[Editor’s Note: In an effort to present balanced coverage of the Los Angeles City Attorney’s race, leading up to the March 5 primary, we present reports from the camps of the two primary contenders.]
Termed-out former state Assemblyman Mike Feuer is padding his resume.
How else to explain Mr. Feuer’s repeated public claims that he “supervised hundreds of attorneys” when he was the head of the non-profit legal group Bet Tzedek?
“Hundreds of attorneys”? Hard to believe. Bet Tzedek, nearly 20 years after Mr. Feuer was involved with that admirable organization, now shows (on its website) that it has 25 attorneys on its staff – not “hundreds.” (Here’s the link to the website where Bet Tzedek lists its staff. The site identifies 25 staff attorneys).
“For Feuer to pad his resume is shameful,” said Rick Taylor, the chief strategist for incumbent City Attorney Carmen (Nuch) Trutanich. “It’s a shameful attempt by Feuer to mislead voters about his real qualifications and experience.”
Mr. Trutanich is seeking reelection, and Mr. Feuer is one of his opponents.
In its most recently published financial statements, Bet Tzedek reported a budget of about $8.6 million. In the mid-1980’s, when Mr. Feuer was its head, Bet Tzedek’s budget was around $2 million. It doesn’t compute that a budget of $8.6 million Bet Tzedek supports only 25 staff attorneys but on a budget of $2 million it supported, according to Mr. Feuer “hundreds” of attorneys, said Mr. Taylor.
“It is understandable that Feuer would want to pad his resume,” said Mr. Taylor. “Feuer’s resume as an attorney is extremely thin. After all, this is a man who has had to acknowledge that he never has tried a single civil or criminal case before a jury in his entire life. Never.”
[img]1697|left|Carmen Trutanich||no_popup[/img]“By contrast, City Attorney Trutanich has tried hundreds of cases.
“Mr. Trutanich also currently supervises almost 500 fulltime attorneys in the City Attorney’s office. Mr. Trutanich does not need to invent a job history for himself to pad his resume. Mr. Trutanich’s experience is priceless. Mike Feuer’s lack of experience is frightening.
“We have seen lots of people lose their jobs for padding their resumes. This is a shocking sign of Feuer's lack of honesty with voters. Feuer has a serious integrity gap,” Mr. Taylor said.
Mr. Feuer made the claim about “hundreds” on Jan. 14 at the Temple Israel of Hollywood debate, reiterated it to the Upper Mandeville Canyon Homeowners Assn. two weeks later. Earlier this week, he said it again during a debate on Larry Mantle’s KPCC’s “AirTalk” show. Here’s KPCC’s podcast link to the Tuesday debate.
At time-code 3:26 and again at 14:16, Mr. Feuer repeats his claim that he “supervised hundreds of attorneys” at Bet Tzedek. At 15:56 Mr. Trutanich challenged Mr. Feuer’s claim: “Today – today – Bet Tzedek has 25 lawyers full-time.” Mike Feuer let Trutanich’s rebuttal go unanswered. His silence speaks volumes.
At 4:58, after being pressed by Mr. Mantle, Mr. Feuer also acknowledges that he’s “never been a prosecutor.” That is not the end of it. Mr. Feuer’s lack of experience extends to the fact that he has never tried a civil, much less a criminal, case before a jury.
Mr. Schwada, director of communications for the Trutanich campaign, may be contacted at john.schwada@gmail.com
From the rival wing of the campaign, Dave Jacobson stresses the size and depth of the grassroots support that Mr. Feuer is attracting:
[img]1610|left|Mike Feuer||no_popup[/img] On the heels of his release announcing that 1,000 citizens have endorsed his City Attorney campaign, Mike Feuer today received an endorsement from the Action Democrats of the San Fernando Valley.
To view Mr. Feuer's list of citizen endorsements, click here.
The Action Democrats of the San Fernando Valley is the 19th local grassroots Democratic Club to sign onto the Feuer campaign, in addition to the Los Angeles County Democratic Party.
“Mike Feuer is the clear choice of Valley Democrats,” said Mary Ellen Early, President of the Action Democrats of the San Fernando Valley. “As a lawmaker, Mike has been a real champion for the Valley. He has pioneered some of our nation’s toughest gun laws and he’s fought to promote “LA’s BEST” and other after-school programs that keep kids off the street and out of gangs. As City Attorney, we know that Mike will lead the effort to promote neighborhood crime prevention and to keep residents safe.”
“Grassroots community support is key to winning in any citywide race,” said Mr. Feuer. “My campaign has assembled a strong community-based, winning coalition for the upcoming election.”
Mr. Feuer’s 1,000 citizen endorsements solidify his status as the consensus candidate among everyday citizens, respected elected leaders, the Democratic Party, organized labor, public safety leaders and groups, the legal community, neighborhood leaders, and groups representing women, environmentalists, the LGBT community, and more.
Further validating his broad grassroots support, in addition to today's endorsements, as of the Jan.19 fundraising deadline, the vast majority of Mr. Feuer's campaign contributions have come from individuals. Of his 2,000 contributions to date, half are under $500. Moreover, Mr. Feuer had a cash-on-hand figure that was more than triple the size of what incumbent City Attorney Carmen Trutanich reported.
For further information, see http://votemikefeuer.com/
Mr. Jacobson may be contacted at dave.r.jacobson@gmail.com
