Candidate for
District Attorney; County of Los Angeles

I am running for the Office of Los Angeles County District Attorney because despite a successful career in private practice, I have never lost my passion for public service and the noble profession of prosecutor. I have watched along with others while this once proud office has suffered defeat and failure, neglect and a lack of integrity at the top. I am challenged by the desire to depoliticize this office and to lead it to become a professional office of well disciplined lawyers. I want to instill a sense of pride and courage and an attitude that the People of our community are our clients.

During the course of this campaign I intend to provide people with a clear contrast and inform them of what they should expect from their DA. I intend to bring my years of experience as an effective prosecutor and a skilled private attorney to the job of being the People's lawyer. Within months of taking office I will establish a number of unprecedented law enforcement agendas.

First: As correctly noted by the Los Angeles Task Force for Safe Schools, our society and this county "must continue to focus on school safety and not wait for emotionally gripping tragedies to spring us into momentary action." For that reason, I will establish the first countywide task force on school safety, which will include members of law enforcement and the superintendent of every school district in Los Angeles County. Its first priority will be to initiate a no nonsense protocol to address violence and crime on our school campuses. As a first step I have already met with the Chief of Police of LAUSD as well as the President of the Board and have received their support for this plan.

Second: As the lead criminal justice official in this county, and as a father, I will elevate the role of law enforcement in the protection of children. The DA will no longer stand idly by while children are repeatedly abused at the hands of their caretakers with the only consequence being a social service plan for the family. It should be the responsibiltiy of law enforcement to engage in early intervention in child abuse matters, to stop the abuse before it escalates, perhaps to a child homicide.

Third: In order to address serious issues of integrity and ethics I will establish within the District Attorney's Office an Office of Professional Responsibility modeled on that currently in existence in the Department of Justice and United States Attorney's Offices nationwide. The public is entitled to know that when there are allegations of inlfuence peddling, prosecutorial discretion exercised on behalf of campaign contributors, or a lack of appropriate oversight of police operations that there will be a full and fair inquiry with public accountability.

Fourth: I will establish the most proactive and aggressive anti-corruption operation ever seen in this County. I will pull together the finest white collar criminal investigators and prosecutors whose mission will be to follow the money on all major taxpayer supported projects where the prospects for fraud, criminal negligence and political influence peddling are high. There will be no sacred cows. Taxpayers have the right to know that their tax dollars are safe. They have the right to expect that money dedicated to public transportation, schools, or welfare will be spent properly and will deliver on what was promised. When the public has been cheated, it should be known that those responsible will be held accountable and will be prosecuted.

I am very proud of my record as a lawyer. I have served my clients well. My success both as a prosecutor and a private attorney has consistently been guided by a creative and aggressive approach to problem solving. I bring to this race the experience of an insider coupled with the perspective of an outsider. I bring the opportunity for meaningful change. It is clear that the People of this County now need a very good lawyer and I intend to see that they get one................................