This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press April 27, 2000
By THOMAS FRANCIS
Valley Press Staff Writer
TARZANA - The Gil Garcetti-Steve Cooley showdown was long in coming - nearly seven months, in fact - and anyone who attended the Tuesday candidates forum at a San Fernando Valley country club found out why.
Garcetti, whose tenure as Los Angeles County District Attorney will be challenged by Cooley in November, walked into a buzz saw of questions about the Rampart police scandal, in which Los Angeles Police Department officers allegedly planted evidence, lied in court and even shot innocent people.
Prior to the March 7 primary election, Garcetti refused invitations to debate his challengers. Both Cooley and another Garcetti challenger, Barry Groveman, said it was Garcetti's embarrassing public record - including Rampart - that kept him out of a debate.
The Tuesday forum, presented by the Tarzana Property Owners Association, was the first face-toface debate between the two candidates, though they conducted a radio debate earlier this month.
If, as Cooley and Groveman charged, Garcetti feared a public debate would bring backlash from Rampart, his nightmares were realized.
"I have one question for Mr. Garcetti," said Cooley in his opening statement. "Do you accept any responsibility for the Rampart scandal?"
Garcetti declined to answer that question when it came his turn for opening remarks, but was forced to broach the issue when moderator Bill Rosendahl asked him why his office has been slow to act against the corrupt police officers.
"We need hard proof that, beyond any reasonable doubt, a crime was committed," Garcetti said. "If you want me to do things the right way, there is no shortcut."
The shortcut, Cooley then suggested, was to keep the "Rollout" program, which kept prosecutorial oversight of police conduct. Garcetti canceled the $1.4 million program before it could have prevented Rampart, he said.
Garcetti defended that decision, saying, "I'm the one who started the Rollout program, and I know how that program works and how it doesn't work. There was no crime involved 99.9% of the time. Even then, I tried to find money for the program."
Garcetti then turned it on Cooley.
"When (the Rollout program) was canceled, I never heard from Steve," Garcetti said. "Did you ever hear from Steve? The answer is no."
Cooley says he had his own job to do.
"I was busy leading the nation's most effective program against welfare fraud, so no, I couldn't give Garcetti advice about his own budget."
The success of Cooley's welfare fraud division, which has been chronicled on ABC Television's "20/20," is probably his most remarkable achievement, but Garcetti said much of the credit belongs to him.
"We should know that the creation of that (welfare fraud) department was my idea," the district attorney said. "I don't have all the good ideas in the office, but that was one."
In closing, Cooley sought to further distance himself from the incumbent, saying, "You'll see a real difference between me and Mr. Garcetti."
When it was his turn to close, Garcetti spoke of his passion for the job.
"I just love the responsibilities that come with being the elected district attorney, the responsibility of always trying to do the right thing," he said.
"I love the responsibility of resisting public pressure, special interest pressure and media pressure when you know the thing they want is not the right thing to do."
After the debate concluded, however, Garcetti said it went well. He added that this would likely be the last debate, since Cooley's campaign had not agreed to future face-offs.
"That is an absolute lie. Capitalize that L-I-E," said Cooley when he was told of Garcetti's claim that he was ducking future debates. "He's a desperate loser, and he's shifting to the use of misinformation to drive his campaign. He knows he's going to be beaten."
Cooley said that he would welcome any debate he could accommodate in his schedule.
The most recent polls show Cooley enjoying a significant lead in the race despite not being an incumbent.