Your last-minute guide to the L.A. city attorney’s race: McKinney vs. Roy
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The race for L.A. city attorney delivered a shock this spring when incumbent Hydee Feldstein Soto was ousted, an upset the likes of which hadn’t happened in nearly a century. The pair of candidates who remain have since laid out their widely differing visions of the job.
Here’s what you need to know.
The candidates
- John McKinney is an L.A. County deputy district attorney with nearly 30 years of legal experience. He vows to clean up what he calls a blighted downtown and work closely with his boss and backer, Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman, to reduce crime in the city.
- Marissa Roy is a deputy attorney general in the California Department of Justice. She plans to use the office to fight for tenant and wage workers. Her vision of the city attorney is to be the “people’s lawyer” for L.A.
After a primary battle that ousted the incumbent, L.A. County prosecutor John McKinney squares off against Marissa Roy, a deputy attorney general with the California Department of Justice, in the race to become city attorney, a position that defends L.A. from lawsuits and prosecutes misdemeanors.
In their own words
Here are the Q&As with each of the candidates.
L.A. County prosecutor John McKinney burst into the city attorney’s race earlier this year, becoming part of a historic primary upset of incumbent Hydee Feldstein Soto. If he wins this November, he’ll complete a lifelong underdog story that began with a tough upbringing in New Jersey.
Critics say candidate Marissa Roy, 34, lacks the ‘gravitas’ to be L.A. city attorney. Supporters see a chance to turn the role into a progressive champion of Angelenos.
State of the race
Roy is leading in the race to become the next Los Angeles city attorney. She was ahead by 10 percentage points in the most recent poll conducted by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies and co-sponsored by The Times.
Still, some local voters don’t know the candidates by name.
A new poll found that California Deputy Atty. Gen. Marissa Roy has a 10-point lead over her opponent, Deputy Dist. Atty. John McKinney, in the race for L.A. city attorney, but more than two-thirds of likely voters remain undecided.
Issues
Criminal justice
- McKinney is focusing his campaign on tamping down quality-of-life crimes in the city such as organized retail theft, drug dealing and street racing. McKinney would prioritize public safety and vows to go after demonstrators who block freeways or engage in conduct similar to the 2024 pro-Palestine encampments on UCLA’s campus.
- Roy wants to funnel nonviolent offenders to diversion programs such as mental health treatment or vocational training.
Hefty legal payouts
- McKinney said he’d lean on his long experience as a trial attorney to quickly decide which incoming lawsuits against the city should be fought and which should be settled in order to reduce the city’s legal costs.
- Roy wants to bring civil litigation back in-house to rein in the millions spent on outside counsel. She also argues for beefing up the claims process so legitimate suits are settled effectively and frivolous ones are fought.
How each candidate would handle Trump
- McKinney would work to balance respecting federal authority as required by law against protecting the constitutional rights of city residents and defending local resources if threatened by federal overreach.
- Roy has made fighting the Trump administration a centerpiece in her campaign.
Homelessness
- McKinney wants to use the court system as a “last resort” to leverage people into accepting services or shelter.
- Roy says renter protections will be vital to stemming the city’s homeless crisis.
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