League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Los Angeles County, CA May 21, 2013 Election
	Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues City Attorney; City of Los Angeles

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of Los Angeles and asked of all candidates for this office.     See below for questions on Specific Goals, Lawsuits, Enforcement of Existing Ordinances Click on a name for candidate information.   See also more information about this contest. 1. Describe your specific goals and the steps you would take to reach these goals if you are elected City Attorney. Answer from Mike Feuer: My priorities will be protecting neighborhoods and connecting communities with law enforcement by revitalizing the Neighborhood Prosecutor program, combating gun violence (I've issued a detailed plan) and collaborating with educators, parents, law enforcement and community leaders to help assure that schools and the neighborhoods in which they're located are safe. I will bring energy, vision and integrity to the job. Answer from Carmen "Nuch" Trutanich: As our office revenues improve, my priorities will be to expand litigation efforts to protect our most vulnerable populations (e.g. women, children, the residents of Skid-Row and low-income neighborhoods), to provide new education/training options - as an alternative to jail-time - for low-level offenders and to enhance our anti-gun violence efforts. Our strong record in these areas can be improved with extra resources. 2. What steps would you recommend the City take to reduce the number of lawsuits filed against it? Answer from Mike Feuer: I will lead a robust risk management program in City Hall, working closely with city departments to reduce lawsuits arising from practices or policies that ought to change. Reducing outside counsel expenses, improving risk management and decreasing liability payments will be key priorities for me, so we can redirect funds to improving public safety and other basic city services. Answer from Carmen "Nuch" Trutanich: I have proposed a budgetary risk management plan to incentivize departments to reduce risk by requiring them to foot their litigation losses out of their own budgets when they exceed a certain level. Litigation is inevitable. Losing is not. My office has saved taxpayers $285 million by winning favorable verdicts at trial in 137 of 149 cases. Our victories discourage litigation. 3. What are the main areas in which you would proactively seek to enforce existing ordinances? Answer from Mike Feuer: I will focus on enforcing all ordinances with an emphasis on public safety, reducing gun violence and keeping our neighborhoods safe. I will strive to make our streets safe, protect consumers and seniors, preserve our environment, improve our business climate, help create jobs, and stand up for working families. Answer from Carmen "Nuch" Trutanich: One of our crime prevention programs warns new gun-buyers that it is illegal to transfer their weapons to others without notifying authorities. Another targets at-risk youths and struggling military veterans arrested on minor offenses. We steer them into counseling and education opportunities that are an alternative to jail-time. We cannot arrest and jail our way out of crime. Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.