John J Lynch

With jury selection for the O.J. Simpson wrongful-death civil trial grinding away Thursday inside the Santa Monica courthouse, lawyer and radio talk show host Gloria Allred took to the courtyard just outside to announce she is endorsing John Lynch for district attorney. Lynch's campaign is based largely on the notion that incumbent Dist. Atty.

After taking a relentless pounding from his opponent for losing the O.J. Simpson murder case, Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti is counterattacking. He's attempting to do this with an issue that is very much part of the Simpson case--domestic violence. He is portraying the challenger, Deputy Dist. Atty. John Lynch, as an insensitive bureaucrat who is clueless about the importance of the subject and would cut back the D.A.'s domestic violence prosecutions.

Let the presidential candidates slug it out over bridge metaphors--to the past, to the future, whatever. The race for district attorney got down Wednesday to some old-fashioned name-calling. Incumbent Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti called challenger John Lynch "Johnny One Note" and "the Maytag Man." Lynch's response: He compared Garcetti to the captain of the Titanic.

There's anger out there and it's vast and deep, Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti mused as the election returns trickled in. "Anger with one or two cases," he said at his Westchester campaign rally, a reference mostly to the O.J. Simpson double murder trial. "I'm even getting blamed for the Baldwin case," he said. When actor Alec Baldwin was acquitted last week of misdemeanor battery, Garcetti said he heard howls that it was all his fault--even though the city attorney's office prosecuted the case.

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti, battling five challengers and an embarrassing string of losses in high-profile murder cases, prepared Tuesday for a possible runoff election in November. Likewise, Board of Supervisors candidate Don Knabe seemed unable to parlay his anointing by retiring 4th District Supervisor Deane Dana into an outright victory. Instead, he appeared headed for a fall runoff against former Rolling Hills Mayor Gordana Swanson.

In politics, there's nothing new about sore losers. But county Assessor Kenneth P. Hahn stands accused of being a sore winner. In a strange twist to his upset victory at the polls four years ago, Hahn is being sued by former Los Angeles County Assessor John Lynch, who says he has been repeatedly harassed with weird mailings since being unseated.

Los Angeles County Assessor John J. Lynch conceded defeat to a mid-level employee in his office Thursday, even though more than 100,000 absentee ballots remained to be counted in his race with political novice Kenneth P. Hahn. With all precincts counted, Hahn had collected 720,614 votes for assessor to Lynch's 678,194 or 51.51% to 48.8%. Lynch conceded in a prepared statement that the 42,000-vote margin was too much to make up. He congratulated Hahn.

Kenneth P. Hahn apparently won election as Los Angeles County assessor late Tuesday night. And Wednesday morning, he laid claim to his own political name. Many observers attributed Hahn's 51.5% to 48.5% advantage over incumbent John Lynch to the name he shares with County Supervisor Kenneth F. Hahn. But Hahn, the assessor, said he has heard enough of that. "It's my name and I'm happy to share it with the other Kenny Hahn," he said Wednesday, with a laugh. "I've done this on my own."

Los Angeles County Assessor John J. Lynch was struggling Tuesday to fend off a strong challenge from Kenneth P. Hahn, a political newcomer who benefited from a famous name in his bid to seize the office from his boss. Hahn, who is no relation to County Supervisor Kenneth F. Hahn, was steadily inching ahead of Lynch in returns being reported in the early morning hours today. But Lynch, who stressed his support from Supervisor Hahn in his campaign for reelection, remained optimistic.

County voters will cast ballots Tuesday at polling places in automobile showrooms, beauty salons and even funeral parlors to select a county assessor and decide on a wide range of local issues and tax increases. In the lively assessor's race, incumbent John Lynch faces a strong challenge from Kenneth P. Hahn, a political newcomer who happens to have the same name as a popular Los Angeles politician. Hahn is no relation to veteran Supervisor Kenneth F. Hahn, who has endorsed Lynch.