D.A. Race: Carmen Trutanich Rakes In Cash; Jackie Lacey Picks Up Steam

By Gene Maddaus Thu., May 31 2012 at 7:18 AM

Jackie Lacey

Despite a slew of negative publicity, City Attorney Carmen Trutanich continues to rake in cash in the race for L.A. County district attorney, according to campaign finance reports released late on Wednesday.

Trutanich has brought in $1.4 million in all, more than two-and-a-half times the total of his nearest rival.

But heading into Tuesday's primary election, the real battle is for second place and a spot in the November runoff. Judging by their fundraising totals, Chief Deputy Jackie Lacey is neck-and-neck with prosecutor Alan Jackson. And while Jackson has a slim advantage, Lacey has all the momentum.

Lacey has raised $529,000 -- most of it recently. In the last four months, she brought in $310,000, which is more than she raised in all of 2011. A first-time candidate, Lacey got off to a bumpy start in 2011, and ultimately parted ways with her campaign manager and her top fundraiser.

Jackson, a Republican, got off to an earlier start and has raised slightly more money overall -- a total of $567,000. But in the first four months of 2012, he raised $190,000, falling behind Lacey's pace.

Both are competing for the chance go head-to-head with Trutanich in the fall. Lacey has two main advantages over Jackson. She has the support of D.A. Steve Cooley, and she's a Democrat. (Democrats have a 51-23 registration advantage over Republicans in L.A. County.)

But Lacey also has a big problem. She'll have to share the Democratic vote with Danette Meyers. Lacey has urged voters on the left to unite behind her candidacy. But with Meyers in the race, it's been a tough sell.

Meyers, a veteran prosecutor, has raised just $164,000 in total, but she has the backing of the Democratic Party, as well as former D.A. Gil Garcetti and the Association of Deputy District Attorneys. Meyers has also distinguished herself as the only candidate who supports abolishing the death penalty.

If Lacey does manage to advance to the general election, she will need to replenish her coffers in a hurry. At the close of the last filing period, she had just $9,000 in her account. Jackson had $34,000, while Meyers had $20,000.

Trutanich is best prepared for the fall. He raised $437,000 in the first four months of 2012, and is leading the pack with $365,000 in the bank.

Prosecutors Bobby Grace and John Breault are also in the running. Grace raised $83,000 in total, and has $9,500 in the bank. Breault hasn't filed a finance report.

Tags:

Alan Jackson, Bobby Grace, Carmen Trutanich, Danette Meyers, district attorney, Jackie Lacey, Steve Cooley

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Jake Davidson

Anyone watching Fox 11 Wednesday night will have seen a deputy district attorney ripping Trutanich to shreds - even called him a 'Con Man' and the host didn't challenge him on that. We all get it, Trutanich is a total jerk, and his lame excuse about having to suspend his media campaign hurting him more than it is helping him. Unless Trutanich wins the primary outright, he will lose the runoff because like everything else about him, he promised so much and delivered so little.

Coriolana Magna

Ahh Carmen. The biggest idiot in Southern California jurisprudence. Isn't he the moron who decided that a big publicity campaign around a 30 yr old molestation case was more important than current homicides and a backlog of rape DNA? Oh that's right, he's got Baca in his pocket and needed to sweep that pesky Richardson case under the rug.....

SZwartz

People do not how bad Trutanich is. If Trutanich is not a genuine psychopath, he does a great imitation.

The judge already called him a liar. The judge words for liar is "materially misrepresented" himself as LA's Chief Prosecutor. So right after the judge strikes the Chief Prosecutor designation from the ballot and Trutanich has to say City Prosecutor, Trutanich runs adds that call him LA's Top Prosecutor. Liar, liar, pants on fire.

Trutanich is the "city part-time petty prosecutor." The main job of the city atty is to be the lawyer for the City and its officials. When they are sued, he is supposed to defend them.

The City Atty Office also prosecutes misdemeanors like jaywalking, shoplifting, disorderly conduct. They are "petty" crimes as opposed to "felonies" like rape and murder.

You cannot be LA's Top Prosecutor if the law does not allow you to prosecute major felonies.

Truntanich is LA's Top Liar.

Iva Keys

I got a little cash here http://goo.gl/f6wxx

StanleyJones

Excellent reporting here. The tracking poll we're doing at USC shows Lacey way behind. Meyers and Grace take a big chunk of her votes. Her percolating lawsuits and other recent legal troubles seem to be giving voters pause. At this point it looks like Trutanich and Jackson in a runoff.

You can get some good information on this race at:

http://dragnetla.blogspot.com/

Yuval Kremer

And I love the way you ASSume that Nuch Trutanich, our grandstanding politican in the CA's office, will make it into the runoff. Remember Jack Weiss? Everybody thought he would be City Attorney...he had 2 Million Dollars, All the Endorsements, An Endorsement from Police Chief Poltical Tool Bill Bratton...so how'd that bet turn out? Everybody hated Jack and Everybody hates Nuch Trutanich !

Remember, "ASSuME makes an a55 out of U and Me" .

TUESDAY IS ELECTION DAY...There are LOTS of good choices running against Nuch, at least half a dozen Real Prosecutors that actually work in the County DA's Office...REMEMBER (AND TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS AND RELATIVES ASAP):

ANYBODY But nuch !!! Don't Nuke LA's Justice System.

Oh, and did the writer mention that Steve Cooley, the retiring popular District Attorney, is NOT endorsing NUCH !!!

WHO'S COOLEY ENDORSING? Jackie Lacey.

Yuval Kremer

"Meyers... has the backing of...former D.A. Gil Garcetti...Meyers has also distinguished herself as the only candidate who supports abolishing the death penalty."

So, let me get this straight. Meyers has the backing of the guy that bungled the OJ Trial, former Council Prez Eric GarSHADY's DADDY, who accidently wrote 2 checks to his own son's campaign (he broke the law, folks), and couldn't see the inherent conflict of interest in being head of the City's Ethics Commission at the same time that his son had the 2nd highest position in the city and was being accused of ethics violations? Meyers is also running for the position that handles ALL COLD-BLOODED MURDERERS in Los Angeles COUNTY (that's almost 100 Cities), and she wants to completely get rid of the Death Penalty for the guy who kills your sister, wife, or mother?

She doesn't have a snowflake's chance in hell !!!

SZwartz

If being endorsed by a Garcetti isn't the kiss of death, Los Angeles are brain dead.