Rocky Delgadillo

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Rockard John "Rocky" Delgadillo (born July 15, 1960) is the current City Attorney of Los Angeles, California.

[edit] Career

  • Teacher/ Coach, Los Angeles Unified School District, Franklin High School
  • Attorney, O'Melveny & Myers LLP
  • Director of Business Development, Rebuild LA
  • Deputy Mayor of Economic Development, Office of Mayor Richard Riordan
  • Elected City Attorney of Los Angeles 2001
  • Re-elected City Attorney of Los Angeles 2005

[edit] Biography

Rocky Delgadillo is a native of Northeast Los Angeles. Running unopposed, he was re-elected in March 2005 to a second four-year term.

He ran against former Governor and current Mayor of Oakland Jerry Brown in the 2006 race for the Democratic nomination for state attorney general of California. He lost by a wide margin, despite having spent over $3 million on television commercials in the last few weeks of the election.

Delgadillo attended Harvard College, where he won the Robert F. Kennedy Award given each year to a member of the varsity football team who demonstrates a strong desire, determination, and willingness to work hard as a valuable member of the team earning the respect and admiration of his teammates and coaches. He had claimed to have received a football scholarship to Harvard and played professional football. However an investigation by the Los Angeles Times published April 22, 2006 revealed that he had not received that type of scholarship, and that he'd only trained briefly with Canadian team Hamilton Tiger-Cats before being cut.[1] He went on to Columbia Law School, graduating in 1986.

After a short time in private practice, he joined Rebuild LA, a non-profit formed in the wake of the 1992 riots in Los Angeles. He later joined the administration of Mayor Richard Riordan, eventually becoming deputy mayor for economic development.

As City Attorney, he has subscribed to the "broken windows" theory of law enforcement. Among the programs Delgadillo has implemented is a neighborhood prosecutor program that put city attorneys in each of the city's police divisions. He has also sped up the implementation of civil gang injunctions, which largely limit association by gang members in certain defined areas. Civil rights groups have challenged the injunctions, but the state's courts have upheld them. They have come under renewed attention recently, particularly in South Los Angeles, where some community members have complained that it is difficult for gang members to get out from under the restrictions.

One of the most well-publicized prosecutions by Delgadillo's office was that of entertainer Paul Reubens, more commonly known as Pee Wee Herman, for possession of child pornography. Delgadillo's office dropped the case after Rubens agreed to pay a $100 fine and serve three years of probation.[2]

[edit] External links


Preceded by
James Hahn
City Attorney of Los Angeles, California
2001-present
Succeeded by
Incumbent