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The next city attorney steps right into a scandal in City Hall over a leaked tape of a racist conversation between three councilmembers and a labor leader who were meeting to discuss redistricting.
The two candidates are both considered to be outsiders and their perspectives on the role of the office are notably distinct.
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City of Los Angeles
- Mayor | City Controller |City Council
- Measures: LH (how-income housing)| SP (parcel tax for parks) |ULA (aka "mansion tax")
L.A. County
California propositions
Hydee Feldstein Soto says that she does not see the city attorney’s role as that of a policymaker, meaning that she will abide by local and state law as closely as possible and not use the office’s powers to try to change policy. Faisal M. Gill sees the city attorney as a policy office, with the power to make decisions like whether to prosecute protesters or get rid of cash bail in the misdemeanor system.
These different perspectives are in play when it comes to what each candidate has said about the City Hall tape scandal. Gill was among the first to call for resignations. He says the city attorney should have a role in investigating the tape scandal and city corruption overall. Feldstein Soto notes that corruption is a felony, a class of crime handled by the District Attorney — she also supports a larger city council and independent redistricting.
About The Office
The city attorney runs an office of more than 500 lawyers representing L.A. in all legal matters, including filing lawsuits and defending against them. They also prosecute misdemeanors committed in L.A. — think public nuisances, petty shoplifting, vandalism and the like.
And, the city attorney actually writes the laws proposed by city council, as well as provide legal advice for departments, agencies and officials citywide.
About The Candidates
Hydee Feldstein Soto
Feldstein Soto has had a long career as an attorney. She was a partner at two major law firms specializing in commercial finance and bankruptcy litigation, and briefly served as general counsel for entertainment company Kin Community. She grew up in Puerto Rico, but has lived in Los Angeles for the past 40 years and has been deeply involved in the Neighborhood Council system.
Faisal M. Gill
Gill is a criminal defense and civil rights lawyer who’s made homelessness and LAPD accountability the centerpieces of his campaign. He previously worked as a senior policy adviser at the Department of Homeland Security in the George W. Bush administration. He’s made two unsuccessful runs for office before: in 2007, he ran as a Republican for the Virginia House of Delegates, and ran as a Democrat in 2016 for the Vermont State Senate. He also briefly served as chair of the Vermont Democratic Party.
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A Note On The Results
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Keep in mind that in tight races particularly, the winner may not be determined for days or weeks after Election Day. In L.A. County, the first batch of results released includes vote by mail ballots received before Election Day, followed by early votes cast at vote centers before Election Day, then votes cast in-person on Election Day. This process is expected to wrap up in the early hours of Nov. 9. Then, additional results will be released following a schedule you can see on the county's site. In California, ballots postmarked on or before Nov. 8 are counted toward the results as long as they arrive within seven days of the election. Results must be certified by county election officials by Dec. 8.
Tracking Your Ballot
You can track the status of your ballot:
If your mail-in ballot is rejected for any reason (like a missing or mismatched signature), your county registrar must contact you to give you a chance to fix it. In Los Angeles County, the registrar will send you a notification by mail and you have until Nov. 28 to reply and "cure" your ballot.
How We're Covering This Election
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Early voters and mail-in ballots have fundamentally reshaped how votes are counted and when election results are known.
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Our priority will be sharing outcomes and election calls only when they have been thoroughly checked and vetted. To that end, we will rely on NPR and The Associated Press for race calls. We will not report the calls or projections of other news outlets. You can find more on NPR and The AP's process for counting votes and calling races here, here and here.
