LA activists tied to $177M in city contracts are trying to install a DSA city attorney

A group of lefty Los Angeles activists and lawyers who scored an eye-popping $177 million in City Hall contracts is now bankrolling a DSA-backed candidate for the city’s top prosecutor — a move that’s raising serious oversight concerns.

Campaign filings reviewed by The California Post reveal that far-left challenger Marissa Roy has built a war chest of $462,629, putting her within striking distance of incumbent City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, who currently holds $686,341 in campaign funds.

The impressive stash of cash has come to light just days after councilmembers approved the taxpayer-funded windfall to the nonprofit groups to fund a program that provides legal aid and support to tenants facing eviction.

An analysis of Los Angeles City Ethics Commission filings shows that the lawyers behind those groups are powering a huge share of Marissa Roy’s campaign cash.

As of the Dec. 31 reporting deadline, 145 individual attorneys had contributed a combined $186,380 to Roy’s campaign — making up about 43.6% of the $427,664 she raised excluding a $35,000 personal loan, according to campaign finance records.

Real estate developer Rick Caruso, founder of the nonprofit Steadfast LA, said the overlap between taxpayer funding and political activity raises serious red flags.

“These same organizations that just received $177 million are now supporting a candidate who is a member of the DSA,” Caruso said.

“That raises serious concerns about the propriety of granting these funds in the first place, and whether some of that money could ultimately be used to support a campaign that would eliminate the oversight these groups now face by placing one of their own in office.”

Feldstein Soto, the current city attorney whom Roy is looking to unseat, has raised concerns about oversight and financial accountability tied to earlier tenant-rights contracts with the same groups — including allegations some failed to submit receipts or basic reports showing how taxpayer money was spent or what the programs actually delivered.

But the financial ties go deeper.

On Jan. 31, a fundraiser for Roy was hosted by Becky Dennison, Housing Justice Policy Manager for the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA) — the same nonprofit that just secured the largest slice of the city’s massive tenant-rights contract.

Under the deal approved by the city council, LAFLA will receive roughly $106.6 million over three years to run eviction-defense legal services.

The package also directs tens of millions more to politically active housing organizations, including the Southern California Housing Rights Center, the Liberty Hill Foundation and Strategic Actions for a Just Economy.

Activists with the groups packed City Hall chambers and pressured councilmembers during the debate.

LAFLA attorney Shayla Myers has represented advocacy groups in major cases that have blocked the city from enforcing codes aimed at keeping sidewalks clear of homeless encampments and neighborhoods safe.

“At minimum, there should be an independent investigation into why $177 million in taxpayer money is being funneled to organizations whose actions appear to undermine the city’s ability to address homelessness,” Caruso railed.

Roy’s campaign has also received donations from attorneys tied to Public Counsel, another legal advocacy group heavily involved in Los Angeles housing litigation that is slated to receive funding from the $177 million package.

Campaign filings show contributions from Public Counsel attorneys including Kathleen Murray, Doug Smith and Faizah Malik, who is also a Democratic Socialists of America candidate running in the City Council District 11 race.

As for her far-left policy positions, Roy has already signaled she would dramatically shift the city’s enforcement approach if elected.

She has publicly criticized LA’s anti-camping ordinance restricting sitting, sleeping or storing property near schools, parks and other sensitive areas — one of the city’s primary tools for regulating homeless encampments.

Roy has also been tied to a 2022 proposal calling for a 100-day moratorium on misdemeanor prosecutions that would have halted the filing of thousands of low-level criminal cases, including trespassing, vandalism and public intoxication.

The political web extends further into City Hall.

Roy has built ties with City Controller Kenneth Mejia, another DSA-backed official whose office audits city spending and tracks taxpayer dollars.

The controller’s office should be closely scrutinizing the hundreds of millions of dollars flowing to tenant-rights organizations tied to political activism. Instead, much of the scrutiny has come from the City Attorney’s Office itself.

Former Los Angeles City Controller Laura Chick said independent financial oversight is essential when large public contracts are involved.

“The controller’s job is to follow the money,” Chick said.

“When you are talking about contracts involving tens or hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars, there must be independent oversight to make sure the public knows exactly where that money is going.”

Scott Meyers, a candidate running for Congress in California’s 30th District, said the political overlap raises broader concerns about influence inside City Hall.

“The Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles’ goals overlap seamlessly with the Democratic Socialists in City Hall who voted for this deal,” Meyers said.

“And their comrade, fellow DSA member City Controller Kenneth Mejia, would never be expected to audit those $1,025-per-hour legal bills.”

The California Post has reached out to Roy’s campaign and to the office of City Controller Kenneth Mejia for comment about the campaign donations and connections to the taxpayer-funded organizations.

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