CONTROVERSY SURROUNDS REPUBLICAN COOLEY AS HE SEEKS TO BE CALIFORNIA’S TOP PROSECUTOR

With no household name Democrat declared in the race to fill incumbent Jerry Brown’s shoes as California’s out-going top prosecutor, the hopes of California Republican’s have been reportedly buoyed by the recent entry of third term Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley into the race for State Attorney General.

But those thinking that Cooley might trounce the ultimate Democratic nominee from the current field of six “no name” candidates for AG should think again.

Among the Democrats, Kamala Harris, 45, outpaced her opponents to collect $2.2 million last year, some it from such Los Angeles household names as Steven Spielberg and David Geffen—but Harris—who is San Francisco’s incumbent District attorney—has no chance of being elected attorney general due to her categorical opposition to the death penalty, including in a recent San Francisco case involving the cold blooded murder of a police officer---not to mention an otherwise dismal prosecutorial record in San Francisco.

But several obstacles lie in the path of liberal Republican Cooley’s swearing in as California Attorney General in 2011.

First, Cooley, who is on the left to middle side of the spectrum for a Republican prosecutor—how else could he be elected three times as district attorney in Democrat leaning Los Angeles County—must survive a Republican primary midterm election dominated by the statewide Republican faithful expected to turn out for the primary election in the greatest numbers. Can Cooley appeal to the party faithful in traditional republican strongholds like Orange County and the Central Valley while retaining his moderate cross-over appeal that assured his reelection in Hollywood? That remains to be seen.

Second, Cooley has been plagued of late with internal office dissension—leading Cooley’s deputy district attorney who oversees criminal filings for most of Los Angeles to say:

“"There is a lot of apparent acrimony between the administration and the union””, and leading another veteran prosecutor to describe the infighting in the District Attorney’s Office as a “snake’s nest”.
(Source: Los Angeles Daily News.)

It is perhaps the former issue—Cooley’s current legal troubles regarding union allegations of retaliation and demotions of employee’s supporting unionization of the office—that provide the most likely obstacle to Cooley’s success in a general election for California Attorney General.

For example, Cooley is accused of shifting pro-union attorneys to postings a much longer commute from their homes, trimming benefits, demotions, and bad job performance reviews—all as political pay-back.

And, according to Los Angeles news sources, U.S. District Court Judge Otis D. Wright II is leaning toward a findings that Cooley committed the above charged misconduct. (Source: Los Angeles Daily News.)

"Is it just coincidence that we have experienced deputies suddenly finding themselves in Pomona or at Los Padrinos (Juvenile Hall)?" [Judge] Wright asked. "Is it just a co-inkydink?"

Should liberal Steven Cooley make it past a field of two other Republican’s in the primary election, that (among others) is question that California voters must answer on election day.
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UPDATE—from the Recorder’s Legal Pad Blog:

http://legalpad.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/02/aghopeful-cooley-to-challenge-la-pot-dispensaries-.html

A.G.-Hopeful Cooley to Challenge L.A. Pot Dispensaries
[Cynthia Foster]

L.A. County District Attorney Steve Cooley, who recently announced his intent to run for California attorney general, may be trying to gain some political capital among conservative voters by waging war against medical marijuana dispensaries.

Cooley's office announced today that it is charging noted dispensary owner Jeff Joseph, of popular Organica in Venice, with 24 felonies related to the unlawful sale of marijuana. Cooley "warned that state law does not allow dispensaries to sell medical marijuana," according to LAT.
Joseph's case, which was intensely investigated by police and federal agents, has the potential to test whether state law permits dispensaries to sell marijuana.

A court commissioner set Joseph's bail at $520,000, which his sister and mother tearfully announced he does not have. Joseph's attorney, Eric Shevin, says that the charges are political and that Joseph was targeted due to his pot club's notoriety. Cooley's office denies these claims and says that other dispensary owners are facing charges as well.