DEBATE FOR CITY ATTORNEY GETS HOT CANDIDATES CLASH ON POLICE TROUBLES.

Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer

It became the outsiders vs. the insiders Thursday in the first major debate among the four candidates for city attorney in the April 10 election.

Two deputy district attorneys, Lea Purwin D'Agostino and Frank Tavelman, took on Councilman Mike Feuer and Deputy Mayor Rocky Delgadillo for the city's failures to take earlier actions to prevent the Rampart Division corruption case and the decline in quality of life in the city.

At the quiet and staid Los Angeles Athletic Club, D'Agostino was particularly aggressive in her remarks to Feuer.

``You say you have been pushing for police reform all you years, but the council was warned about the problems and nothing happened,'' D'Agostino said, citing a report made three years ago by former police Inspector General Katherine Mader. ``Mike, you've been there six years and nothing happened to prevent this.''

She also included Delgadillo for criticism of the upcoming federal consent decree over the Los Angeles Police Department and the failure to implement key Christopher Commission reforms.

Delgadillo did not respond, but Feuer insisted he had been doing his part by opposing legal settlements in case. ``There have been a lot of times when I have been the only voice against some of these settlements,'' Feuer said.

Tavelman, the least known of the four, said he did not believe the others could bring the experience he has as a prosecutor and police reserve officer along with years as a private attorney to the job.

``The No. 1 job of the city attorney is public safety,'' Tavelman said. ``I went through police training. I know what officers are thinking. We have a problem in this city with crime. Homicides are up 25 percent. Rapes are up 14 percent. Morale is down and arrests are down.''

Tavelman also offered a number of programs he would implement, including the creation of a senior lead attorney program to work with communities on local problems such as graffiti and illegal dumping.

Feuer insisted his experience on the council and as the former director of the Bet Tzedek legal affairs nonprofit made him the most qualified for the job.

``I want to instill the attorneys there with the same spirit my staff and I bring to the office,'' Feuer said. ``I want them to have passion for the job.''

Feuer said he would continue his efforts to expand a community courts program, as well as create a special unit to deal with crimes involving the use of weapons.

Delgadillo, who heads Mayor Richard Riordan's business team, said he saw the job as a way to bring in new talent to the City Attorney's Office while working to reduce juvenile crime at schools.