LA activists tied to $177M in city contracts are trying to install a DSA city attorney: Serious concerns

A group of lefty Los Angeles activists and lawyers who scored an eye-popping $177 million in City Hall contracts is now bankrolling a DSA-backed candidate for the city’s top prosecutor — a move that’s raising serious oversight concerns.Campaign filings reviewed by The California Post reveal that far-left challenger Marissa Roy has built a war chest of $462,629, putting her within striking distance of incumbent City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, who currently holds $686,341 in campaign funds.The impressive stash of cash has come to light just days after councilmembers approved the taxpayer-funded windfall to the nonprofit groups to fund a program that provides legal aid and support to tenants facing eviction.An analysis of Los Angeles City Ethics Commission filings shows that the lawyers behind those groups are powering a huge share of Marissa Roy’s campaign cash.As of the Dec.31 reporting deadline, 145 individual attorneys had contributed a combined $186,380 to Roy’s campaign — making up about 43.6% of the $427,664 she raised excluding a $35,000 personal loan, according to campaign finance records.Real estate developer Rick Caruso, founder of the nonprofit Steadfast LA, said the overlap between taxpayer funding and political activity raises serious red flags.“These same organizations that just received $177 million are now supporting a candidate who is a member of the DSA,” Caruso said.

“That raises serious concerns about the propriety of granting these funds in the first place, and whether some of that money could ultimately be used to support a campaign that would eliminate the oversight these groups now face by placing one of their own in office.”Feldstein Soto, the current city attorney whom Roy is looking to unseat, has raised concerns about oversight and financial accountability tied to earlier tenant-rights contracts with the same groups — including allegations some failed to submit receipts or basic reports showing how taxpayer money ...