Marissa Roy is on track to become the next LA city attorney after leading John McKinney by about two to one in the Nov. 3 runoff. The county has not certified the result, but news outlets project Roy as the winner.
LA city attorney vote count
Roy had 631,215 votes, or 67.91%, and McKinney had 298,265, or 32.09%, in the LA County Registrar-Recorder results page as of Nov. 6 at 10:59 p.m. The county had counted 2,866,549 ballots, a 48.52% turnout. Ballots still arrive and get processed, so the numbers will change slightly. However, the gap is far larger than any late-ballot shift would close. The county has until Dec. 3 to certify.
Fox LA, citing City News Service, reported the early lead on Nov. 4. LAist says Roy has led since polls closed.
Who the candidates are
Roy is a California deputy attorney general. McKinney is an LA County deputy district attorney. In the June primary, both advanced past incumbent Hydee Feldstein Soto, who lost her seat. Roy would be the city’s second woman in the job, after Feldstein Soto.
The two campaigns offered different priorities. Roy said she would pursue companies that violate wage laws and landlords who harass tenants. She also said she would challenge the Trump administration in court. McKinney said he would prosecute chronically homeless people in order to place them in treatment. A UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll released in late October showed Roy ahead by 17 points among likely voters.
What the office does
The city attorney prosecutes misdemeanors committed inside the city. The office also advises the City Council, the mayor and city departments, and it defends the city in lawsuits. So the choice affects how the city handles code enforcement, tenant cases and legal claims against it.
Roy joins a new city leadership team. Nithya Raman is the mayor-elect, as we reported in our mayor-elect coverage. Neither the sources we reviewed nor the county gives a swearing-in date for Roy, so check the city for that. Certification comes first.
For more local politics and services, see the Los Angeles and California hub. This article is general information, not legal advice.