By Kelly Rayburn
Daily Bruin Contributor
The L.A. County Bar Association sponsored a city attorney
candidate forum at the UCLA Law School Thursday night.
Candidates Michael Feuer, Frank M. Tavelman, Rockard J.
Delgadillo and Lea Purwin D’ Agostino answered questions on
the role of the city attorney, gun control, the Rampart scandal and
citizenship status, each trying to prove they are the best
qualified person for job.
“The city attorney has to be a leader in the area of
preventing problems before they start,” said Feuer, who is
currently a Los Angeles city councilman. “I have a record of
improving neighborhood quality of life everyday.”
Feuer stressed city attorney’s role in taking on gun-
violence.
“The next city attorney has to be the leader in combatting
gun-violence in California. That is my stance and that is my
commitment,” he added.
As a member of city council, Feuer wrote a bill limiting the
number of guns an individual can purchase to one a month. He also
worked with former State Assemblyman Wally Knox to get a similar
bill passed on a statewide level.
D’Agostino, a deputy district attorney, said she has also
had experience in dealing with gun violence.
“While people have been talking about gun control
measures, I’ve been putting people who use guns behind
bars,” she said.
She agreed gun-control measures should take place on the state
level, because even if Los Angeles passes measures against certain
types of guns, a person could easily go to a nearby city and
purchase the same kind of gun.
Delgadillo, L.A.’s deputy mayor, said growing up in East
Los Angeles he had a personal experience with gun-violence ““
and he would be committed to doing “whatever is needed to get
guns off the streets.”
“A leader is not just a lawyer. I come from the
neighborhoods, I understand the neighborhoods, I can get
results,” he said.
Tavelman, another deputy district attorney, said as a reserve
Los Angeles police officer he understands the need to
“enforce the laws we have, not just create new
ones.”
A person should have first-hand knowledge about how law
enforcement works to be city attorney, Tavelman said.
“Everyone on this panel is very qualified. The question
is, who is qualified to be city attorney?” he said.
Feuer and Delgadillo are qualified to be mayor, but not city
attorney, he continued.
While the candidates took different angles on how to solve
problems of gun violence, they all agreed people should not fear
going to the police.
“No one especially children should be afraid of someone
they should be able to trust the most,” D’Agostino
said.
The candidates views differed on the Rampart scandal.
“The city attorney has to work day in and day out with the
police department,” Feuer said. “But the city does not
have to defend people who have done wrong.”
Tavelman said most police officers are doing their job well.
“There are about 9,000 L.A. police officers and maybe 60
involved in the Rampart scandal, that does not necessarily mean the
others aren’t doing a good job,” he added.
But D’Agostino argued the city spends too much money
defending police officers.
“I’m angry we have Rampart,” she said.
“I’m even angrier that the city has dolled out 100
million dollars on enforcement-related lawsuits.”
New York City, with three times as many police officers as L.A.,
spends the same amount, she said.
“Suing the city is easier than winning the lottery,
because the city just rolls over and pays the money. That needs to
be changed.”