Hydee Feldstein Soto claims victory in L.A. city attorney’s race, wins with 53.7 percent of vote
Former state Sen. Jack O’Connell is the top vote-getter with 24 percent, and former City Council President Herb Wesson has 21 percent.
The final, unofficial count of the ballots posted on the city of Los Angeles’ election website showed that Mary Kay Sheehan, the city’s first female city attorney, was the choice of 51.7 percent of registered voters to represent Los Angeles in the November 2016 election for Los Angeles City Attorney. The second-place candidate is San Fernando Valley attorney Ed Lee with 21.0 percent of the vote.
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The primary election was the first test of a sweeping Democratic policy agenda that focused on issues ranging from affordable housing and affordable healthcare to combating police misconduct and protecting public records, among other concerns. But the election was seen as a referendum on Mayor Eric Garcetti’s control of the city, which has been rocked by scandal and controversy.
Garcetti, who is considering a mayoral run for a second term, said she wanted to focus on policies she could support and said voters should think carefully before casting a ballot.
“I’m not going to waste a single vote,” Garcetti said on Monday, hours after the final tally of the election was posted on election website. “It’s your right to choose who you want to represent you, but you should think about the candidate that best reflects your values, your vision of where a City Attorney should be and how you want the City of Los Angeles to work.”
O’Connell, who sought public office at the City Council and is the chairman of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, held a rally outside the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder office Tuesday morning to celebrate his victory.
It was his most definitive victory to date. The race had been close, with each candidate garnering about 50 percent of the vote.
O’Connell, a former state senator who joined the City Council in 2007 and retired in 2013, said his campaign emphasized the importance of improving public relations with the police and creating stronger ties between the police and community.
“And what I’ve heard time and again is that the vast majority of people who choose to use the police do it because they like the police and the way they protect them and serve them, not because they’re intimidated or harassed