John McKinney, Candidate for Los Angeles City Attorney

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And now it's Debra Kobelt Live.
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Hi, everybody. Thank you so much for joining me today
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on Debra Kobelt Live. We have a very special guest,
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John McKinney. Currently, he is the Los Angeles County Deputy
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District Attorney under Nathan Hockman. And Mr. McKinney is running
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for the L.A. City Attorney. And I wanted to have
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you on, John. First of all, thank you for being here.
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Because a lot of people don't quite understand what it
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is that you're currently doing. what it is and the
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importance of the LA city attorney. Like what will you
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be doing? How it matters to the daily life of the,
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of a Los Angeles citizen. So thank you for joining
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us and tell us the job that you're running for
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LA city attorney. What is that? What would you be doing?
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All right. Well, good morning, Deborah, and thank you for
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having me on this morning and following Tracy Park. I
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caught some of that interview and she was really high
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spirited as she normally is.
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She is. Yeah.
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Let me see if I could capture some of that
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energy and passion that she had this morning. The city
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attorney's office is the most important but lesser known office
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in city government. And let me go through what the
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city attorney does. The city attorney in Los Angeles wears
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two hats. One hat is as the city prosecutor. The
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city attorney is charged with prosecuting all of the misdemeanor
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adult crimes in the city. So those are things like
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possession of an illegal weapon, DUI, domestic violence, sexual battery, trespass,
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retail theft under $ 950, vandalism. The real quality of life crimes,
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even violent crimes, if they're not violent enough to be
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a felony, are all prosecuted by the city attorney. These
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are the kind of crimes that affect us in the aggregate,
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even more than felony crimes, unless of course you've been
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the victim of a felony. And those crimes are not
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being consistently enforced across our city. And that's been true
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for a very long time. And we can get into
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a little bit about why that's happening. But the city
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attorney also plays another very important role in the city.
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The city attorney is also lawyer for the city of
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Los Angeles, the general counsel for what is a municipal corporation.
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And in that capacity, almost nothing happens in the city
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of Los Angeles that doesn't pass through the city attorney's
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office for legal compliance. The city attorney, for example, is
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charged with writing all of the ordinances for the city.
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executing those ordinances. The city attorney defends the city against lawsuits.
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You know, we have over 3,000 lawsuits pending against the
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city right now. The city attorney also sues on behalf
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of the city if there is a bad actor, like
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a bad landlord or a bad corporation or polluter that's
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impacting the quality of life of Los Angeles. The city
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attorney is the person in government who will hold that
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entity accountable. The city attorney staffs some of the big
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proprietories in Los Angeles, like LAX Airports, the Port of
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Los Angeles, and the LADWP. And the city attorney is
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also the legal advisor to the mayor, each council member,
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and each department head. So those are some of the
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major responsibilities of the city attorney. We can go into
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what the city attorney does on the criminal side in
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more detail, if you like, or the civil side in
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more detail. But that's sort of the broad overview of
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what the office does.
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Well, yes, I would like to go a little more
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detail in terms of, you know, the misdemeanors that you
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would be handling because this matters to our everyday life.
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And that's the thing I think a lot of people
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aren't realizing. How would you be different than the incumbent,
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than the person who's currently holding this job? And how
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would you be different than the person you're running up against,
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Marissa Roy.
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Right. So let's talk about the criminal branch and the
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role of the city attorney as prosecutor. I've been a
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prosecutor for 28 years with the County of Los Angeles.
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I've made that my life's work. I'm really very passionate
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about standing for communities and with communities and standing up
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for victims of crime and making sure that our criminal
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justice system operates fairly for everyone. including the offenders. And
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I've done that very well over 28 years. I've handled
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thousands of cases. I've taken over 100 cases to jury trial,
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and I was successful in those cases 97% of the time.
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That's incredible. Keep going.
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I want to take a moment here just to point
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out that Marissa Roy, my opponent in this race, has
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never tried a case. Not one. And she's run it
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into oversee the work of 550 lawyers, no trial experience.
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But going back to the role of the prosecutor, the
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role of the city attorney on the prosecution side, again,
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this is to enforce the laws, to improve the quality
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of life, to make our streets safer, to make it
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more possible for businesses to operate, to attract investment to
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the city, to attract tourists to the city. which is
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how this city moves forward and grows. It all starts
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with public safety. And closely related to that is tackling
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the homeless situation, getting people off of our sidewalks and
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into a stabilized environment where they can get the care
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and treatment that they need to hopefully one day regain
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some semblance of independence. The city attorney can also play
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a role in that on the prosecution side of the office. But,
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you know, we have a city attorney now who had
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no criminal law experience, no prosecution experience. And then also
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Marissa Roy has none either. And she came into office
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and right away she got rid of the most popular
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program in the city of Los Angeles. It was called
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the Neighborhood Prosecutor Program, started by Rocky Delgadillo back in
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the 1990s. Rocky has endorsed me for city attorney, along
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with three other former city attorneys, by the way. And
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this program embedded a deputy city attorney in every police
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district to service the needs of each individual community. So
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the neighborhood prosecutor was there to interface with homeowners associations,
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neighborhood council groups, and residents to deal with problems that
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didn't necessarily rise to the level of a criminal case.
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The idea is let's take care of these problems before
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they become a criminal matter or before they blow up
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into a big lawsuit. They were there to deal with
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issues that, frankly, residents have a hard time getting anybody
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in city government to address. They could call their neighborhood
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prosecutor who knew how to activate the police and activate
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the city attorney's office. The current city attorney got rid
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of that program almost immediately after she got into office.
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She sort of rebranded it. It was never what it was.
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And I have pledged to bring that back very early
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on in my administration if I'm elected. I want a
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neighborhood prosecutor in every neighborhood across the city the way
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it was before the current city attorney. Now, my opponent
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has talked about bringing back some semblance of it because
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she knows how popular it is. But she wants to
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bring back what she called neighborhood advocates. She doesn't like
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to use the word prosecutor because she's really not that
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into that part of the job. She's not really interested
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in enforcing the law. She has gone on record in
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the past supporting a program of suspending prosecution of certain misdemeanors.
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She has said publicly that she won't enforce local ordinance 4118,
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which is the safe parks and schools ordinance that keeps
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encampments from setting up in front of schools and parks.
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So it's very important to have a city attorney but
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not only has a background in prosecution, but also values
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the importance of it.
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You know, you're just someone who really wants to uphold
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the law. We've gotten so far away from that for
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some time now. And what is it that so many
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voters are attracted to when so many people really don't
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even seem to be interested in upholding the law, but
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rather skirting around it? And by that, I'm talking about
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your opponent and also the way things are being currently
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handled with the L.A. city attorney. Could you talk to
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me about that? Is it that voters are not necessarily
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doing their homework and laying it out? You know how
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you put pros and cons on a piece of paper?
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Are they not doing that? Are they going to the
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polls blinded? Because this is just common sense, what you're saying,
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I guess is what I'm looking at.
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Yeah, look, I don't think our criminal laws ask that
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much of people, especially misdemeanors. Don't get drunk and get
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in the car and drive. Keep your hands to yourself.
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Don't steal other people's property. Don't beat your partner. These
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are basic things that doesn't ask a whole lot of
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people to comply with. So they shouldn't be controversial and
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it shouldn't be controversial that we hold people accountable when
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they cross those lines. So I don't really know what's
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going on in the minds of people who think that
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it's a good idea to defund police or defund jails
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or close jails or think we can have a society
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without that kind of accountability. Except to say that for
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the last 15 or 20 years, especially here in California,
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especially here in L.A., we've sort of had a marketing
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campaign against police officers. and prosecutors, really talking about criminal
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offenders as if they're the real victims, completely ignoring actual victims.
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We saw a lot of this through the Gascon era.
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When he was voted out of office, I thought, okay, well,
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the winds of change are starting to blow in the
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other direction. And they are, but not as strongly as
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we need. And look, some of this comes from a
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desire for criminal justice reform after the 90s and 2000s,
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where there was a need for some reform, but we
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have completely overshot the bullseye. The pendulum has completely swung
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too far in the other direction. And now we have
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a lot of nonsensical laws that that allow people to
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go through the revolving door of the justice system no
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sooner than they're arrested for one bad act and back
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out on the street committing another one. And so we
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have a lot of work to do to correct that.
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Some of that is at the local level. A lot
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of it is at the state level. But in the meantime,
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we need to have serious-minded leaders who are going to
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enforce the laws that we have.
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Why do you want to run for this position as
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opposed to staying with what you're doing with the L.A.
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County Deputy District Attorney's Office?
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Why? Well, because I think I can be a lot
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more impactful than the current city attorney who's no longer
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in the race. So that's kind of a move point
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at this point. But certainly I can be a better
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city attorney for the city of Los Angeles than Marissa Roy.
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Marissa Roy is basically the second coming of George Gascon,
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except she'll have more power. because she has the power
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of being the general counsel for the city of Los Angeles.
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She will take this city in the wrong, absolute wrong
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direction when it comes to safe streets, when it comes
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to responsible development or opening businesses. She will chase investment
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out of this city because she has already said that
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she is going to target homeowners, small businesses, corporations, And
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she always mentions Trump because she knows that triggers people
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in Los Angeles. But she is a completely mismatched person
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for what the job actually is in the same way
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that George Gascon was.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Talk to me a little bit about your background. How
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did you get here? You were born in New Jersey,
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which is where I was born. I know that you were,
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I think you were born in the same city as
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my husband, actually, in Passaic, New Jersey. And, you know,
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hearing about your young life, about your parents and losing
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your parents, why don't you tell our audience about you
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and how you came up the system and how you
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even ended up in Los Angeles doing this?
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Yeah, it's been quite a journey, Debra, let me tell you.
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I got dealt a pretty tough hand early in life.
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I was born into a low income working class neighborhood,
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which wasn't a problem. The problems for me started when
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my mother passed away. My mother passed away when I
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was two years old. And then my father passed away
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when I was five years old. There was a brief
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time there where it was unclear as to whether I
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would go into foster care or not. But I had
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a sister who stepped in and stepped up. In a
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big way, because my sister had already had three children
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of her own. She had been married. Her marriage fell
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apart just at the time that my father passed away
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and left me and another sibling to be taken care of.
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My sister stepped up and took us both in. And
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she raised us as a single parent, head of household,
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paycheck to paycheck existence, making a half a gallon of
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milk stretch for a family of five. through a week
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of cereal and whatever else we needed milk for. It
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was tough, but she ran a great household. She kept
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us safe. She kept us together. And then her work
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ethic was so strong, it couldn't help but rub off
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on me. Her guidance kept me out of trouble. Crack
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cocaine hit the streets of our city in the 80s,
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just when I was a teenager, just at the right
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age to maybe drop out of school and go to
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the corner and sling dope and make a lot of money.
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A lot of my friends did it. I had to
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make the decision not to do it every single day.
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My sister was sort of my North star and keeping
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me off the block. I ended up going to work
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full time. I did all kinds of jobs, fast food.
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I was a driver, parts delivery driver. I worked for
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a carpenter. I worked for a painting contractor, anything I
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can get because at 19, I was out of the house.
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I was already paying rent, paying for transportation, paying my
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utilities and So I worked full-time days and started going
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to school full-time nights, summers, and weekends. Got my undergraduate
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degree from Rutgers University and had an opportunity to come
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out here for law school. You went to Rutgers too,
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all right.
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Yeah, I'm a Rutgers grad, but yeah.
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Charlotte Knights.
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Yeah, Charlotte Knights.
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Came out here for law school in the mid-90s, 1994,
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August 5th, 1994 to be exact. I'll never forget the day.
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Jumped on the super shuttle. It took me to Westwood.
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I had two suitcases, $ 250 and a desire to learn
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the law. I spent the next three years studying at
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UCLA and after graduation went right to work in public
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service because I wanted to give something back to Los
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Angeles for giving me the opportunity to attend one of
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the top law schools in the world. I didn't know
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that I would stay 28 years, but here I am
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28 years later, and it's been quite a rewarding career
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at the DA's office. I'm currently the director of specialized prosecutions.
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So I oversee the work now of over 300 lawyers
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and staff every day. By the way, my opponent, Marissa Roy,
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has no management experience at all. So she's never tried
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a case and she has no management experience. I oversee
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the work of eight different divisions, and these men and
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women prosecute some of the most impactful cases in the county.
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When the Reiners got murdered, on that day, the very
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day the news broke, we were already on the phone
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as a legal team preparing to assist in the investigation
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and eventually take the case. When Celeste Rivas was found
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in the trunk of a Tesla that was owned by
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D4VD or David Burke, We were already working with the
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investigators on that to set up the grand jury, which
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eventually led to the preliminary hearing that everyone saw. When
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Nicole Linton blew through the intersection at Slauson and La
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Brea and killed six people, that case was also handled
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by my bureau. So we handle the most consequential cases
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in the county. I'm called upon to make high-impact legal
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decisions multiple times a day. I'm very comfortable with it.
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I'm an advisor to the department head, who is the
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district attorney, Nathan Hoffman, who has also endorsed me, by
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the way. And so that's been my journey from Pasek,
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a kid who lost both parents before he finished kindergarten,
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to the director of specialized prosecutions for the largest local
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prosecuting agency in the country. And now I want to
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take everything that I've learned both personally and professionally to
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City Hall to help this city get back on its
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feet in a big way.
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Talk to me about the importance of 4118, would you?
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Yes, 4118. It is a local ordinance, meaning it was
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passed by our city council, signed by our mayor. Tracy
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Park referred to it as the Safe Parks and Schools Act.
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It is basically the.
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Anti-encampment law that is supposed to prohibit really any obstructions
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of our sidewalks or encampments in our parks and other
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public places.
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It particularly carves out protection for sensitive areas like parks, schools, libraries, hospitals,
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and it basically proscribes any encampments within 500 feet of
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those areas in particular, but can also protect other places
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around the city. It is a necessary tool in the
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toolbox of the city attorney to help by working with
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law enforcement, keep those public spaces available to the public.
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But it also gives us an opportunity to leverage the
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people who are living on the sidewalk into stabilized treatment
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and care whenever they happen to run afoul of that
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particular law.
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People seem to forget it's against the law. to camp
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out on the sidewalk. I mean, I remember back in
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the day when you'd be called upon if you were
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spitting or throwing your gum on the sidewalk. And now
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it just seems as though anybody can live there, lay there,
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do their business there. We've gotten so far away from
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the law and order of where we need to be
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just to have a sensible life here. What went wrong?
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And I feel like there's a turn happening, but that's
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why this your election and so many others are so critical,
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so critical because we have to keep going in that direction.
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How do we continue in that direction? How do you
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get the message out? And how did we even get
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here in the first place? Because if people want more
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of it, of what's brought us here, I don't get it.
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I guess that's what I'm saying. So what do you say?
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The solution begins with rebuilding trust. between our government and
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our residents. And in particular, the arms of government, like
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policing and prosecutions and the courts. Like I said, there
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was a deliberate campaign to turn the public against those
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institutions for the last 20 years. We've been boom, and
339
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scapegoated for every problem in the city and the county
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of Los Angeles. It's all been blamed on a bad
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criminal justice system. And a lot of those narratives were
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false and politicized to advance other interests. But we now
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have the burden. When I say we, I mean those
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of us in government who work for those organizations and institutions.
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We have an obligation to be transparent, to reveal what
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we're actually doing, to teach people, for example, what the
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role of the DA is, what the role of the
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city attorney is, show our statistics to people, have an
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open door, and really rebuild the trust with the community
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so that when those false narratives are broadcasted, People in
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the community will say, no, that's not true. And, you know,
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there's falsity all the time now. And with social media,
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it gets amplified in a big way. And we're still
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at a point where people tend to believe whatever they
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see on television or online. And it's because it comes
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from actually a good place. They think that if something
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is on TV, it must be true. Otherwise, you couldn't
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put it on TV. Or if they see something in print,
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it must be true. Because they believe there's some filter
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that would keep falsehoods out of print. And we have
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to let them know, no, you have to be skeptical
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of everything you see and hear and question it. And
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you'll often find that what you see and hear is
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either misleading or completely untrue.
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You have to work closely with the mayor's office, or
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you would be as city attorney. We've got a mayor's
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race coming up with Mayor Bass, who already knows so
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many of the issues that have happened there. We've got
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Nithya Raman, her opponent. Who, in your estimation, would be
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the best interest of the people of Los Angeles or
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certainly the easiest for you to work with to get
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done what you need to get done?
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Okay, great question. I have not endorsed either one. Neither
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one has endorsed me. But when I look at each candidate,
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I'm thinking first and foremost about public safety. That's my
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number one priority coming in as city attorney if I
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get elected. So I'm looking at them in terms of
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who will be the best mayor for public safety. And
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for me, it's a pretty easy answer. And that person
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is Karen Bass. hands down. She is the best person
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for public safety for Los Angeles, and I can give
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you a variety of reasons why. Let's start with the
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fact that Nithya Raman has accepted the endorsement of the DSA.
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Marissa Roy, my opponent, is an actual member of the DSA,
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and we know that the DSA wants to defund and
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abolish policing and abolish our jails. They are not interested
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really in enforcing the law. They tend to and they
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ignore victims completely. So that tells you right there where
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Nithya is on public safety versus the mayor. The mayor
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has also been very good to the Los Angeles Police
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Department for the purpose of trying to retain officers. We
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have a lot of officers who are retiring. I mean,
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they feel unappreciated or underappreciated in the city. They can
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be hired very easily by surrounding cities, smaller agencies that
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can compete with the wages and benefits of Los Angeles.
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And those communities will appreciate them better. And the working
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conditions are not as dangerous as they are in Los Angeles.
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So the mayor has been very aggressive at offering wages
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and benefit packages to LAPD to try and keep that
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expertise here in the city, especially with the Olympics coming up.
401
00:23:44.390 --> 00:23:47.170
I also like that Mayor Bass supports the current chief
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of police. Jim McDonald is a very, very solid lawman.
403
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He works well with the rank and file in that department.
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He is in place with less than 600 days before
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the Olympics with a plan to secure this city during
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the Olympics. And he's doing it with probably one third
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the force that Los Angeles really needs. Nithya Raman has
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said she's pledged that she would fire him very early on.
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And there's rumor that she would even consider bringing in
410
00:24:17.470 --> 00:24:20.859
George Gaston, which would be just, you couldn't make it.
411
00:24:20.910 --> 00:24:23.289
You can't make this stuff up. If you wrote this,
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they would run you out of the room as writing
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ridiculous copy. But that is a very real possibility. So
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for all of those reasons, Karen Bass has shown that
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she cares about public safety. She takes this seriously. And
416
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Nithya Raman really has no experience in public safety. and
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has signaled that she will do things that I think
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will be catastrophic. So as city attorney, I have a
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better chance, I believe, working with Mayor Bass than I
420
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would with Nithya Raman.
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What do you want to say to people who are undecided,
422
00:24:54.779 --> 00:24:56.279
who aren't sure if they want to vote for you
423
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or not? What do you say to them? Wait, give
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them the big pitch.
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These are people who are undecided about my race.
426
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Yeah.
427
00:25:06.769 --> 00:25:10.299
Well, let's start with experience, right? There's a huge experience
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00:25:10.420 --> 00:25:13.519
gap between me and my opponent. I've already talked about
429
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my work as the director in the DA's office. I
430
00:25:17.039 --> 00:25:21.109
oversee a large legal team. I already engage in the
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same kind of leadership and management responsibilities that the city
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attorney will face against an opponent who's never been assigned
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to manage anyone or anything. Zero management experience, looking to
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take over one of the largest law firms in the state,
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and the second largest municipal law firm in the country. Already,
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people must be scratching their head at that stark contrast
437
00:25:46.609 --> 00:25:50.589
in experience. I've tried over 100 cases, very successful. She's
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00:25:50.630 --> 00:25:53.569
never tried a case. The city is facing 3,000 lawsuits
439
00:25:53.589 --> 00:25:59.039
today with a likely probability of a liability of $ 1. 5 billion.
440
00:26:00.339 --> 00:26:03.019
That means the next city attorney is going to have
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to employ a risk management system cut down on the
442
00:26:07.470 --> 00:26:11.650
number of these lawsuits throughout city government, but also deal
443
00:26:11.670 --> 00:26:14.849
with the 3,000 lawsuits that are already filed. And how
444
00:26:15.150 --> 00:26:17.430
do you do that if you've never gone to trial yourself?
445
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How do you sit down with scenes and trial lawyers
446
00:26:19.829 --> 00:26:23.029
to discuss trial strategy and the dynamics of a case
447
00:26:23.109 --> 00:26:25.410
and the strength of a case, whether a case should
448
00:26:25.430 --> 00:26:27.789
be settled or whether it should be fought if you've
449
00:26:27.890 --> 00:26:33.920
never tried one case? Again, very stark contrast in experience.
450
00:26:34.829 --> 00:26:38.589
And then my priority is aligned with what voters in
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the last poll that was taken say they want to see.
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They want to see public safety, cleaner streets. They want
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00:26:44.309 --> 00:26:48.430
people off of the sidewalks. They know it's inhumane. They
454
00:26:48.509 --> 00:26:51.849
know that it is horrific that five people die on
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00:26:51.910 --> 00:26:55.890
our sidewalks every day. They've tolerated it long enough. They've
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00:26:55.910 --> 00:26:58.450
spent enough money. They don't want to see it anymore.
457
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And they want serious-minded people. I do most of my
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interaction with the public on Instagram. So for folks who
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are on Instagram, you can find me at John McKinney
460
00:27:08.329 --> 00:27:13.599
underscore and also on Facebook at the same location, John
461
00:27:13.640 --> 00:27:17.019
McKinney underscore. What I need people to do is talk
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00:27:17.059 --> 00:27:21.779
about me because I think when any reasonable, objective person,
463
00:27:21.819 --> 00:27:25.160
you know what my opponent is doing. First of all,
464
00:27:25.460 --> 00:27:30.430
she hasn't been very honest about her work history. She
465
00:27:30.529 --> 00:27:34.369
said that she worked for the city attorney's office and
466
00:27:34.410 --> 00:27:37.829
that she even fought a wage theft case that returned
467
00:27:37.930 --> 00:27:40.579
tens of thousands of dollars to workers. It gives people
468
00:27:40.599 --> 00:27:43.319
the impression, Oh, she was a deputy city attorney. What
469
00:27:43.380 --> 00:27:47.019
she was was a volunteer with the city attorney's office.
470
00:27:47.059 --> 00:27:49.740
She's never been an employee of the city attorney's office.
471
00:27:50.339 --> 00:27:53.119
And as a volunteer, she played the role that volunteers
472
00:27:53.269 --> 00:27:58.480
play a very minor role. Wow. Um, So she has
473
00:27:58.509 --> 00:28:01.730
this kind of fast and loose relationship with the truth.
474
00:28:01.769 --> 00:28:05.069
So what she's doing now, you know I'm a lifelong Democrat.
475
00:28:05.130 --> 00:28:08.170
I voted in my first election at 19 years old.
476
00:28:09.529 --> 00:28:13.730
But she's sending out mailers and doing commercials with my
477
00:28:13.809 --> 00:28:18.049
picture next to Trump and J.D. Vance, trying to use
478
00:28:18.309 --> 00:28:23.309
fear tactics against Democrats who really care about those things
479
00:28:24.490 --> 00:28:27.119
to get them to not even consider me as a candidate.
480
00:28:27.779 --> 00:28:30.140
But what I just need is people to take a
481
00:28:30.160 --> 00:28:33.619
look for themselves. You do the comparison and the contrast.
482
00:28:33.660 --> 00:28:36.230
You listen to what I say the city needs and
483
00:28:36.269 --> 00:28:39.049
what she wants to do. And I'm very comfortable then
484
00:28:39.109 --> 00:28:41.210
that we'll be successful on November 3rd.
485
00:28:41.829 --> 00:28:45.289
You have to be successful on November 3rd. We just
486
00:28:45.309 --> 00:28:48.970
need some decent law and order. We're not even asking
487
00:28:48.990 --> 00:28:52.789
for too much. Just to keep us safe. Keep, you know,
488
00:28:52.809 --> 00:28:56.710
the people who need help, get them help. Fight things fairly.
489
00:28:57.789 --> 00:29:00.329
It's not that much of an order. And as to
490
00:29:00.369 --> 00:29:04.210
your point, she is a DSA member and that's a
491
00:29:04.250 --> 00:29:06.910
whole different situation than a Democrat.
492
00:29:07.269 --> 00:29:10.390
I mean, that's reason alone. That really is reason alone
493
00:29:10.450 --> 00:29:13.170
not to vote for her because she is a member.
494
00:29:13.269 --> 00:29:19.039
She has pledged to govern with a private organization. My
495
00:29:19.099 --> 00:29:23.839
fidelity will be to the people. To no organization. She's
496
00:29:24.200 --> 00:29:27.799
pledged to allow another organization to have input on the
497
00:29:27.839 --> 00:29:30.900
decisions that she would make as city attorney. That's disqualifying
498
00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:35.029
all by itself. And that's before you get into their
499
00:29:35.089 --> 00:29:39.970
crazy platform and what they believe should happen in this city. Yeah.
500
00:29:40.630 --> 00:29:44.599
How important are the upcoming Olympics to this city and
501
00:29:44.630 --> 00:29:46.380
keeping law and order and all that? That's going to
502
00:29:46.420 --> 00:29:49.160
be huge for you. That's going to be huge.
503
00:29:50.240 --> 00:29:54.539
I'm concerned because the city has negotiated its way into
504
00:29:54.859 --> 00:29:58.440
guaranteeing that these Olympics are successful. We have to pick
505
00:29:58.500 --> 00:30:04.049
up the tab for any cost overruns or any lost revenue.
506
00:30:04.950 --> 00:30:08.450
And that can be enormous. But I'm also concerned because
507
00:30:08.509 --> 00:30:12.210
people are planning now whether they're going to come to
508
00:30:12.269 --> 00:30:15.609
Los Angeles for the Olympics. I'm talking about the international travelers.
509
00:30:16.109 --> 00:30:16.589
Right, right.
510
00:30:17.849 --> 00:30:20.049
Now is the time that the city should have its
511
00:30:20.109 --> 00:30:24.150
best foot forward. Now is the time that our hospitality
512
00:30:25.190 --> 00:30:31.269
industry should be, you know, popular. Hotels, restaurants, businesses. I
513
00:30:31.309 --> 00:30:34.769
heard Tracy talk about some success on her side of
514
00:30:34.809 --> 00:30:38.150
town with some new restaurants and businesses opening. But there
515
00:30:38.170 --> 00:30:41.930
are many other places across our city, downtown in particular,
516
00:30:41.970 --> 00:30:45.440
where that's not happening. In fact, we're losing iconic restaurants,
517
00:30:45.480 --> 00:30:48.619
it seems, by the day. These are legacy restaurants.
518
00:30:48.859 --> 00:30:49.319
Yeah, we are.
519
00:30:49.599 --> 00:30:54.119
Other places. So I'm worried about the success of these games.
520
00:30:55.400 --> 00:30:59.529
I think the crime problem, the homeless problem, threatens to
521
00:30:59.589 --> 00:31:02.309
keep people away. We didn't see a lot of travel
522
00:31:02.349 --> 00:31:06.210
to Los Angeles during FIFA events. Some of the bars
523
00:31:06.259 --> 00:31:10.480
did okay, but hotels didn't really see any uptick in business.
524
00:31:11.420 --> 00:31:14.319
And I'm concerned that that might happen during the Olympics
525
00:31:14.460 --> 00:31:18.440
if people are getting the message that this isn't a
526
00:31:18.559 --> 00:31:23.519
welcoming place, a safe place, or a vibrant place. But
527
00:31:23.660 --> 00:31:27.799
if we do it right... It will pay off for decades,
528
00:31:27.880 --> 00:31:30.940
just like the 84 Olympics. This isn't just a one
529
00:31:31.000 --> 00:31:34.849
month thing for Los Angeles. It is a once in
530
00:31:34.890 --> 00:31:39.450
a lifetime opportunity to promote this city for years to come.
531
00:31:40.029 --> 00:31:43.049
If people come here and have a great time, they'll
532
00:31:43.089 --> 00:31:45.369
come back over and over again. But more importantly, when
533
00:31:45.390 --> 00:31:47.230
they go home, they'll tell their friends, you got to
534
00:31:47.269 --> 00:31:50.269
go to Los Angeles. That's what we want to be.
535
00:31:50.309 --> 00:31:52.730
We want to put on some great games, great competition.
536
00:31:52.759 --> 00:31:56.670
And that's important. But for the city, it's much more
537
00:31:56.730 --> 00:32:00.400
important that we be seen as one of the greatest
538
00:32:00.480 --> 00:32:01.279
places on earth.
539
00:32:01.980 --> 00:32:04.039
Gosh, John, don't we just want to have fun again
540
00:32:04.079 --> 00:32:07.140
in this city? There's so many issues that we can't
541
00:32:07.200 --> 00:32:09.529
just go and have a good time because there's so
542
00:32:09.569 --> 00:32:12.069
much on our plate as a city. It's weighing heavy,
543
00:32:12.549 --> 00:32:15.170
you know, and we can change that with the right leadership.
544
00:32:15.230 --> 00:32:19.380
That absolutely can change. with the right leadership. People read
545
00:32:19.920 --> 00:32:24.480
about this. Look up on John McKinney's website. It's a
546
00:32:24.579 --> 00:32:27.630
very comprehensive website. I will say, I was telling my husband,
547
00:32:28.069 --> 00:32:30.569
for people who don't know, he hosts a very popular
548
00:32:32.180 --> 00:32:35.000
talk show in Los Angeles on KFI. In fact, you
549
00:32:35.019 --> 00:32:38.269
were on yesterday. That was a terrific interview, I have
550
00:32:38.309 --> 00:32:40.309
to say. And you laid it out on his show,
551
00:32:40.369 --> 00:32:43.150
as you have mine, but also on your website. And
552
00:32:43.210 --> 00:32:47.549
it's truthful, easy to digest. You know, if you want
553
00:32:47.569 --> 00:32:50.069
more of the same, I don't know why, but if
554
00:32:50.089 --> 00:32:51.750
you really want to bring us back to a point
555
00:32:51.769 --> 00:32:54.130
of law and order and a good time here in
556
00:32:54.170 --> 00:32:57.089
Los Angeles, then take a look at John McKinney. So
557
00:32:57.150 --> 00:33:00.009
I appreciate you being here. Any parting words, anything you
558
00:33:00.029 --> 00:33:01.009
want to say to our audience?
559
00:33:01.579 --> 00:33:03.180
Well, I just want to thank you and thank your
560
00:33:03.240 --> 00:33:06.119
audience for taking time to listen to me today. Understand
561
00:33:06.460 --> 00:33:09.440
that while the mayor's race seems to be getting all
562
00:33:09.480 --> 00:33:13.140
the attention, the city attorney can be a very powerful
563
00:33:13.240 --> 00:33:17.309
check on any wayward mayor. The city attorney is kind
564
00:33:17.349 --> 00:33:20.230
of a backstop to make sure the city is always
565
00:33:20.410 --> 00:33:24.269
in compliance with the law. And look, to the extent
566
00:33:24.329 --> 00:33:28.369
that the mayor or any council member wants my advice
567
00:33:28.609 --> 00:33:31.230
more than just legal advice, I'm happy to give it.
568
00:33:31.940 --> 00:33:34.720
I'm not so sure that they'll all want to entertain it.
569
00:33:35.460 --> 00:33:40.170
But I'm a pretty level-headed person, not particularly political, not
570
00:33:40.250 --> 00:33:43.910
particularly ideological. I just want this city to work. And
571
00:33:43.930 --> 00:33:46.869
I don't care who gets the credit. I want the
572
00:33:46.890 --> 00:33:50.890
city attorney's office to be modernized. I want the workers
573
00:33:50.940 --> 00:33:54.759
to feel inspired there, raise morale, and do an excellent
574
00:33:54.799 --> 00:34:00.380
job for the city, quality legal services, and expeditious legal services.
575
00:34:00.420 --> 00:34:01.180
That's the goal.
576
00:34:01.880 --> 00:34:03.819
I mean, look at us, two kids out of New Jersey.
577
00:34:04.119 --> 00:34:06.740
How giddy were you to first come to Los Angeles, right?
578
00:34:06.900 --> 00:34:12.570
I know for me growing up in Jersey, I think, wow, L.A.? And,
579
00:34:12.610 --> 00:34:14.909
you know, a lot of that's turned around. Sometimes I'm
580
00:34:14.929 --> 00:34:18.980
looking at my relatives in Jersey and going, wow, New Jersey?
581
00:34:19.059 --> 00:34:24.389
Because things have really– I've fallen fast, but I know
582
00:34:24.409 --> 00:34:26.769
that we can be on an upswing. John McKinney, a
583
00:34:26.929 --> 00:34:31.530
Democrat running for Los Angeles city attorney. And I stress
584
00:34:31.630 --> 00:34:35.820
a Democrat running for Los Angeles city attorney. Please look
585
00:34:35.860 --> 00:34:38.079
him up, listen to our interviews, listen to everything he
586
00:34:38.119 --> 00:34:40.679
has to say and go hear him speak publicly. I'm
587
00:34:40.719 --> 00:34:42.980
sure that you have a, you know, where you're going
588
00:34:43.000 --> 00:34:44.610
to be next, right? On your website.
589
00:34:45.099 --> 00:34:48.380
Yes. And I'll be with Nathan Hoffman later today, too.
590
00:34:48.420 --> 00:34:52.019
So he's done a terrific job as well. Thank you
591
00:34:52.039 --> 00:34:53.679
so much for joining us and everybody. You could find
592
00:34:53.719 --> 00:34:57.539
my interview with John McKinney on YouTube. I think this
593
00:34:57.559 --> 00:35:00.000
just went out live also on Facebook. We'll put it there.
594
00:35:00.019 --> 00:35:01.840
We're going to run clips on Instagram. We're going to
595
00:35:01.860 --> 00:35:03.739
put them all over the place and just push this out,
596
00:35:03.780 --> 00:35:07.440
particularly before Election Day. We really have a great opportunity
597
00:35:07.480 --> 00:35:10.179
to turn this beautiful city of ours around. And like
598
00:35:10.219 --> 00:35:12.500
I said, have some fun again and not always have
599
00:35:12.539 --> 00:35:15.480
to look over our shoulder. That's important to me. because
600
00:35:15.639 --> 00:35:19.199
I've changed personally how I go about the city because
601
00:35:19.239 --> 00:35:21.409
of that. And there's so many of us who really
602
00:35:21.429 --> 00:35:23.289
would just like to get some law and order back
603
00:35:23.389 --> 00:35:27.889
that's sensible. So give John McKinney a look. I appreciate
604
00:35:27.909 --> 00:35:30.789
you being here. I really do. And tell everybody about
605
00:35:30.829 --> 00:35:34.250
our interview and tell them to look up the platform
606
00:35:34.469 --> 00:35:37.530
of John McKinney for LA City Attorney. Thank you everybody
607
00:35:37.550 --> 00:35:39.619
for joining us. I appreciate it. Please tell your friends
608
00:35:39.659 --> 00:35:40.539
and we'll see you next time.
609
00:35:40.659 --> 00:35:42.199
Bye-bye. All right. Bye-bye.