The race began to heat up last month after a data breach that saw a massive trove of LAPD records<\/a> leaked onto the internet. That spurred the city\u2019s police union to withdraw its endorsement of Feldstein Soto and tell its members to vote instead for John McKinney, a Los Angeles County prosecutor who has received a massive influx of corporate cash to support his campaign in recent weeks.<\/p>\n The progressive challenger is Marissa Roy, a deputy attorney general in the California Department of Justice. Roy, 34, has said she would run the office as a sprawling \u201cpublic interest law firm\u201d that sues to fight wage theft and renter harassment, champions a care-first approach to homelessness and stands as a legal bulwark against the Trump administration.<\/p>\n Roy Behr, a veteran political consultant in the city, said Roy and McKinney have clear brands and target audiences, whereas Feldstein Soto may now be a candidate without a constituency. <\/p>\n \u201cIt wouldn\u2019t surprise me at all if she didn\u2019t make the runoff. What she\u2019s facing are two people with pretty clear critiques from different directions,\u201d he said of the incumbent. \u201cAll she\u2019s left with is \u2018I did an OK job in an office that people don\u2019t really understand.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Feldstein Soto, 67, says she\u2019s the steady hand the city needs as it faces a budget crisis and gears up to host the Olympics in two years. She scoffed at her opponents\u2019 lack of experience in a recent interview, dismissing Roy\u2019s campaign promises as \u201cinsane,\u201d and noting that McKinney\u2019s history as a felony trial prosecutor has little overlap with the city attorney\u2019s job. <\/p>\n \u201cThis is not the time for on-the-job training,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n A former corporate lawyer, Feldstein Soto squeaked through the primary before sailing to victory in her bid for the position in 2022. She has since taken heat for defending aggressive LAPD<\/a> crowd control tactics, and also for her refusal to prosecute hundreds involved in<\/a> 2024 campus protests against the war in Gaza. <\/p>\n Although Feldstein Soto has received endorsements from Mayor Karen Bass and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), critics say frequent personality clashes have alienated her from the city\u2019s Democratic kingmakers. McKinney called her a \u201cbully\u201d in a recent interview and said her behavior has demoralized her staff.<\/p>\n Feldstein Soto pushed back on those criticisms, touting steps she has taken to modernize the office and enhance public safety. She argued many of the allegations against her stem from a 2024 lawsuit filed by a disgruntled employee,<\/a> who claimed they were subjected to a \u201cbarrage of retaliatory actions\u201d after reporting issues within the office, including mishandling of grant funds, discriminatory treatment of co-workers and \u201cinappropriate alcohol consumption\u201d in the workplace. The case remains pending. Feldstein Soto said the employee was fired for having improper outside employment.<\/p>\n Los Angeles City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto hosts a May 12 news conference to discuss the recent prosecution and conviction of a UCLA early childhood teacher charged with sexual abuse.<\/p>\n (Carlin Stiehl \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Explaining her decision to drop most charges in the campus protest cases, Feldstein Soto pointed out many lacked enough evidence for prosecution. <\/p>\n The city\u2019s legal payouts have exploded under her watch \u2014 jumping from $64 million in the mid-2010s to $294 million in the last fiscal year. Feldstein Soto said the rising costs reflect an increase in \u201cnuclear verdicts\u201d<\/a> in civil courts nationwide.<\/p>\n![\"Los](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779532031_122_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
![\"John](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779532032_323_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n