Smith and Noel Weiss. Feuer is endorsed by a host of leading officials, including Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (he also was endorsed by the Los Angeles Times )

In his campaign to become Los Angeles city attorney, Mike Feuer has touted himself as someone who will work cooperatively with the mayor and City Council and avoid the squabbles that have marked the incumbent's tenure. During previous stints on the council and in the Legislature, Feuer repeatedly won over colleagues to approve pioneering laws on contentious issues, including gun control. But even some supporters say Feuer's stubborn, driven approach can also be antagonizing. Former colleagues describe the 54-year-old politician as a sometimes overly zealous - albeit intelligent - advocate for liberal causes.

So what's the deal with Carmen Trutanich, anyway? Is he the goofy but dangerous loose cannon, power-hungry crazy man that so many former supporters love to hate? Or is he the reform-oriented outsider who, in his own description, made a few high-profile missteps in his first few months because he was unfamiliar with the culture of City Hall, and then settled down to be a solid administrator of an office that dispenses sound advice to city leaders and prosecutes dangerous criminals and nuisance violators?

Shortly after Carmen Trutanich took office as Los Angeles city attorney in 2009, he caused a big splash by taking on illegal billboards. And he's highlighted his crusade against unpermitted signs as he faces a tough reelection battle. So what's with the splashy Trutanich election banner splayed across a building along a busy stretch of freeway? The colorful sign, visible to drivers on southbound Interstate 5 near the Glendale Boulevard exit in northeast Los Angeles, features a picture of Trutanich, his campaign's website address and a message urging his reelection.

All he asks, Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich frequently says, is that voters judge him on his record. As he wages an uphill battle to hang onto to his job in the May 21 election, Trutanich rattles off a list of reasons he should be "rehired" to head one of the nation's largest municipal law firms. He cites a substantially reduced reliance on costly outside attorneys, favorable outcomes in lawsuits that he says have saved taxpayers more than $300 million and a crackdown on illegal billboards that activists called scourges on their neighborhoods.

A Tarzana optometrist has been charged with allegedly concealing a small "peeping Tom" video recorder in an office restroom, the L.A. city attorney said Friday. Foad Shirazian, 38, a resident of Calabasas, and a licensed doctor of optometry, was charged with two misdemeanor counts of violating the privacy of others by using a concealed video recording device. "A person's privacy, especially in the most personal and intimate situations, must be respected and protected," City Atty.

Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich offers an explanation for why his reelection challenger has racked up the lion's share of endorsements as the May 21 runoff approaches: "He's part of the old-boys club; he's a career politician and I'm independent. " But former lawmaker Mike Feuer points to the backing he's received from hundreds of elected officials - including both of California's U.S. senators - civic and other groups, environmental organizations, labor, law and community leaders as evidence of "a clear desire for change" in the city's top legal post.

Former lawmaker Mike Feuer, a candidate for Los Angeles city attorney in the May 21 runoff, had raised $308,000 by April 6, the first campaign reporting deadline, and had collected an additional $350,000 in taxpayer matching funds, according to a document filed Wednesday with the City Ethics Commission. Feuer turned in his campaign finance report a day ahead of Thursday's filing deadline. He showed more than $540,000 in cash on hand. The report indicated Feuer made a $15,000 payment to Shallman Communications, his consulting firm.

All he asks, Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich frequently says, is that voters judge him on his record. As he wages an uphill battle to hang onto to his job in the May 21 election, Trutanich rattles off a list of reasons he should be "rehired" to head one of the nation's largest municipal law firms. He cites a substantially reduced reliance on costly outside attorneys, favorable outcomes in lawsuits that he says have saved taxpayers more than $300 million and a crackdown on illegal billboards that activists called scourges on their neighborhoods.

Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich has launched a criminal investigation into possible patient dumping by a psychiatric hospital in Las Vegas, a spokesman said Tuesday. Trutanich's office is trying to determine whether Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital improperly dumped patients in Los Angeles, as alleged in an investigation by the Sacramento Bee. "If we were to be able to find patients and we could determine that the patients were sent here by Rawson-Neal, then potentially there could be laws broken in doing that," said Sandy Cooney, a spokesman for Trutanich.

Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich has a steep hill to climb to keep his job in next month's election, a new USC Price/L.A. Times poll has found. Challenger Mike Feuer, a former city and state lawmaker, held a lead of more than 11 percentage points over Trutanich, drawing support from 36.8% of voters, compared with 25.5% favoring the incumbent. With about a month to go before election day, nearly 38% of the voters surveyed had not made up their minds. The USC Sol Price School of Public Policy/L.A.

Benjamin Kadish was just 5 and attending a summer day camp at the North Valley Jewish Community Center in 1999 when an self-professed white supremacist walked through the door and shot him and several others. On Thursday, the now 19-year-old joined his parents, Chuck and Eleanor Kadish, and several others working to combat gun violence and endorsed former lawmaker Mike Feuer for Los Angeles city attorney. Feuer, who is challenging City Atty. Carmen Trutanich in the May 21 runoff, has often talked about his efforts to stem shootings, both as a city councilman in the 1990s and more recently as a member of the state Assembly.

A Westside neighborhood activist who has sued Mike Feuer's Los Angeles city attorney campaign has also filed a complaint with the City Ethics Commissionabout a legal defense fund Feuer set up in response to the lawsuit. Laura Lake, who backs incumbent City Atty. Carmen Trutanich, complained that Feuer did not report any legal expenses, which she believes he had incurred by the April 6 reporting deadline. She contends that Feuer already had retained attorney Ron Turovsky and therefore should have shown some financial activity on his report.

Third-place primary finishers have been a hot commodity as the two remaining candidates for Los Angeles city attorney duke it out before the May 21 general election. Private attorney Greg Smith failed to make the runoff but has racked up a successful record suing Los Angeles and other local governments by representing police officers and firefighters in discrimination and whistle-blower cases. Last week, Smith endorsed former lawmaker Mike Feuer, who is challenging City Atty. Carmen Trutanich for the post.

Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich finds himself with as much as $112,000 in unpaid bills from his unsuccessful run for district attorney, a situation that could complicate his bid for reelection in March. Trutanich failed to make the runoff in the June election for district attorney, a drubbing that prompted him to seek a second four-year term in office at City Hall. Yet even before he has begun raising money for a new campaign, the city's top lawyer is grappling with a six-figure invoice left over from his countywide campaign, according to a report filed this week with the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder/county clerk.

Today, I'd like to introduce you to several citizens who could spend a year in jail, on your dime, for the crime of staging protests. But first, the back story: On Feb. 11, The Times reported that L.A. City Atty. Carmen Trutanich intended to get tough with dozens of protesters who've committed civil disobedience in the service of one cause or another and possibly lock them up. I innocently questioned the wisdom of this in a posting on The Times' website, under a headline that read: "Is Carmen Trutanich L.A.'s Hosni Mubarak?"

Los Angeles mayoral candidate Eric Garcetti has edged ahead of opponent Wendy Greuel in fund-raising for the May 21 runoff contest, raising $1.27 million during the 4 1/2 weeks that followed the March 5 primary election. The haul means that Garcetti has more than $2 million on hand for his campaign, according to reports filed Thursday. Greuel took in $1.12 million during the same fund-raising period, which ended Saturday, and has nearly $1.5 million available for the campaign. Greuel called the pace of her fund-raising "explosive" and portrayed it as a sign that voters are frustrated with the status quo. Her campaign strategist, John Shallman, struck a similar theme, describing Greuel's take as evidence that residents want someone to "break the gridlock at City Hall.

Accusations about ethics continue to fly in the bitter runoff for Los Angeles city attorney. On Wednesday, the campaign of former lawmaker Mike Feuer claimed a man with a part-time city contract is doing campaign work - on the taxpayers' dime - for City Atty. Carmen Trutanich, Feuer's opponent in the May 21 runoff. Through his company, Santa Monica-based Intelligent Content Inc, Daniel Raskov has a $4,175 a month contract to work up to 20 hours a week to write newsletters, apply for grants  and perform community outreach and other duties for the city attorney's office and Trutanich.