While much of the attention heading into Tuesday’s election has focused on the Los Angeles mayoral race, voters will also decide several lower-profile but influential city contests that could decide how City Hall handles legal matters, financial oversight and public spending.
The ballot includes races for city attorney and city controller, along with three city measures aimed at raising revenue for general city services through changes to cannabis business taxes and taxes paid by hotel and lodging guests.
Though they typically receive less attention than the mayor’s office, the city attorney and city controller are two of only three city offices elected citywide every four years and play major roles inside City Hall. The city attorney oversees legal matters involving the city, while the controller monitors spending, conducts audits, investigates fraud, waste and abuse.
Meanwhile, Measure CB, TC and TT ask voters to weigh in on proposals expected to generate additional revenues for services such as street and sidewalk repairs, emergency response, fire protection and parks.
City Attorney race
Incumbent Hydee Feldstein Soto, 67, is seeking a second term after becoming the first woman elected to the office in 2022.
A former commercial finance and bankruptcy attorney, Feldstein Soto has centered her reelection bid on public safety, government accountability and her office’s efforts to protect workers, tenants and immigrant communities.
During her first term, the office filed lawsuits challenging federal immigration enforcement actions, pursued price-gouging cases following last year’s wildfires and created a Public Rights Branch focused on consumer protection, workers’ rights and environmental justice.
But her tenure has also drawn criticism. Opponents have pointed to rising legal payouts against the city, internal workplace disputes and allegations that she improperly handled certain personnel and prosecutorial matters. Feldstein Soto has denied wrongdoing, arguing that rising liability costs reflect broader national trends involving increasingly large jury awards, post-pandemic litigation backlogs and rising settlement values.
The race has attracted challengers from across the political spectrum.
John McKinney, 58, a deputy district attorney and veteran prosecutor who has spent more than 25 years in the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, has campaigned on public safety, fiscal accountability and reducing the city’s growing legal liabilities.
McKinney, who prosecuted the killers of rapper Nipsey Hussle and USC student Xinran Ji, argues that the city attorney’s office should take a more proactive role in preventing costly litigation, improving legal oversight within city departments and prosecuting crimes that affect neighborhood quality of life.
He has also called for tighter oversight of outside legal spending and city lawsuits, saying better legal management can help protect taxpayer dollars.
Aida Ashouri, 43, a former deputy city attorney and immigration and legal aid attorney, has centered her campaign on civil liberties, immigrant rights, tenant protections and government transparency.
Ashouri, who has served on the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council and Griffith Park Advisory Board, argues the office should place greater emphasis on constitutional protections, restorative justice and community-based solutions to public safety challenges.
She has also called for expanding enforcement against wage theft, tenant harassment and environmental violations, while advocating for a less punitive approach to homelessness and substance abuse. Ashouri argued the city attorney’s office relies too heavily on punitive enforcement in some cases, advocating instead for mediation, restorative justice and rehabilitation-focused approaches where appropriate.
Deputy Attorney General Marissa Roy, 34, has framed her candidacy around transforming the city attorney’s office into what she describes as the city’s “largest public interest law firm,” using litigation and enforcement actions to protect tenants, workers, consumers and immigrant communities.
Roy, who previously worked in the city attorney’s office and now serves in the California Department of Justice, points to her experience pursuing wage theft, tenant protection and consumer protection cases. She has argued that the office should play a more active role in challenging the Trump administration, defending sanctuary city policies and pursuing public-interest lawsuits against corporations and landlords that violate the law.
Roy has also criticized the city’s rising legal liabilities and the office’s reliance on outside counsel, arguing stronger compliance efforts and earlier legal intervention could help reduce costly litigation.
In the city attorney’s race, a candidate who receives more than 50% of the vote in the primary wins outright. If no candidate reaches that threshold, the two top finishers will advance to a Nov. 3 runoff.
To read each candidate’s full responses to the Voter Guide questionnaire, go to dailynews.com/voter-guide/.
City Controller race
Voters will also decide the race for city controller, an office responsible for auditing city departments, reviewing spending and serving as the city’s independent financial watchdog.
Incumbent Controller Kenneth Mejia, 35, is seeking a second-term after building a high-profile public image around data transparency, audits and publicly accessible financial tools. During his first term, the office released a series of dashboards tracking homelessness spending, city liabilities and other government operations, while conducting audits of homelessness programs, LAPD operations, affordable housing oversight and other city functions.
Supporters credit Mejia with making city finances more accessible and increasing public scrutiny of government spending. His office has also pointed to investigations that led to fraud prosecutions and policy changes involving homelessness programs, contracting practices and departmental oversight.
Critics, however, have questioned whether the controller’s increased emphasis on transparency and oversight have translated into better outcomes for residents, while arguing the controller should take a more collaborative approach to working with City Hall.
Challenger Zach Sokoloff, 37, an asset management executive and former public school teacher, has focused his campaign on fiscal stability, economic growth and improving city services. Sokoloff has called for closer collaboration between the controller’s office and other parts of City Hall, while advocating for audits and evaluations of major spending programs, homelessness initiatives and policies affecting business development and job creation.
With only two candidates on the ballot, the winner will be determined in the June 2 primary and no runoff will be required.
To read each candidate’s full responses to the Voter Guide questionnaire, go to dailynews.com/voter-guide/.
Ballot measures
In addition to city races, voters will decide on three city revenue measures that would direct additional funding to the city’s general fund.
Measure CB would apply the city’s existing cannabis business taxes to unlicensed cannabis businesses, subjecting them to the same gross receipts taxes already paid by licensed operators. City officials estimate the measure could generate roughly $30 million to $35 million annually for general city services, including public safety, street repairs and parks.
Measure TC would update the city’s hotel tax rules by requiring online travel companies and booking platforms to collect and remit the city’s transient occupancy tax based on the full amount paid by hotel guests, including certain fees and service charges. Officials estimate the measure would generate around $5 million annually for city services.
Measure TT would go further by updating both hotel tax collection rules and increasing the city’s transient occupancy tax paid by hotel guests from 14% to 16% through the end of 2028, before dropping to 15%. City officials estimate the measure could generate between $22 million to $44 million annually for the general fund.
All three measures would take effect if approved by a majority of voters.
According to ballot materials, Measure TC and TT are intended to be complementary rather than conflicting measures. If both receive majority voter approval, the provisions of both measures would be enacted.