Election 2026 · City of Los Angeles

Los Angeles City Attorney

Published September 29, 2026 · Updated October 1, 2026

John McKinney and Marissa Roy are the candidates for Los Angeles City Attorney on the November 3, 2026 ballot.

The City Attorney is the lawyer for the City of Los Angeles. The office represents the City in lawsuits, gives legal advice to City officials, boards and departments, and prosecutes misdemeanors and violations of City law that happen in the City. It also approves the legal form of City contracts.

Summary by CityHallPass, not the official text or legal advice. The official text controls: LA County's official election information.

Primary results, June 2, 2026

Four candidates. No one won a majority, so the top two, Marissa Roy and John McKinney, advanced to November 3. Incumbent Hydee Feldstein Soto finished third. Total votes for City Attorney: 743,870. The County Registrar's final results are dated June 26, 2026. Certified results

The candidates

The job

Powers. The City Attorney is the City’s lawyer and its misdemeanor prosecutor. The City budget describes the office this way: it “acts as legal advisor to the City, prosecutes all misdemeanor offenses occurring within the City of Los Angeles and defends the City in civil litigation.” It also reviews “all contracts and ordinances as to form and legality,” and brings its own lawsuits “to protect consumers and abate nuisances” (2026-27 Proposed Budget, p. 60). The office writes the ordinances the Council asks for (LAist). Felonies are prosecuted by the County District Attorney, not the City Attorney (LAist).

The City Attorney is elected on their own and does not report to the Mayor. The Mayor and Council can ask for an investigation or a lawsuit, but the City Attorney decides (The LA Local, via LAist). Under state unfair competition law, the office can sue businesses for deceptive or unfair practices and win restitution and civil penalties (The LA Local, via LAist).

Budget and staff.

• The proposed FY 2026-27 budget for the office is $193.7 million, of which $181.6 million is from the General Fund. It funds 894 positions (Proposed Budget, pp. 61-64).
• By program, the criminal branch is the largest, with 366 positions and $70.2 million. Civil liability (defending lawsuits) has 214 positions, municipal law (advice to the City) 171, and proprietary work and outside counsel 96 (Proposed Budget, p. 64).
• The office has five branches: Municipal Law, Civil Litigation, Criminal, Real Estate and Public Rights (Proposed Budget, p. 60). LAist puts the office at “more than 550 lawyers” (LAist). Bolts, citing a veteran city attorney, reported that 26 of about 500 lawyers work in public rights, the unit that brings consumer, tenant and worker cases (Bolts).
• The office spent $199.2 million in FY 2024-25, including $8.4 million for outside law firms. For FY 2025-26 the budget estimates spending of $215.0 million, including $16.4 million for outside counsel (Proposed Budget, p. 61).
• The LA Times reported that the office weighs about 120,000 violations a year and decides whether to file charges (LA Times via MSN).

Lawsuit payouts. The City pays court judgments and settlements from a separate Liability Claims account. It spent $313.4 million in FY 2024-25. The FY 2025-26 budget set $187.4 million, and the proposed FY 2026-27 budget sets $210.4 million (Proposed Budget, General City Purposes and Liability Claims). The LA Times reported payouts rose from $64 million in the mid-2010s to $294 million in the last fiscal year (LA Times via AOL). Bolts reported that LAPD cases alone cost about $435 million between FY 2020 and the end of 2025 (Bolts).

Facts that shape the job now.

• Open-seat race. City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto lost in the primary. The LA Times reported she is the first City Attorney to lose a primary since 1933 (LA Times via News Tribune).
• Lineage warehouse fire. After the June 2026 Boyle Heights fire, the Council asked the City Attorney for a closed-session report on legal options against Lineage Logistics and others. As of Sept 25 the Council had not received it, The LA Local reported (The LA Local via LAist, Sept 25).
• Federal immigration enforcement. LAist says the next City Attorney “will likely have to continue to contend with immigration activity in the region and the city’s relationship to the Trump administration” (LAist).
• Big verdicts. A jury awarded nearly $49 million over a 2024 crash involving a City sanitation truck in Encino. The plaintiffs’ firm said the City “offered $0” before trial (Daily Breeze).

Records

John McKinney

Career. McKinney joined the LA County District Attorney’s Office in 1997 after UCLA Law. He worked misdemeanor calendars and preliminary hearings, then the Compton courthouse, the Victim Impact Program (sex crimes, domestic violence, child and elder abuse), juvenile court, the Hardcore Gang Division and Major Crimes (campaign bio). He was admitted to the State Bar on February 21, 1998 (State Bar). Bolts identifies him as the DA office’s director of specialized prosecutions (Bolts). The LA Times reported he manages more than 300 people there (LA Times via MSN).

Cases.

• He prosecuted the killer of rapper Nipsey Hussle, convicted in 2022, and the killers of USC student Xinran Ji (LA Times).
• His campaign says he has tried nearly 40 murder cases and that every murder defendant he tried was convicted (campaign bio). The LA Times cited his campaign’s count of about 100 jury trials, 40 of them murders (LA Times, May 1). These are the campaign’s figures.
• He has no civil litigation experience, the LA Times reported (LA Times via AOL).

2024 run for District Attorney. He finished seventh of 12 in the March 5, 2024 primary, with 87,903 votes (5.97%) (LA County results). Bolts reported that his 2024 platform said: “Under my leadership we will return to prosecuting misdemeanors like loitering, resisting arrest, open drug use, vandalism, and drug possession” (Bolts).

Discipline, ethics and lawsuits. His State Bar record shows no discipline and no administrative actions since admission in 1998 (State Bar). No public enforcement actions found in FPPC, City Ethics Commission or FEC records (FPPC case search; City Ethics enforcement orders; FEC legal search). No federal case names him as a party in CourtListener. Searched Sept. 30, 2026.

Marissa Roy

Career. Roy was admitted to the State Bar on December 7, 2017 (State Bar). In 2017 she worked in the LA City Attorney’s Office on a Justice Catalyst fellowship. She then worked at the Public Rights Project and as outside counsel for LA County, and is now a deputy attorney general in the state Department of Justice, focused on consumer protection (LAist). In her Patch profile she wrote that she led wage theft cases at the City Attorney’s Office (Patch).

Cases.

• In her Daily Breeze questionnaire she said she has sued car washes paying undocumented workers “as little as $4.50 an hour” and won “over $500,000 for renters subject to illegal evictions and unlivable conditions” (Daily Breeze). These are her own descriptions; the case records were not found.
• Her campaign says she represented LA County “in over a dozen legal actions against the first Trump Administration,” on asylum-seeker treatment and sanctuary funding (campaign bio). LAist reports that she says she represented the County in all its litigation against the first Trump administration (LAist).
• The LA Times reported that her team at the Attorney General’s office led the state’s recent $17 billion settlement with Meta (LA Times via MSN). The LA Local also says she worked on that case (via LAist).

Political activity. She is a member of the Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, the Daily News editorial board and the California Post reported (Daily News; California Post via MSN). LAist reports she worked on Ysabel Jurado’s 2024 Council campaign (LAist).

Discipline, ethics and lawsuits. Her State Bar record shows no discipline and no administrative actions since admission in 2017 (State Bar). No public enforcement actions found in FPPC, City Ethics Commission or FEC records (FPPC case search; City Ethics enforcement orders; FEC legal search). Federal dockets list her only as counsel for the state, not as a party (CourtListener). Searched Sept. 30, 2026.

Where they stand

Issues come from the top voter priorities in the Berkeley IGS poll of Sept 15-20, 2026 (homelessness, crime and public safety, infrastructure) and from topics in the LAist questionnaire, the Daily Breeze questionnaire, and LA Times and Bolts coverage.

On the other ballot measures

Neither candidate holds City office (City Clerk list of offices and incumbents), so neither voted to place any measure on the ballot. No stated position was found for either candidate on any measure. We checked the campaign websites (McKinney; Roy), the LAist and Daily Breeze questionnaires and news coverage through Sept 29, 2026.

Source: McKinney issues page; Roy campaign site; LAist questionnaire; Daily Breeze questionnaire. Checked Sept 29, 2026.

Endorsements

Lists come from each campaign’s endorsement page as of Sept 30, 2026 (McKinney; Roy). Where a news source is also linked, its date is given; every name below also appears on the campaign’s current list unless noted.

John McKinney

• Elected officials:
  • District Attorney Nathan Hochman (LAist, Sept 11); former District Attorneys Jackie Lacey and Steve Cooley (Daily News, Aug 31; campaign list).
  • Councilmembers Traci Park, Monica Rodriguez, John Lee and Tim McOsker (Daily News, Aug 31; campaign list, which spells the last name “McCosker”).
  • Former City Attorneys Rocky Delgadillo, Carmen Trutanich, Burt Pines and Ira Reiner (campaign list).
  • Long Beach City Prosecutor Doug Haubert, Calabasas Mayor James R. Bozajian and former County Treasurer-Tax Collector Joseph Kelly (campaign list).
• Party: None listed (campaign list). The County Democratic Party endorsed Roy (see below).
• Unions: Los Angeles Police Protective League (Bolts, Sept 28; campaign list). The union had endorsed Feldstein Soto and withdrew that endorsement in April, before the primary (LA Times, May 23).
• Business groups: Central City Association, VICA PAC, LA County Business Federation (BizFed), LA Area Chamber of Commerce Jobs PAC, Latin Business Association and the LA County Taxpayers Association (campaign list).
• Organizations: New Frontier Democratic Club, Culver City Democrats United and Blue Wave Democratic Club (campaign list).
• Newspapers: Los Angeles Daily News editorial board, Aug 31, 2026 (Daily News). The same editorial ran in the Daily Breeze (Daily Breeze). The Daily News endorsed Feldstein Soto in the primary (Daily News, Aug 31).

Marissa Roy

• Elected officials:
  • U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla, Adam Schiff and Bernie Sanders (LAist, Sept 11; campaign list); Rep. Derek Tran (campaign list). Schiff endorsed Feldstein Soto before the primary (LA Times, May 1); he is on Roy’s list for the general election.
  • Attorney General Rob Bonta, her employer (LA Times, May 1; campaign list), and State Controller Malia Cohen (campaign list).
  • Supervisors Hilda Solis, Holly Mitchell, Janice Hahn and Lindsey Horvath (campaign list).
  • State Sens. Caroline Menjivar, Lena Gonzalez, Sasha Renée Pérez and Lola Smallwood-Cuevas; Assemblymembers Tina McKinnor, Celeste Rodriguez, Isaac Bryan, Nick Schultz, Pilar Schiavo and Sade Elhawary (campaign list).
  • City Controller Kenneth Mejia; Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Councilmembers Eunisses Hernandez and Ysabel Jurado; LAUSD Board Member Rocío Rivas (campaign list).
• Party: Los Angeles County Democratic Party (LA Times, May 1; campaign list).
• Unions: LA County Federation of Labor; SEIU Locals 721, 99, 1000, 2015, 121RN, SEIU-UHW, SEIU-USWW and CIR/SEIU; AFSCME District 36; Teamsters Joint Council 42; ILWU Southern District Council; United Teachers Los Angeles; UAW Region 6; UNITE HERE Local 11; NUHW; UNAC/UHCP; CWA; CASE; the Engineers and Architects Association; AFT 1521; LA Public Defenders Local 148; Ironworkers Locals 416 and 433; Roofers Local 36 (campaign list).
• Organizations: Democratic Socialists of America-LA (LA Times, May 1; campaign list), Planned Parenthood Advocacy Project LA County (LAist, Sept 11), Working Families Party, Ground Game LA, LA Forward, California Women’s List, Stonewall Democratic Club and 17 other Democratic clubs and groups (campaign list).
• Newspapers: None found.

Editorial boards not found: No LA Times or La Opinión endorsement in this race was found as of Sept 29, 2026.

Polls

Only public polls by academic or media pollsters are listed.

The LA Times reported that 21% of Republicans and nearly 30% of self-identified MAGA voters favored McKinney, and that Roy was favored by 25% of Democrats and about 3 in 10 progressive or democratic socialist voters (LA Times via MSN). McKinney told the California Post: “Momentum is clearly on our side. With 70% of voters still undecided…” (California Post via MSN). No public poll of the primary was found.

Money

Source: City Ethics Commission, 2026 election totals. Loan and matching-fund details: City campaign contribution data. “Raised” follows the Ethics definition and excludes matching funds. Roy’s $35,000 loan is on her primary committee’s filings and is not counted in “raised.”

The limit is $1,800 per person per election. The matching-fund maximum for City Attorney is $566,000 in the primary and $659,000 in the general (Ethics 2024 CPI table). Roy received the primary maximum. McKinney’s primary matching funds, $233,826, were paid on Aug 26, 2026, after the primary, according to his committee’s filings. The spending limit for candidates who take matching funds was lifted in the primary on May 11 because of independent spending (City Ethics).

Data check: contributions in the City’s donor-level data (City campaign contribution data) add up to the Ethics “raised” figure to the cent for both candidates. Matching-fund receipts in the same data also match Ethics for both.

Who is giving

Method: itemized contributions to both committees of each candidate through Sep 19, 2026, from City campaign contribution data. A donor is a normalized name plus ZIP code. Refunds are netted. Contributions under $100 that were not itemized ($5,058 for McKinney, $36,198 for Roy) have no donor detail and are left out of donor counts. A donor’s ZIP code counts as City if at least half its area is in the City (City list of ZIP codes).

Source: City campaign contribution data, itemized contributions through Sep 19, 2026.

Source: City campaign contribution data; City list of ZIP codes.

ZIP codes split by the City line account for 18.2% of McKinney’s itemized dollars and 13.5% of Roy’s. If every ZIP code that touches the City is counted as City, the City share is 75.0% for McKinney and 59.2% for Roy (City campaign contribution data; City list of ZIP codes).

John McKinney

McKinney started raising money in 2026 and has 704 itemized donors. Just under half his itemized dollars (45.4%) came in maximum-size gifts. Sixty-two percent of his itemized money came from City ZIP codes and 3.4% from out of state (City campaign contribution data).

Top employers by dollars: County of Los Angeles (23 donors, $14,008); LA County District Attorney’s Office (34 donors, $13,425); one law firm (at least 6 donors, $11,300 across spellings); Brewery X (4, $7,200); a second law firm (6, $5,557). By donor count, the DA’s office leads (34), then the County (23), the second law firm (6) and the City of Los Angeles (5) (City campaign contribution data).

Industries (share of itemized dollars): law 20.6% (151 donors); not employed or retired 20.4%; finance and investment 9.3%; real estate and development 6.7% (40 donors, $31,899); government 4.3%; entertainment and media 3.4%. Labor unions: none. 22.1% could not be assigned an industry (City campaign contribution data).

Organizations that gave directly include the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles PAC ($2,800), BizFed PAC, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce PAC and Thrive Los Angeles PAC ($1,800 each), Central City Association PAC ($1,603), LA Jobs PAC ($1,000) and Decron Properties ($1,000). Eight individuals gave $3,600, the two-election maximum (City campaign contribution data).

Donors at one law firm, which the Daily Breeze reported has received more than $58 million in City payouts since 2010, gave to both candidates. Three of its lawyers gave Roy $5,400 in the primary. Six of its lawyers gave McKinney $11,300, all but $1,800 of it for the general election (Daily Breeze; City campaign contribution data).

Clusters (five or more donors from one employer within three days): one law firm, 5 donors Apr 15-17, 2026 ($4,057); LA County District Attorney’s Office, 6 donors Mar 16-18, 2026 ($1,350) (City campaign contribution data).

City contractors: 6 donors ($4,200, 0.9%) list an employer that matches a vendor on City department contract reports from 2023 to 2026. One vendor gave directly: Seventh Street Garage ($1,800; Harbor Department and LAPD contracts) (City campaign contribution data).

Marissa Roy

Roy has 1,298 itemized donors since January 2025. Nearly two thirds of her itemized dollars (63.9%) came in maximum-size gifts. Just under half (45.5%) came from City ZIP codes, 23.1% from elsewhere in California and 6.7% from out of state (City campaign contribution data).

Top employers by dollars: one law firm (14 donors, $21,057); a second law firm (17, $20,250); O’Melveny & Myers (26 across two spellings, $19,500); City of Los Angeles (39, $13,777); a third law firm (9, $13,400); County of Los Angeles (18, $13,109); a fourth law firm (4, $11,300); a fifth law firm (6, $10,650). By donor count, the City of Los Angeles leads (39), then O’Melveny, the County and the California Department of Justice (18 each) (City campaign contribution data).

Industries: law 49.6% (449 donors, $515,674); not employed or retired 11.9%; labor unions and union staff 5.2% (41 donors, $54,113); government 4.1%; entertainment and media 3.8%; education 3.5%. Real estate and development: 0.4% (8 donors, $4,664). 7.4% could not be assigned an industry (City campaign contribution data).

Organizations that gave directly are mostly union committees: NUHW’s candidate committee and Fund Her PAC ($3,600 each), Teamsters Local 396 PAC ($2,800), and $1,800 each from UAW Region 6, SEIU Locals 721, 99, 121RN and 2015, CIR/SEIU, ILWU Local 13, SMART Local 105, Teamsters Local 572, the California Teamsters Public Affairs Council, the LA County Federation of Labor, the Engineers and Architects Association, CASE PAC, the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles PAC and the O’Melveny & Myers PAC. Seventy-two donors gave $3,600, the maximum for both elections (City campaign contribution data).

The Daily Breeze reported that law firms that have won large City payouts are among her donors (Daily Breeze). In the City data, four donors at one of those firms gave Roy $11,300 and none gave to McKinney (City campaign contribution data).

Clusters (five or more donors from one employer within three days): one law firm based in the Bay Area, 11 donors Sep 17-19, 2025 ($11,500); O’Melveny & Myers, 5 donors Mar 6-7, 2025 ($3,078) and 6 donors Mar 25-27, 2025 ($2,557); another law firm, 5 donors Jun 17, 2025 ($2,757); California Department of Justice, 5 donors Apr 5-7, 2026 ($1,032) (City campaign contribution data).

City contractors: 45 donors ($24,273, 2.3%) list an employer that is a vendor on City department contract reports, led by one law firm (6 donors, $5,200), Inclusive Action for the City, Willkie Farr & Gallagher and Polsinelli. No City vendor gave directly (City campaign contribution data).

Industry rule: each donor gets the first category whose keywords match the employer name, then the occupation. Law counts lawyers and law firms of all kinds. The union category counts union committees and union staff, not members who work elsewhere.

Outside spending

Totals from the City Ethics independent expenditure search: $3,206,404.22 supporting McKinney; $793,357.21 supporting Roy and $356,846.38 opposing her. Almost all of it was spent before the primary (City Ethics election totals). LAist’s outside-spending chart also shows $647,753 in primary spending against Feldstein Soto by the pro-Roy committee Communities United for Change (LAist).

Source: City Ethics independent expenditure reports (supporting McKinney; supporting Roy; opposing Roy).

Member communications (paid by an organization to its own members) supporting Roy: the LA County Democratic Party’s Issues & Advocacy Committee spent $200,812.63, most of it a $200,000 digital ad on May 24. UTLA, SEIU 721, the Party’s State Candidate Committee and SEIU 2015 spent smaller amounts (City Ethics member communication reports).

Who funds the outside committees. Contributions received from Jan 1, 2025 through the latest filing. City-filed committees come from City campaign contribution data and the committees’ independent expenditure reports. State-registered committees come from Cal-Access (Form 460 Schedule A and Form 497 late reports), linked by committee below. Employers are as listed on the reports.

Angelenos for Progress (pro-McKinney; $2,120,000 received through June 30): Committee to Expand the Middle Class, sponsored by Airbnb, $2,100,000; LAPPL Independent Expenditure Committee $20,000 (City campaign contribution data).

• The Airbnb committee’s only reported contribution since Jan 1, 2025 is $15,000,000 from Airbnb, Inc. (Cal-Access, Committee to Expand the Middle Class).

Angelenos for a Safer LA ($1,250,000 received): John Hering (Lookout & Co, founder) $1,000,000; Diego Berdakin (USC, professor) $250,000 (City campaign contribution data).

Save LA ($936,278 received through June 30; it also backed Spencer Pratt and Zach Sokoloff): John Hering $249,000; Jason Larian (Zero Point Capital) $234,000; Phillip Sarofim (Trousdale Ventures) $100,000; David Dollinger (Dollinger Properties) $100,000; Nick Kaiser (Marlin Equity Partners), Sean Rad (Rad Fund) and MGA Entertainment $50,000 each; one other individual $30,000 (City campaign contribution data).

Los Angeles Deserves Better ($166,800 received): Sanford Mann and affiliated entities, including American Hartford Gold, $100,000; New Majority PAC $50,000; two other individuals $16,800 in total (City campaign contribution data).

Communities United for Change (pro-Roy; $2,135,833 received): Smart Justice California Action Fund $1,075,833; Consumer Attorneys PAC $500,000; Consumer Attorneys of California PAC $250,000; Dignity CA SEIU Local 2015 $250,000; SEIU Local 721 Workers’ Strength Committee $50,000; Engineers and Architects Association $10,000 (City campaign contribution data).

• Smart Justice California Action Fund (Cal-Access; $3.57 million received): Patty Quillin $2,057,000; Elizabeth D. Simons $966,500; Quinn Delaney $300,000; Laura Skelton Yakovenko $107,700.
• Dignity CA SEIU Local 2015 (Cal-Access): SEIU COPE, the union’s federal PAC, $11,900,000; SEIU Local 2015 $546,000.
• SEIU 721 Workers’ Strength Committee (Cal-Access): SEIU Political Education and Action Fund $1,800,000; SEIU COPE $1,724,493; SEIU Local 721 $1,000,000.
• The Consumer Attorneys committees’ own donors were not traced.

Teachers and Communities United ($427,924 received; it also backs Estuardo Mazariegos in Council District 9): Political Action Council of Educators (UTLA’s PAC) $311,500; Communities United for Change $50,000; Engineers and Architects Association $25,000; NUHW’s candidate committee $20,000; California Working Families Party $15,000 (City campaign contribution data).

• Political Action Council of Educators ($2.35 million received): unitemized member contributions under $100, $1,955,034; California Teachers Association ABC PAC $345,300 (City campaign contribution data).

California Working Families Party (Cal-Access): Patty Quillin $350,000; Jordan/Delaney Family Trust $300,000; Quinn Delaney $200,250; Wayne Jordan $200,000; NUHW’s committee $79,500.

Courage California State PAC (Cal-Access; $67,276 received): Progressive Era PAC $30,000; one individual $25,000.

LAPPL Independent Expenditure Committee (opposes Roy; $4,356,350 received; it spends in other races too): Los Angeles Police Protective League $3,500,000; Douglas Emmett Properties and affiliated entities $525,000; Jerry Greenberg $150,000; Kilroy Realty $100,000; LAPPL PAC $56,350; one other individual $25,000 (City campaign contribution data).

Behested payments

Neither candidate holds a City office, so neither files City behested payment reports. A search of City behested payment reports for both names found none.

Key moments

Debates and forums

No televised or general-election debate between McKinney and Roy was found as of Sept 29, 2026.

Events

• McKinney enters; police union changes its endorsement (March to May 2026). McKinney entered near the end of March (Daily News). The Los Angeles Police Protective League withdrew its endorsement of Feldstein Soto and backed McKinney, the LA Times reported (LA Times via AOL). Bolts also reported the union’s endorsement (Bolts).

• Incumbent defeated in the primary (June 2026). Roy placed first and McKinney second. The LA Times reported Feldstein Soto was the first City Attorney to lose a primary since 1933 (LA Times via News Tribune). LAist (LAist) and the Daily News (Daily News) also reported her defeat and concession.