Mike Feuer
Michael Nelson Feuer is an American politician and lawyer who served as Los Angeles City Attorney from 2013 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, Feuer previously served three terms in the California State Assembly, representing the 42nd Assembly District, and as a member of the Los Angeles City Council from 1995 to 2001, representing the 5th Council District.
Prior to seeking office, Feuer served as executive director of Bet Tzedek Legal Services and was a lawyer in private practice. He was a candidate in the 2022 Los Angeles mayoral election, until he dropped out on May 17, 2022.
Early life, education, and career
Feuer was born and raised in San Bernardino, in a Jewish family in San Bernardino, California. He graduated in 1976 from San Bernardino High School, where he was president and a valedictorian of his class. Feuer received both a bachelor's degree and a J.D. degree from Harvard University. He later served on the Harvard Law School Visiting Committee, which reports to the Harvard Board of Overseers. He served as a judicial clerk to Justice Joseph Grodin of the California Supreme Court, and practiced law at two California law firms.After briefly practicing law in the 1980s, Feuer worked as issues and research director for the second gubernatorial campaign of Tom Bradley, the first African-American Mayor of Los Angeles. Feuer was then selected to serve as executive director of Bet Tzedek Legal Services, an organization which "provides legal services to the needy of all faiths". He oversaw programs to help Alzheimer's patients, victims of the Northridge earthquake and L.A. civil unrest, and Holocaust survivors striving to obtain restitution. He also taught at the UCLA School of Law. Feuer was described by the Los Angeles Daily Journal as having transformed Bet Tzedek into a "national success story".
Los Angeles City Council (1994–2001)
From 1995 to 2001, Feuer served as the 5th District member of the Los Angeles City Council. He was elected to fill a vacancy caused by the election of Councilmember Zev Yaroslavsky to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Feuer defeated Barbara Yaroslavsky, the outgoing councilmember's wife. Feuer's City Council candidacy was endorsed by the Los Angeles Times, and supported by "a 'Who's Who' of Jewish community activists", as well as former Justice Joseph Grodin, who noted that Feuer "had a degree of self-confidence that made him unusual", though some criticized Feuer for this. Feuer won the seat by a two-to-one margin.On the City Council, Feuer chaired the Budget and Finance Committee, and wrote key City ethics reform measures. He championed the creation of L.A.'s 3-1-1 non-emergency services system, wrote a number of gun violence prevention laws, and was noted for advocating public safety, environmental stewardship and open government. Feuer also created a program to improve literacy for underserved students, and led Council efforts to create playgrounds for children with disabilities.
Feuer was the only council member to oppose a ballot measure to lift a $10,000 spending limit on "officeholder" funds, which Council Member Nate Holden criticized as "grandstanding." Mark Ridley-Thomas also criticized Feuer, saying "Mister Feuer seems to suggest that there is a higher ground that staked out that the balance of the council does not seem to appreciate." Some colleagues also blamed Feuer for the City Council's contentious relationship with Mayor Richard Riordan. Feuer defended himself saying he was trying to make good on campaign promises for government and ethics reforms.
In 2001, Feuer ran for City Attorney. He placed first in the nonpartisan primary for the office, taking 39% to opponent Rocky Delgadillo's 38%, but was defeated in the runoff, with Delgadillo taking 52% to Feuer's 48%, though Feuer received the endorsement of the Los Angeles Times, which noted his "record as an honest broker".
Afterward, Feuer worked in private practice and taught at the UCLA School of Public Affairs. During this time, he provided commentary for newspapers and public radio.
California State Assembly (2006–2012)
In 2006, Feuer defeated West Hollywood Mayor Abbe Land and three others in the Democratic primary for the 42nd Assembly District seat. Feuer served as a member of the California State Assembly, 42nd District, from December 4, 2006, to November 30, 2012. He served as the Majority Policy Leader of the California Assembly and Chair of the Assembly's Judiciary Committee.During his time with the State Assembly, he authored numerous bills. He wrote laws that prevent insurers from denying coverage to children with pre-existing health conditions. He also wrote a law that requires nursing homes to post the quality care rating that has been given to them by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. He supported funding the Long Term care Ombudsman program which responds to reports of suspected abuse and neglect. He authored the Reverse Mortgage Elder Protection Act that mandates more information when considering reverse mortgages, including risks and alternatives to using them. He wrote a law that protects Good Samaritans from liability. In 2010, he authored legislation requiring people convicted of DUI to install ignition interlock devices in their cars. He wrote the Sargent Shriver Civil Counsel Act, a pilot program to assure equal justice by providing free legal representation to low-income Californians. It was signed into law as a permanent program in 2016. He supported equal treatment for same-sex couples. He co-authored a law that prohibits contracts of $1 million or more between the State of California and companies with significant business in Iran's energy sector to ensure that tax dollars do not go to companies whose investments support Iran's nuclear program. In 2009, Feuer wrote a law to conserve water usage, and another law that facilitates domestic partners having the same rights with respect to survivorship benefits as spouses.
Feuer also wrote the law authorizing Los Angeles's $35 billion measure to enhance public transit to go to the ballot. In the face of voter suppression efforts nationally, Feuer wrote California's law allowing same-day voter registration. Confronting the foreclosure crisis, Feuer was a joint author of the Homeowners' Bill of Rights. He also wrote legislation to remove cancer-causing agents from consumer products.
Los Angeles City Attorney (2013–2022)
Feuer took office as the Los Angeles City Attorney on July 1, 2013. He was re-elected in 2017 without opposition.Feuer expanded the Neighborhood Prosecutor Program. He has emphasized protecting consumers, preventing gun violence, reforming the criminal justice system and making neighborhoods safer. He has stepped in to prevent developers from receiving special treatment, and to fight corruption in land use development.
In March 2019, Feuer "launched an ethics review to look at issues surrounding the 2017 settlement of a class-action lawsuit" brought by customers of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power against the city. Feuer's office hired legal ethics expert Ellen Pansky to evaluate the integrity of all lawyers involved, including outside counsel and staff, working on the DWP cases. Feuer said of the controversy, "he chips will fall where they fall, and I will take decisive action if this review reveals any breach of ethics". In July 2019, FBI agents raided the offices of the LA City Attorney and of the DWP with respect to the matter. There were reports that outside defense counsel hired by the city had recruited a plaintiff to sue the city over the DWP billing errors. Pansky compiled a 172-page report ultimately finding no credible evidence of wrongdoing on the part of City Attorney staff, though Feuer determined to "make significant changes to the way his office hires outside lawyers to remove even the appearance of a conflict of interest".
Feuer challenged a number of efforts by the Trump Administration, particularly in the area of immigration. Additionally, in 2020, Feuer joined with other jurisdictions and non-profit organizations to sue the Administration over its effort to curtail the U.S. Census.
Record
Consumer protection
In a 2017 case having national implications, Feuer sued Wells Fargo for opening unauthorized accounts, winning a substantial settlement including protections for consumers, in conjunction with federal regulators. He has also sued the Weather Channel App over data privacy concerns, vape companies alleging that they target children and H&R Block and Intuit, the makers of Turbo Tax, alleging the companies defrauded low-income taxpayers and charged them for a service that the companies are required by law to provide for free. Feuer filed a wage theft suit in 2014 to protect low income workers, and sued to remove lead from pre-natal vitamins.Environmental protection
Feuer sued Southern California Gas Company over the massive Aliso Canyon gas leak. The suit was later joined by the Attorney General of California, Kamala Harris, and by Los Angeles County. In 2018 SoCalGas settled, agreeing to payments of $119.5 million to several government entities over the incident, much of which was devoted to long-term public health projects. Feuer also sued oil company AllenCo Energy for public nuisance after numerous complaints from low-income neighbors over health issues. The case ultimately settled with the company prohibited from operating absent stringent new health and safety requirements.In 2014, Feuer charged two businesses for polluting as a part of an effort to clean up neighborhoods near schools. He also formed a strike force to combat illegal dumping, Feuer settled a dispute regarding the City of LA's responsibility for dust pollution in the Owens Valley.
Gun violence prevention
To prevent gun violence, Feuer created the Gun Violence Prevention Unit in his office. Feuer has brought charges against parents who did not properly store firearms which later fell into the hands of their children. Working with the LAPD, he created protocols to assure domestic violence perpetrators do not have weapons. He has also advocated for the use of gun violence restraining orders, leading educational trainings after the law passed in California in 2016. Feuer joined with Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. to co-found and chair Prosecutors Against Gun Violence—an independent, non-partisan coalition devoted to prosecutorial and policy solutions to the public health and safety crisis of gun violence. After the Parkland shooting, he formed a Blue Ribbon Panel on School Safety to evaluate and recommend ways to enhance efforts by Los Angeles Unified School District to keep students safe from violence, particularly gun violence, both in schools and surrounding neighborhoods.In 2019, a federal judge blocked the City of Los Angeles and Feuer from enforcing a law that would require contractors seeking to do business with the city to disclose ties to the National Rifle Association of America. Feuer had vigorously defended the law.