GARCETTI, COOLEY TRADE BARBS DISTRICT ATTORNEY, OPPONENT MEET IN FIRST DEBATE.

Byline: Beth Barrett Staff Writer

District Attorney Gil Garcetti and challenger Steve Cooley, debating for the first time in what promises to be a bitter campaign, clashed sharply Friday over politics, policies and prosecutorial vigor.

Cooley, a head deputy district attorney, accused Garcetti of failing to aggressively prosecute cases, and of sanctioning lenient treatment in cases where political pressure or ``cronyism'' was brought to bear.

And he blamed Garcetti for not having systems in place that might have detected the Rampart police scandal earlier.

Garcetti called Cooley a one-dimensional prosecutor.

``What people want from the D.A., they want an effective prosecutor who will protect the innocent, resist public pressure to go after people who don't deserve to be prosecuted, but also to hold the guilty accountable. We're doing that - (with a) 92 percent conviction rate,'' Garcetti said.

``But they also want an effective leader, someone who understands that the job is more than prosecuting, it's about preventing crime.''

Cooley responded in kind, noting a recent poll shows him far ahead.

``What's clear from recent polls is the voters want a new D.A., a D.A. who will get our criminal justice system back on track. The choice between Mr. Garcetti and myself in this election is very clear - the voters do want a change, they want a change from a failed chief prosecutor to a proven and effective one.

``The D.A.'s Office will once again be dedicated to honesty and integrity from the very top.''

The candidates, who sparred for half an hour on ``Which Way L.A.,'' a KCRW-FM (89.9) radio talk show hosted by Warren Olney, jabbed at one another over a wide range of issues, from campaign contributions to gun control.

Garcetti had refused to debate in the three-way primary race with Cooley and attorney Barry Groveman and until recent days insisted he would not debate Cooley until September. But after running second in the primary and losing in a poll 55 percent to 18 percent, he changed his mind.

Democratic political consultant Joe Cerrell said Garcetti needs to continue to debate if he is to have any chance of winning.

``It's Cooley's to lose,'' Cerrell said. ``Garcetti has to come on strong.''

Cooley raised Garcetti's handling of the Rampart scandal, among other aspects of his record.

In particular, he charged Garcetti might have detected the Rampart scandal in 1996 if the district attorney's officer-involved-shooting roll- out investigative team had not been discontinued - an allegation Garcetti called ``outrageous.''

While Garcetti said roll-out teams of investigators are important and that they have been reinstated, he added they are ``not a panacea.'' There is no guarantee, he said, that the two shootings dirty-cop-turned-key-informant Rafael Perez has said were framed would have been caught by the teams.

In a brief meeting with reporters after the debate, Garcetti said he should not be blamed for Rampart.

``I'm not the one who created it,'' he said. ``Am I the chief of police?''

During the debate, Garcetti accused Cooley of attempting to make the race a partisan battle, and of a conflict-onterest in soliciting campaign contributions from deputy district attorneys and judges.

``That is a direct conflict of interest, and if he doesn't understand that then why is he even running for district attorney?'' Garcetti asked.

Cooley, a Republican, responded it was Garcetti, a Democrat, who interjected politics by sending a letter to his supporters, ``suggesting I'm some sort of extreme Republican.''

Cooley, who heads the district attorney's welfare fraud unit, said, ``Obviously his strategy is to turn this into a partisan battle, but what the voters are interested in is who's most qualified and has a proven record as a prosecutor.''

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2 photos

Photo:

(1) Gil Garcetti/Defends his record

(2) Steve Cooley/Clashes with incumbent