During his campaign for D.A., City Attorney Carmen Trutanich did everything he could to avoid debates. First, he said his invitation got lost. Then he blamed scheduling conflicts.

After losing that race, he's taking a much different approach for his re-election campaign. This morning, Assemblyman Mike Feuer challenged him to 10 debates between now and March.

Seems like a lot, but Trutanich says bring it on.

“We're not gonna do 10,” said Rick Taylor, Trutanich's consultant. “We're gonna do 100.”

Talk about the fervor of the recently converted.

What say you, Mike Feuer? “I am glad Mr. Trutanich has accepted my challenge to a series of spirited debates this primary election,” Feuer said in a statement. “I will debate Mr. Trutanich anytime, anywhere, and as many times as possible.”

Feuer also suggested several moderators, including KPCC's Larry Mantle and NBC's Conan Nolan.

Back to you, Trutanich campaign:

“I got no problem doing Larry's show, but we want to go into the community,” Taylor said. “If they're serious about doing debates, they should be calling us, not playing silly games in the media.”

Also today, another challenger took aim at Trutanich in a YouTube TV spot. Greg Smith, an attorney who specializes in representing police officers, attacked Trutanich over the 31% drop in gang prosecutions on his watch.


It's not clear how much impact these videos have, other than making the candidate feel like a real candidate. So far, this one has about 14 views on YouTube.

“Once it gets to 20 clicks, we might respond,” said John Schwada, Trutanich's spokesman.

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