UC Berkeley Poll Shows 17-Point Lead for Roy in L.A. Attorney Race
Voters in the Third and Ninth Council Districts and across Los Angeles will cast ballots Tuesday to fill three vacancies left by termed-out officials and a defeated incumbent.
By Amelia Gupta ·
Marissa Roy leads John McKinney by 17 points among likely voters in the race for Los Angeles city attorney, according to a poll released in the final week of October. The survey was conducted by the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley and co-sponsored by The Los Angeles Times. This margin places the California Deputy Attorney General ahead of her opponent, L.A. County Deputy District Attorney John McKinney, as the election approaches.
The November 3 ballot includes contests for two city council seats and the city attorney office. Los Angeles City Council member Bob Blumenfield of the Third District and Curren Price of the Ninth District have served their terms and are no longer eligible for reelection. Hydee Feldstein-Soto, the incumbent city attorney, lost in the June primary and will not appear on the general election ballot.
In the Third District, which includes Tarzana, Woodland Hills, Canoga Park, Reseda, and Winnetka, Tim Gaspar and Barri Worth Girvan are competing for the seat. Gaspar, who founded and sold an insurance company in 2021, campaigns on a pro-business platform aimed at supporting small businesses. Worth Girvan, a former employee of L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, emphasizes her government experience and connections across different levels of administration.
The Third District race has featured intense campaigning and accusations. Worth Girvan filed an ethics complaint with the City Ethics Commission, alleging that Gaspar failed to report more than $150,000 in campaign-related expenditures and violated matching-funds regulations. Gaspar has called these accusations lies and described Worth Girvan as a career politician. A political advertisement from Worth Girvan’s campaign features a former employee of Gaspar who alleged he created a hostile work environment.
The Ninth District, encompassing downtown Los Angeles, Vermont Square, Central-Alameda, and Green Meadows, is expected to elect its first Latino council member since 1962. The district, now approximately 80% Latino, has been represented by Black council members for decades. Estuardo Mazariegos and Jose Ugarte are the candidates. Mazariegos, co-director of the L.A. chapter of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, advocates for more oversight of the Los Angeles Police Department and a reduction in its funding to support other services. He also supports expanding unarmed crisis-response programs and has criticized the city’s anti-camping law, Section 41.18.
Ugarte, a former deputy chief of staff to Curren Price, supports Mayor Karen Bass’ goal of restoring the LAPD’s rank and file to 9,500 officers. He favors enforcement of the anti-camping law. Mazariegos has received endorsements from Sen. Bernie Sanders, City Controller Kenneth Mejia, and United Teachers Los Angeles, among others. Ugarte has the support of the L.A. County Democratic Party and Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove. Independent expenditures from Airbnb, Uber, and the California Apartment Association have supported Ugarte’s campaign, a strategy Mazariegos has criticized as an attempt to buy influence.
Ugarte was fined $20,000 by the City Ethics Commission in 2025 for failing to disclose outside income from lobbying and consulting work. He agreed to pay the fine and stated that his work with Ugarte & Associates, which he started with his sister in 2018, did not overlap with his tenure as Price’s chief deputy. Price hired Ugarte in 2013, and Ugarte stepped down in 2019 before returning in 2021.
The city attorney serves as the legal adviser to the mayor, City Council, city departments, boards, and workers. The role also involves overseeing contracts, defending the city in civil lawsuits, and acting as the chief prosecutor for misdemeanor cases. The next city attorney will oversee a staff of more than 1,000 attorneys and administrative personnel, along with a $200 million budget. McKinney has said he would prosecute chronically homeless individuals to place them in treatment, while Roy has said she would target companies and individuals violating wage laws and landlords who harass renters.
