Los Angeles City Attorney — John McKinney vs. Marissa Roy
Current as of · voting-clarity.org
November 3, 2026 City of Los Angeles ballot. AI-generated analysis. Your sample ballot and official voter guide are the official documents; the links below let you check each claim. This page explains what is on the ballot; it is not legal advice.
Voting Clarity's research is done by Claude, an AI made by Anthropic. Anthropic gave no money to either candidate in this race [1].
At a glance
Candidates appear in official ballot order [2].
John McKinney
On the ballot as: Deputy District Attorney (listed first). Works as a prosecutor in the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
Elected office held before: None found.
June primary: 28.60% (second place)
Campaign money raised (through Sept. 19): $482,900, plus $440,668 in city matching funds (as of Oct. 19)
Outside spending (as of Oct. 16): $4.99 million for him; $847,940 against him
Official findings of wrongdoing: None found.
Marissa Roy
On the ballot as: Deputy Attorney General (listed second). Works as a lawyer in the California Department of Justice.
Elected office held before: None found.
June primary: 43.12% (first place)
Campaign money raised (through Sept. 19): $1,075,545, plus $1,086,524 in city matching funds (as of Oct. 19)
Outside spending (as of Oct. 16): $1.13 million for her; $356,846 against her
Official findings of wrongdoing: None found.
Key questions
Who finished first in June? Roy, with 43.12%. McKinney had 28.60%.
Has either held elected office before? None found for either.
Do official records show either candidate acting on the race's top issues? No role found for either candidate in the records table. See "Their records, side by side."
Any official finding of wrongdoing or criminal charge? None found for either.
Any link to a foreign government? None found for either. See "Foreign-influence check."
More detail: Key Questions Answered, below.
Your Vote:
Vote for one. The race is nonpartisan: no party appears next to either name [2]. The term is four years, starting December 14, 2026, with a limit of two terms [3].
Summary
The City Attorney is the city's lawyer. The office sues and defends the city in court. It gives legal advice to city leaders and departments. It also prosecutes violations of city law and state misdemeanors (less serious crimes) that happen in the city [4]. State law makes the county District Attorney the public prosecutor. The District Attorney brings cases on behalf of the people for public offenses. State law allows exceptions [5].
The current City Attorney, Hydee Feldstein Soto [3], finished third in the June 2 primary. No candidate won a majority of the votes cast by City of Los Angeles voters, so the top two meet in November. Roy received 43.12% (320,771 votes), McKinney 28.60% (212,754), Feldstein Soto 17.99% (133,799) and Aida Ashouri 10.29% (76,546) [6][7].
To serve, a City Attorney must have been allowed to practice law in California for at least five years before the election [4]. State Bar records show McKinney admitted in 1998 and Roy in 2017 [8][9].
Key Questions Answered
John McKinney
Ballot designation and order: "Deputy District Attorney"; listed first [2].
Background: Prosecutor in the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. He says he joined the office after law school in 1997, has tried nearly 40 murder cases, and now leads its Specialized Prosecutions bureau (campaign website, self-reported) [10][11]. As quoted by Patch, he reports an associate degree from Passaic County Community College, a bachelor's degree from Rutgers University, and a law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1997 (self-reported) [12]. The State Bar lists an active license since Feb. 21, 1998 [8].
Record in office: None found.
Stated priorities: Asked how he would measure success, he said, as quoted by LAist: "fewer lawsuits and lower liability costs, reduced spending on outside counsel, stronger prosecution of repeat quality-of-life offenders, and measurable progress addressing dangerous encampments" [13]. The first three topics on his campaign issues page are Neighborhood Prosecutors, Public Safety and Neighborhood Protection, and Protecting Renters (campaign website, self-reported) [11].
Positions: see "Positions side by side" below.
Money: Through Sept. 19, 2026: $482,900.17 in contributions; public matching funds as of Oct. 19, 2026: $440,668 [14]. Outside groups that spend on their own (independent spending), as of Oct. 19, 2026 (latest filings dated Oct. 18): $5,122,130.89 supporting him, mostly from a committee sponsored by the Central City Association of Los Angeles ($2.07 million) and "Neighbors for John McKinney for City Attorney 2026" ($1.69 million) [15]; $847,939.56 opposing him, all from "Communities United for Change in Support of Marissa Roy" [16]. Communications by organizations to their own members, supporting him: None found. Opposing him: None found [14].
Endorsements (campaign list, self-reported): Los Angeles Police Protective League, District Attorney Nathan Hochman, former District Attorneys Jackie Lacey and Steve Cooley, former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Councilmembers Traci Park, Monica Rodriguez, John Lee and Tim McOsker, Central City Association, and others [17].
Official-record items: None found [18]. Criminal charges: None found [19][20][21].
Primary result and past races: 28.60% in the June 2026 primary [6]. Past races: Ran for Los Angeles County District Attorney in March 2024 and placed seventh of 12 with 5.97% (87,903 votes) [22].
Marissa Roy
Ballot designation and order: "Deputy Attorney General"; listed second [2].
Background: Lawyer in the California Department of Justice, working on consumer protection. She says she started at the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office on wage-theft cases, then represented Los Angeles County as outside counsel in more than a dozen legal actions against the first Trump administration (campaign website, self-reported; as quoted by Patch) [23][24]. As quoted by Patch, she reports a philosophy degree from the University of Southern California (USC) and a law degree from Yale Law School (self-reported) [24]. The State Bar lists an active license since Dec. 7, 2017 [9].
Record in office: None found.
Stated priorities: Asked how she would measure success, she said, as quoted by LAist: "an expansion of cases that fight wage theft, tenant harassment, corporate pollution, and civil rights abuses; increased restitution for the public; and reduced spending on liability payouts and big law firms" [13]. The first three topics on her campaign platform page are Protecting Workers' Rights, Protecting Renters' Rights, and Protecting Our Environment (campaign website, self-reported) [25].
Positions: see "Positions side by side" below.
Money: Through Sept. 19, 2026: $1,075,545.22 in contributions; public matching funds as of Oct. 19, 2026: $1,086,524.46 [14]. Independent spending, as of Oct. 19, 2026 (latest filings dated Oct. 18 supporting her and Sept. 23 opposing her): $1,142,938.02 supporting her, mostly from "Communities United for Change in Support of Marissa Roy" ($978,242) [26]; $356,846.38 opposing her, all from the Los Angeles Police Protective League's committee [27]. Communications by organizations to their own members, supporting her: $212,208.56. Opposing her: None found [14].
Endorsements (campaign list, self-reported): Los Angeles County Democratic Party, Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, Planned Parenthood, Democratic Socialists of America–Los Angeles, Working Families Party, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla, Adam Schiff and Bernie Sanders, Attorney General Rob Bonta, Controller Kenneth Mejia, four County Supervisors, and others [28].
Official-record items: None found [18]. Criminal charges: None found [29][30][31].
Primary result and past races: 43.12% in the June 2026 primary [6]. Past races: None found. The County Registrar's results for the March 5, 2024 primary, searched by name across every contest listed, show no candidate named Marissa Roy [22].
Their records, side by side
The race's top issues, as identified by the LAist voter guide, are outside law firms and legal costs, homelessness, and immigration and the federal government [13]. Misdemeanor prosecution and renters are main duties of the office and campaign topics for both candidates [4][11][25].
| Issue | John McKinney | Marissa Roy |
|---|---|---|
| Outside law firms and legal costs | No role found. | No role found. |
| Homelessness | No role found. | No role found. |
| Prosecuting misdemeanors | No role found. | No role found. |
| Renters | No role found. | No role found. |
Elected office held before: None found for either. Each describes past legal work in his or her own words (see item 1 above), but council files, roll calls, City Attorney's office actions and official reports naming either candidate were not found.
Foreign-influence check
The same three checks were run by name for both candidates.
| Check | John McKinney | Marissa Roy |
|---|---|---|
| Travel or gifts paid by a foreign government (Form 700 financial disclosures) | None found. | None found. |
| Registered as a foreign government's agent (U.S. Justice Department Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) database) | None found. | None found. |
| Federal charges involving acting for a foreign government | None found. | None found. |
Sources searched: the Fair Political Practices Commission's public Form 700 portal, which holds each candidate's 2026 candidate filing, searched for gifts and travel [32]; the FARA lists of registrants, short-form registrants (individuals) and foreign principals, published Oct. 16, 2026, searched by name; this was a name search of those lists, not a full-text search of filings [33]; and the U.S. Department of Justice site search [19][29]. Meetings or contacts by themselves are not reported.
Positions side by side
The first two issues are ones LAist asked both candidates about; the third is an issue the next City Attorney will contend with, according to LAist; the last two are main duties of the office [13][4].
Outside law firms and legal costs. McKinney, as quoted by LAist: "Outside counsel is appropriate when a case requires niche legal expertise the City does not have in-house. It should not be the default for general litigation." Roy, as quoted by LAist: "I'd immediately cut the exorbitant spending on outside counsel to save millions of taxpayer dollars." [13]
Homelessness. McKinney, as quoted by LAist: "I will enforce laws that keep sidewalks passable, protect parks and schools, and address dangerous encampments, while expanding coordination with diversion programs and service providers." Roy, as quoted by LAist: "I'll do what works: invest in successful but underscaled diversion programs that connect people on the streets to services, while preventing homelessness before it happens." [13] Diversion means sending a person to treatment or services instead of jail or a criminal record.
Immigration and the federal government. The next City Attorney will have to continue to contend with immigration activity in the region and the city's relationship to the Trump administration, according to LAist [13]. McKinney (campaign website): "I will always protect Angelenos against unconstitutional ICE raids and Trump administration overreach." (ICE is U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.) [11] Roy (campaign website): She would "Initiate lawsuits to defend Angelenos from the Trump Administration's attacks on our civil rights" and "Prosecute ICE and federal agents violating our laws." [25]
Prosecuting misdemeanors. McKinney, as quoted by Patch: He would prioritize "cases involving repeat offenders who drive quality-of-life crime through theft, vandalism, and destruction of property," and would restore the Neighborhood Prosecutor Program [12]. Roy, as quoted by Patch: She would "develop tools like diversion that are shown to work," and would create a "Neighborhood Advocates Program" built on the Neighborhood Prosecutor model [24].
Renters. McKinney (campaign website): "I will focus on enforcing existing laws, addressing serious violations, protecting housing stability, and ensuring that both tenants and landlords are treated fairly under the law." [11] Roy (campaign website): She would "Enforce the City's strong renter protections, that defend against illegal rent increases, denial of repairs, harassment, and more." [25]
Sources
City of Los Angeles Ethics Commission, campaign contributions and independent expenditures search, contributor "Anthropic", https://ethics.lacity.gov/data/campaigns/contributions/, searched Oct. 16, 2026; and Cal-Access, Anthropic PBC (filer 1491817), https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Campaign/Committees/Detail.aspx?id=1491817, as of Oct. 16, 2026.
Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, Final List of Qualified Candidates, p. 65
Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, certified results, June 2, 2026
Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, June 2026 certification notice
State Bar of California, licensee record, John McKinney #194455
State Bar of California, licensee record, Marissa Roy #318773
McKinney campaign website, About (self-reported)
McKinney campaign website, Issues (self-reported)
Patch, candidate questionnaire: John McKinney, Apr. 30, 2026 (self-reported, as quoted by Patch)
LAist, Los Angeles City Attorney voter guide, including candidate questionnaires (updated Oct. 14, 2026)
Los Angeles City Ethics Commission, 2026 election totals (reported through Sept. 19, 2026)
Los Angeles City Ethics Commission, independent spending supporting McKinney (as of Oct. 19, 2026)
Los Angeles City Ethics Commission, independent spending opposing McKinney (as of Oct. 19, 2026)
McKinney campaign website, Endorsements (self-reported)
Los Angeles City Ethics Commission, enforcement orders (all 600 orders read and searched by name for both candidates; read Oct. 16, 2026)
U.S. Department of Justice, site search: "John McKinney" (searched Oct. 16, 2026; six results, all about other people or an 1870 reference; none reports a charge against the candidate)
California Attorney General, press release search: "John McKinney" (searched Oct. 16, 2026; no results)
Los Angeles County District Attorney, site search: John McKinney (searched Oct. 16, 2026; three pages, each naming him as a director in the office; none reports a charge against him)
Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, results, March 5, 2024 (results as of March 29, 2024; every contest listed was searched by name for both candidates; read Oct. 16, 2026)
Roy campaign website, Meet Marissa (self-reported)
Patch, candidate questionnaire: Marissa Roy, Apr. 30, 2026 (self-reported, as quoted by Patch)
Roy campaign website, The People's Platform (self-reported)
Los Angeles City Ethics Commission, independent spending supporting Roy (as of Oct. 19, 2026)
Los Angeles City Ethics Commission, independent spending opposing Roy (as of Oct. 19, 2026)
Roy campaign website, Endorsements (self-reported)
U.S. Department of Justice, site search: "Marissa Roy" (searched Oct. 16, 2026; no results)
California Attorney General, press release search: "Marissa Roy" (searched Oct. 16, 2026; no results)
Los Angeles County District Attorney, site search: Marissa Roy (searched Oct. 16, 2026; no results)
California Fair Political Practices Commission, Search Filed Form 700s (searched Oct. 16, 2026)
U.S. Department of Justice, Foreign Agents Registration Act, bulk data (registrants, short forms, foreign principals) (files published Oct. 16, 2026)
Reviewed in the original: County candidate list (City Attorney page); June 2026 and March 2024 vote counts from the Registrar's results data; certification notice; City Clerk candidate information; Charter Secs. 270–274; Government Code Sec. 26500; Ethics Commission totals (reported through Sept. 19, 2026) and all four independent-spending listings, as of Oct. 16, 2026; both campaign committees' contribution records and the contributions listed on independent-spending reports; Ethics Commission enforcement orders (all 600); both State Bar records; LAist guide including both questionnaires; both Patch questionnaires; both campaign sites' home, about, issues/platform and endorsements pages.
Searched for official-record items and criminal charges (same searches for both candidates): State Bar licensee records; Los Angeles City Ethics Commission enforcement orders; U.S. Department of Justice site search, California Attorney General press release search and Los Angeles County District Attorney site search (each run Oct. 16, 2026 for each candidate's name).
Searched for foreign-government links (same searches for both candidates): Fair Political Practices Commission Form 700 portal (gifts and travel); FARA registrant, short-form and foreign-principal lists (name search); U.S. Department of Justice site search.
Could not be reviewed
Official candidate statements: the City Clerk's statements are scanned PDFs without readable text; the version in address-specific sample ballots was not available.
Form 700s filed with a candidate's employer rather than on the Fair Political Practices Commission portal: not available there.
FARA full-text search of filing documents: not run (the search opens in a pop-up the browser blocks, and its direct address redirects to a site that is not approved); the registrant, short-form and foreign-principal lists were searched by name instead.
Federal court dockets: a CourtListener plain-name search for each candidate stopped at a human-verification check on Oct. 16, 2026 (not bypassed), so no CourtListener name-search result is reported for either candidate. Case dockets were not used for either candidate. CourtListener's coverage of dockets is partial. Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) is fee-based and was not searched.
Fair Political Practices Commission enforcement decisions: the site search did not return name-specific results.
California appellate court docket party search: stopped at a human-verification check.
Los Angeles Superior Court name index: fee-based; not searched.
Itemized donor lists for each committee: not compiled.