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City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, Who Vowed to Not Seek Higher Office, Says He'll Run for District Attorney
Carmen Trutanich
City attorney Carmen 'Nuch' Trutanich, who said he wasn't interested in seeking higher office during his 2009 campaign, has officially thrown his hat in the ring by announcing that he would run for District Attorney.Trutanich said that he changed his mind because current DA Steve Cooley decided not to seek a fourth term, according to the Los Angeles Daily News. He told the paper, "I love my job as city attorney, but I can't do my job to protect residents—nor can our local police and sheriffs—without a crime fighting partner in the DA's office."
Despite his earlier campaign pledge, the announcement wasn't surprising. Trutanich's exploratory committee has already raised $1 million, more than other candidates, including Chief Deputy District Attorney Jackie Lacey, Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson and Deputy District Attorney Mario Trujillo, The Daily News reported.
So where does Trutanich stand on the issues? Here's a brief (and by no means comprehensive) round-up of his stance on recent issues from art supply store promotions to civil disobedience.
On drugs: Trutanich is against you knowing what kind of drugs Demi Moore is doing, because of patient privacy issues. He does want to ban medical marijuana dispensaries in the city.
On civil disobedience: Trutanich has been admittedly harsh on protesters. After Occupy L.A.'s eviction, he said that he wanted to sue Occupy L.A. for all the imaginable damage to the city. But long before Occupy was on the scene, activists engaged in civil disobedience noticed that Trutanich was bringing criminal charges against protesters that would have typically been infractions. His spokesman told Neon Tommy: “We’ve certainly upped the ante a bit. Criminal charges are being filed. There was an unwritten rule that [civil disobedience] charges were treated like an infraction. You’d pay a fine and be off to the beach.”
On bikers' rights: Trutanich helped craft a city ordinance against harassing cyclists. The new ordinance created a fine of $1,000 for anyone who harassed, threatened or assaulted a bicyclist.
On supergraphics: Trutanich has really gone after supergraphics, suing sign installers and property owners who put up signs without a permit.
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On art supply store marketing tactics: He was against Aaron Brothers' back-to-school promotion that offered pen-and-paper art kits marketed as "graffiti starter kits" because it celebrated an art form that "threatens the quality of life for our city’s residents simply for commercial gain." Aaron Brothers actually stopped the promotion, because of the pressure from Trutanich and others in City Hall.
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