With incumbent L.A. City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto ousted in the June primary, front-place finisher Marissa Roy and runner-up John McKinney are going head-to-head to lead the office that represents the city of L.A. in all legal matters.

McKinney, who’s getting a push from local prosecutors and law enforcement, is prioritizing public safety and neighborhood protection. Roy, backed by powerful progressives like U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, has vowed to take on the Trump administration in court while focusing on the rights of workers and renters.

What’s at stake in this race

The city attorney runs an office of more than 550 lawyers representing L.A. in all legal matters, including filing lawsuits and defending against them — and L.A. is involved in a lot of lawsuits.

The person who holds this office counsels city departments, boards and officers on legal issues, including how to interpret court rulings or the city charter. When the City Council proposes a law, the city attorney actually writes the law.

What does L.A.’s city attorney do? 

• The city attorney can decide what lawsuits are in the community’s interest to pursue.
• They can make crucial interpretations of ambiguous laws.
• The city attorney can take a stand when there are policy disagreements with other elected officials.
• They can create lasting precedents through the cases they pursue and how those cases are argued. 
• The city attorney prosecutes all misdemeanor crimes committed in L.A., such as petty theft or vandalism. 

Here are some things the city attorney doesn’t do

• The city attorney does not prosecute felonies committed in L.A. That is the responsibility of the L.A. County District Attorney.
• The City Attorney’s Office cannot give you legal advice or refer you to a lawyer.

Fast facts about the L.A. City Attorney:

• The L.A. City Attorney serves four-year terms, limited to two terms in office.
• The L.A. City Attorney’s salary is more than $293,000, with incumbent Hydee Feldstein Soto’s 2024 pay reaching about $303,000.
• The office’s work is wide in scope. It includes providing legal guidance to the government, managing lawsuits against the city and prosecuting misdemeanors or infractions. The office also has public rights and real estate branches. 

What’s on the agenda for next term

It’s difficult to say anything specific at this point. So much depends on who is elected, what their priorities are and what kind of legal conundrums the L.A. city government finds itself in. City attorneys have to respond to the cases that land on their desks.

However, the next city attorney will likely have to continue to contend with immigration activity in the region and the city’s relationship to the Trump administration. That includes community protests and how the city responds to those protests.

The candidates

John McKinney

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Courtesy John McKinney

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John McKinney
Deputy District Attorney

John McKinney is a deputy district attorney in the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office with experience in various Southern California courtrooms.

McKinney has worked with the Victim Impact Program, which is designed to support vulnerable victims of crime in the county. He has also worked with the juvenile court system, the Hardcore Gang Unit and the office’s Major Crimes Division. He has prosecuted high-profile murder cases, including the 2019 shooting of rapper Nipsey Hussle.

This is not his first attempt running for local office — McKinney was a candidate in the crowded L.A. County District Attorney race in 2024.

McKinney grew up in New Jersey before attending UCLA School of Law.

In his own words

We asked McKinney a series of questions to help LAist voters better understand his campaign positions and how he'd handle the job if elected:

Endorsements:

• Los Angeles Police Protective League, L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman and L.A. City Councilmember Traci Park
• Full list of endorsements here

More voter resources:

• Candidate website: McKinney4LA.com
• Incumbent upended: LA City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto wishes her successor well (LAist)
• The John McKinney Interview Emphasizes Law & Order in City Attorney Bid (CityWatch)
• John McKinney Could Become Los Angeles’ First Black City Attorney (Los Angeles Sentinel)
• City Attorney Townhall from the LACBA-WLALA Joint Task Force on the Retention & Promotion of Women Lawyers

Marissa Roy
Deputy Attorney General

Marissa Roy

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Courtesy Marissa Roy

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Roy has previous experience in the L.A. City Attorney’s Office through a Justice Catalyst Fellowship in 2017.

Roy went on to work as outside counsel for L.A. County, where she says she represented the county in all its litigation against the first Trump administration. She currently serves as deputy attorney general in state Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office, focusing on consumer protection.

Roy, who grew up in Monrovia, was also a staff attorney at the Public Rights Project and worked on L.A. City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado’s 2024 campaign.

In the June primary, Roy earned among the most votes of any individual L.A. city candidate — second only to L.A. City Controller Kenneth Mejia.

In her own words

We asked Roy a series of questions to help LAist voters better understand her campaign positions and how he'd handle the job if elected:

Endorsements:

• L.A. City Controller Kenneth Mejia, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath and many of the region’s powerful unions
• Full list of endorsements here

More voter resources:

• Candidate website
• Incumbent upended: LA City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto wishes her successor well (LAist)
• From Defender to Enforcer: Marissa Roy’s Case for a More Activist City Attorney (Random Lengths News). Here's the video version
• Meet Marissa Roy, Candidate For Los Angeles City Attorney (Patch)
• City Attorney Townhall from the LACBA-WLALA Joint Task Force on the Retention & Promotion of Women Lawyers

Follow the money

We will bring you updated campaign financing details as they become available, closer to Election Day. Here's the latest information that we have available, dating back to the primary earlier this year.

To see the full list of donors to each campaign, you can also visit the L.A. Ethics Commission’s Public Data Portal and input the name of any candidate under “Committee(s)” to get a full list of contributors to campaigns and independent expenditure committees.

LAist's Brianna Lee also contributed to this report.