City Attorney and former Los Angeles Councilmember Mike Feuer is officially running for mayor of Los Angeles in 2022.
The 61-year-old Democrat told the Los Angeles Times that tackling homelessness and addressing the city’s affordable housing shortage would be high on his agenda if he were elected to succeed term-limited Eric Garcetti, who’s struggled to get a handle on either issue.
Feuer has received criticism for his policies on homelessness in the past — advocates for the homeless have called him too harsh for enforcing sidewalk sleeping prohibitions, but others consider him too lenient.
He’s crossed paths with some of Los Angeles’ best-known developers and landlords during his seven years as the city’s top prosecutor.
His office is battling developer Mohamed Hadid in court over Hadid’s disastrous megamansion project on Strada Vecchia Road in Bel Air. Feuer’s office has asked a judge to order the unfinished project torn down over structural concerns.
His office is also suing developer Michael Hakim for unpaid legal fees incurred during the city’s unsuccessful defense of Hakim’s 27-story project in Koreatown.
He’s led the city’s campaign against unlicensed cannabis shops and last year began pursuing agents and landlords who allegedly helped set up shops.
Feuer’s political career started in the city council in 1995. He entered the California State Assembly a decade later and served six years before winning the City Attorney’s office.
Feuer is the first candidate to officially start a campaign for mayor. Other elected officials are considering runs or haven’t entirely ruled a run out, including Councilmember Joe Buscaino, and County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. [LAT] – Dennis Lynch