D.A. GARCETTI TRAILS CHALLENGER COOLEY.

Byline: Beth Barrett Staff Writer

Challenger Steve Cooley took the early lead over District Attorney Gil Garcetti on Tuesday night as the career prosecutor sought to capitalize on the two-term incumbent's losing record in big cases and failure to aggressively investigate public corruption.

he election was widely viewed as a referendum on the performance of Garcetti, a nationally known prosecutor who was stigmatized by the loss of the O.J. Simpson case and other prominent cases and challenged for his leadership as the Los Angeles Police Department's Rampart Division corruption scandal erupted last year.

``I'm feeling very positive. We're upbeat,'' Cooley said from the Sheraton Universal Hotel, where the atmosphere was electric as supporters anticipated the first changing of the guard at the top of the county's criminal justice system in almost a decade.

``We think it's a predictor for the rest of the evening. We're being cautiously optimistic waiting for the rest of the trend.''

Joe Scott, Cooley's campaign consultant, said the early numbers were impressive and while not enough to proclaim victory, encouraged the challenger to believe he was on the winning track.

Garcetti, noting the county vote counting was going slowly, addressed supporters at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica as the absentee tally and early precinct results showed him trailing Cooley, telling them he would rally.

``I think at the conclusion of the day, we'll still be smiling,'' Garcetti told well-wishers. ``This has been quite a journey. We are all waiting. It's going to be a long night.''

Cooley, who decided to challenge Garcetti when a fellow prosecutor narrowly lost to the incumbent four years ago, was able to raise more than $1 million to mount a strong primary campaign challenge in which he came in first and to stay competitive in the runoff against the better-known and better-funded district attorney.

Garcetti blitzed television in the closing week with attack ads calling Cooley a Republican ``plea bargainer.'' Cooley counterattacked by tapping into voter discontent by suggesting Garcetti only cared about getting re- elected and not in dealing with serious law enforcement problems.

In 1992, Garcetti benefited from voter anger over acquittals in Superior Court of officers involved in the Rodney King case and forced his boss, Ira Reiner, to drop out of the race. Then in 1996, he just got by unknown head deputy John Lynch, a candidate who remained invisible for lack of funds.

Consultant Richard Lichtenstein said after eight years voters were seeking a change.

``I think what we're seeing is a public electorate that hasn't been able to get past Rampart, to get past the school issue, or to get past three strikes,'' he said, referring to the controversial topics, including the Belmont Learning Center environmental scandal that occurred on Garcetti's watch.

Polls showed Garcetti, 59, trailing Cooley, 53, during the campaign and he lost to his head deputy in the March three-way primary by a narrow margin. Garcett put little effort into that contest, refusing to attend debates that kept him out of public view for months.

An early poll showed Garcetti so far behind Cooley that the race was seen as the challenger's to lose.

``The district attorney's race just seemed preordained once I saw months ago the polls that showed Garcetti so far behind,'' said consultant Arnold Steinberg. ``The people of Los Angeles are applying a high standard to the district attorney. They're holding the D.A. personally responsible for the O.J. case and other high-profile losses, and the Rampart situation has definitely had a negative spillover.''

Garcetti attacked Cooley as soft on crime and in particular said he would severely undercut the popular ``three strikes, you're out'' law that sends multiple offenders to prison for 25 years to life.

Cooley, a Toluca Lake resident, bolstered his credibility by winning the backing of three former district attorneys and the Los Angeles Police Protective League. While Cooley never tried a case as high-profile as Simpson, he had a reputation throughout the county for cracking difficult crimes and obtaining long prison sentences.

Cooley and Garcetti battled through a lengthy series of contentious debates that set the tone for the campaign.

The candidates took far different career paths in the District Attorney's Office, Garcetti moving along an administrative track while Cooley spent most of his time in courtrooms or supervising trial lawyers. They had little contact until Cooley backed Lynch in 1996 and was demoted after the election.

Cooley campaigned on the promise of a series of sweeping reforms to the District Attorney's Office, which in recent years has a lackluster record in terms of prosecuting public officials and overlooking potential misconduct by LAPD officers in court cases.

In particular, he vowed to set up a Public Integrity Division to focus on public corruption such as the misdeeds alleged, but never proved, against participants in the Los Angeles Unified School District environmental corruption scandal.

And Cooley has said he'll break up the massive downtown criminal unit so that future Ramparts and other corruption patterns will be easier to detect.

``I'll do my very best to get the criminal justice system back on track in terms of even-handed, accurate justice that people can have confidence in,'' Cooley said.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Challenger Steve Cooley addresses supporters in Universal City. He was later declared the winner.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer

(2 -- color) District Attorney Gil Garcetti signals early optimism to backers at Santa Monica's Fairmont Miramar Hotel.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer