Los Angeles is a labor town — and, simultaneously, the wage theft capital of America. Approximately $2.5 billion is stolen from workers here annually, and large corporations and big tech companies misclassify workers as independent contractors to avoid paying them minimum wage and providing benefits. Companies are using increased automation to evade regulations and eliminate jobs. Too many workers suffer unsafe, substandard, or hostile working conditions.Marissa Roy believes the law should work for workers. She worked with the Teamsters to sue companies taking advantage of port truckers, won tens of thousands for car wash workers being paid sub-minimum wage, and organized with fellow non-tenure faculty to call for a union at USC. Marissa will deliver the same fight for workers’ rights and protections to the City Attorney’s office. As City Attorney, Marissa will:Significantly expand the office’s ability to protect workers: currently, fewer than 1% of the office’s capacity is dedicated to workers’ rights.Vigorously pursue accountability against companies that steal wages, misclassify workers, and fail to provide safe working conditions Put money back in the pockets of workers who have been taken advantage ofLearn more in detail about Marissa Roy’s commitment to protecting workers HERE.

The majority of Angelenos rent their homes. Over the last decade, Los Angeles renters have won landmark protections to ensure that housing remains stable, helping protect them from illegal rent hikes, denial of basic repairs and necessities, and harassment. But too often, when renters need to assert their rights and protections, they find themselves largely alone versus a massive, emboldened corporate landlord with significantly more legal resources.  Since 2021, tenants have filed over 23,000 complaints of renter harassment with the City, but less than 10 cases have been filed. These are legal violations, and the City needs to ensure accountability. As a Deputy Attorney General,* Marissa has secured justice for renters against corporate landlords who violated state law as part of the award-winning tenants’ rights team, putting money directly in the pockets of abused tenants.Marissa will bring the same work keeping renters in their homes to the City Attorney’s Office. As City Attorney, she will:Expand the capacity of the City Attorney’s office to protect renters from eviction and predatory landlordsEnforce the City’s strong renter protections, that defend against illegal rent increases, denial of repairs, harassment, and moreDefend affordable housing by suing landlords who seek to circumvent laws that preserve rent-stabilized units  Read more about how Marissa will protect LA’s renters HERE.*Official title is used for identification purposes only and does not imply official endorsement. All views expressed are those of the candidate alone, not the Department of Justice or the Attorney General.

Los Angeles is on the front lines of the climate crisis. Extreme heat, drought, wildfires, and toxic air pollution have become features of daily life in our city. Meanwhile, unscrupulous corporations have spent decades lying to the public about their role in fueling climate change, greenwashing their products, and dumping pollutants into our neighborhoods, our water, and our air. Angelenos pay the price for this misconduct with their health, their homes, and even their lives. These are legal violations. So what can we do about it? As City Attorney, Marissa will file lawsuits against the corporate polluters that fuel climate change, dump toxic chemicals, and lie to the public about their products’ environmental impact. Money that the city recovers in restitution payments will go into greening our communities to repair the damage that’s been done and help Angelenos thrive.Marissa knows how to do this work because this is what she's helped other California cities do. Marissa has helped hold big oil companies accountable for misleading the public about fossil fuels’ impact on climate. LA deserves a City Attorney who takes the climate crisis, clean air, and clean water head-on.

As Angelenos, consumer transactions shape nearly every aspect of our daily lives, from buying our morning coffee to paying rent or managing student debt. When businesses overcharge, mislead, and sometimes outright scam us, these are legal violations. Our lives can be more predictable, affordable, and secure, so long as the law is applied to protect us.Marissa Roy has taken on predatory corporations and bad actors exploiting vulnerable communities, including in the Consumer Protection Section of the California Department of Justice. She will bring this work protecting consumers to the City Attorney’s office to advance economic justice, hold powerful corporate actors accountable, and maintain a level playing field for honest businesses. As City Attorney, Marissa will: Protect consumers and hold corporations accountable for breaking the lawBolster affordability by going after junk fees, predatory lenders, and exploitative debt collectorsExpand consumer rights education and avenues for reporting of illegal corporate behaviorLearn more about Marissa’s plan to go after anyone taking advantage of hardworking Angelenos HERE.

The Trump Administration is targeting Los Angeles — kidnapping people off the street and tearing families apart, threatening federal funding for key local services, and violating law and due process at every turn. Angelenos deserve leaders who will stand up to any attacks on their constitutional and civil rights, not reinforce these illegal tactics.A key strategy that has proven to be effective in slowing and stopping the Trump Administration has been the hundreds of lawsuits filed by nonprofits and state and local governments. As outside counsel to Los Angeles County, Marissa was part of over a dozen legal actions against the first  Trump Administration, protecting sanctuary city status and fighting the inhumane treatment of immigrants. She also sued Ron DeSantis on behalf of eight cities in Florida, managing a pro-bono legal team to fight an unconstitutional law usurping local control over public safety. Marissa will lead the fight in the courts against MAGA and Trump, and defend and restore our residents’ rights. As City Attorney, she will: Initiate lawsuits to defend Angelenos from the Trump Administration’s attacks on our civil rightsProsecute ICE and federal agents violating our lawsSue corporations enabling and profiting off of ICE’s illegal reign of terror — surveillance technology like Palantir, and private prison companies like GEO Group and CoreCivicDefend Los Angeles as a safe haven for reproductive healthcareProtect the LGBTQ+ community from discrimination and attacks on gender-affirming careUphold Angelenos’ First Amendment rights against targeting by the federal government

Los Angeles is locked in a persistent, ongoing housing and homelessness crisis. Study after study has shown that homelessness is, at its core, a housing problem, driven by skyrocketing rents, stagnant wages, and a severe housing shortage, particularly affordable housing.Thousands of families have been sucked into the eviction-to-homelessness pipeline,forced out of their homes by rising rents, harassment, or wrongful evictions, leaving them nowhere to go but the streets. Once on the streets, our unhoused neighbors are swept from street corner to street corner, becoming further displaced and disconnected from the resources they need to get back into housing and stabilize their lives.Until we keep renters housed, dramatically increase the supply of affordable homes, and address the root causes of homelessness, the crisis will only deepen. But right now, the incumbent is blocking the construction of approved affordable housing projects — costing the city millions in legal expenses — and trying to derail the City’s Stay Housed LA program, which connects low-income tenants with education on their rights as tenants and pro bono legal assistance. In this crisis, our vulnerable neighbors need the full protection of the law on their side. So how can we do better? As City Attorney, Marissa will focus the Office on solutions, not obstruction. She will start a tenants’ rights team to focus on large-scale litigation while ensuring that Stay Housed LA can continue to provide vital support to individual tenants and their families. For housing projects approved by Council, she will ensure that the City Attorney’s Office devotes its efforts to getting that housing built promptly so that more Angelenos have safe, dignified homes. And she will provide the City with counsel to ensure that we are helping people get the services and housing they need while protecting their constitutional rights.Los Angeles deserves a City Attorney who will join the fight to ensure that every Angeleno is safely housed.

We all want safe communities, where people have the resources and opportunities they need to thrive, where children can learn and grow, and where everyone feels welcome and secure. But too often, our approach to public safety doesn’t actually keep us safe.Most misdemeanor offenses are non-violent and stem from poverty, mental health, or substance addiction. When the City fails to address these root causes and instead cycles offenders in and out of jail or imposes fines they cannot afford, it sets people up for failure, making their problems worse.Instead of preventing harm, this system separates people from their families and community, saddles them with permanent criminal records, and makes it harder for them to find and keep housing or work. In short, the City Attorney’s approach sets people up for failure, which can put them on the path to re-offend. Breaking the cycle of criminalization requires us to offer solutions that can address underlying problems, reduce recidivism, and strengthen community connections. We need to get smart about safety. So how can we do better? As City Attorney, Marissa's priority will be working hand-in-hand with communities to address root causes of crime with tailored solutions that reduce recidivism. She will ensure that attorneys work with communities to understand the issues that they face on the ground and problem-solve together. That means leaving behind a one-size-fits-all approach and instead delivering the services and solutions that promote real safety for everyone. In particular, she will grow our diversion programs, where people can be connected to the mental health treatment, addiction services, housing, or vocational training they need to escape a cycle of criminalization. Angelenos deserve a City Attorney who is serious about safety.

The incumbent City Attorney is setting our taxpayer dollars on fire with mismanaged lawsuits. Last year, the City faced a $1 billion budget shortfall—and one-third of that deficit came from liability payouts on cases botched by the current City Attorney. Every large city faces some level of litigation, but our skyrocketing legal costs are not normal. Past City Attorneys exceeded the litigation budget by anywhere from $9 to $38 million. In her first year, the current City Attorney exceeded it by $100 million, in her second by $200 million, and now, in her third year, by nearly $250 million. These runaway costs threaten to force layoffs, furloughs, and cuts to vital city services.If that weren’t bad enough, the incumbent City Attorney is doubling down on waste — not fixing it. That’s because she has outsourced the City’s legal work to expensive private firms that charge outrageously high hourly rates, with worse results. Spending on outside counsel has gone up 450% from past City Attorneys! Just recently, City Council authorized a contract that capped law firm bills at $900,000 for two years, but the incumbent City Attorney ignored that and signed off on spending over four times that amount, $3.9 million, for one month of work. Angelenos have the right to expect their City Attorney to be a responsible steward for their tax dollars rather than giving out blank checks. So how can we do better?As City Attorney, Marissa will rein in liability costs by ending overreliance on outside counsel and reinvesting in Deputy City Attorneys, who have the expertise to resolve cases at a fraction of the cost. She will implement risk-management and case valuation practices that have proven in other jurisdictions to ensure smarter settlement decisions. And she will ensure that the City Attorney’s Office plays an active role in ensuring compliance to prevent lawsuits before they happen. By acting competently and responsibly, we can pull Los Angeles back from the brink of a fiscal crisis, protect city services, and safeguard the jobs of the workers who keep our city running. Angelenos deserve a City Attorney who protects the City’s finances.-------------------------------------------------------------- 1* From LAist