Rocky's Toughest Comeback
How L.A.’s city attorney became so grossly misunderstood
In recent weeks, Delgadillo has put out a barrage of press releases. Public lawyers like to say that the beauty of their job is they never have to fudge facts or put a false shine on anything. But Delgadillo has had to live down troubling disclosures. The L.A. Times reported his receipt of campaign contributions from landlords after reducing their settlements in a lawsuit over slum conditions; his decision not to prosecute a billboard company, which contributed $125,000 to him in 2001, for vandalism, after investigators failed to interview key witnesses; and overblown claims about his academic and sports credentials. The Weekly reported on a repeat sex offender who went free on Delgadillo’s watch, and who trolled MySpace.com, later to be convicted (by the D.A.) of molestation.
Yet it is rare that Delgadillo himself — the husband, the father, the lawyer or the public advocate — is described in negative terms. “He’s a very intelligent, creative and caring guy,” says a former top attorney in his office, who, at this late stage in the game, is among those who cannot bring themselves to be named, or to openly stand up in defense of Rocky. Maybe that says more about his people than about him. Observers might wonder how Delgadillo, by most accounts a decent human being who has made a mark on the city in a short time, could alienate so many groups — prosecutors, his own employees, political peers — and attract so much unfavorable attention.
No one will likely say for sure who thrust what upon Rocky, or whether his own instincts should be questioned. Team 1600 has an office to run, and an election to focus on. But if the advance polls are right, Delgadillo could be coming right back to what he says he loves, representing the city and protecting its citizens. Either way, he will have a chance to project a less complicated and compromised image, one that doesn’t prevent him from being widely accepted as all he’s supposed to be.
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