Each of the four candidates for the post of Los Angeles city attorney offers unique experience and a vision for the office, but The Times endorses Mike Feuer in the April 10 primary. The city attorney is the lawyer for the City of Los Angeles. With more than 400 attorneys and 500 other staff members, the office has wide responsibilities.
Big challenges face the next city attorney, with police reform topping the list.
The office must also begin to get a handle on the city's crippling payouts for worker's compensation and liability settlements. That figure may or may not prove accurate, but the city must begin to rein in these expenses. Feuer is the best of these good candidates. As city attorney, Feuer promises that he would take a tougher litigation stance on police misconduct cases, doggedly ensure full compliance with the federal LAPD consent decree and help to rebuild the police department. As a city attorney, Feuer would bring to the office creative ideas, solid experience, integrity and enthusiasm.