New district attorney takes oath

This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press December 5, 2000

By WILLIAM P. WARFORD
Valley Press Staff Writer

LOS ANGELES - Promising "I will not let you down," Steve Cooley took the oath of office as the 37th district attorney of Los Angeles County, promising reform, to fight corruption and to overhaul "three strikes" prosecution.

Cooley vanquished Gil Garcetti last month in a reform-oriented campaign that garnered him a 2to-1 voter ratio, all the more remarkable with Cooley a Republican running for the nonpartisan seat in predominantly Democratic Los Angeles County.

He arrives to oversee an office of thousands of employees who pursue justice in the nation's most populous county, a job that has been made all the more difficult by corruption scandals such as the one plaguing the Los Angeles Police Department in the Rampart Division.

Cooley, who led a group of insurgent prosecutors who opposed Garcetti, said he arrives ready to do the job.

In a ceremony at Cal State University Los Angeles, with more than 1,000 well-wishers attending, including his family and his mother, Jean, the veteran prosecutor thanked his supporters and laid out his plans for the next four years as the county's chief law enforcement officer.

"This was not just a campaign, but a cause - a cause to restore public confidence in the district attorney's office."

Cooley promised three major changes in the way the office is run.

He promised changes in personnel, and to revise the office policy on "three strikes" prosecutions - making it more even-handed and proportionate.

The prosecutor said he wants to modify the prosecution practice of going for three strikes on minor crimes such as shoplifting. He said the changes he plans will make it easier to convict hard-core career criminals.

Also, he promised a sweeping organizational change, creating a justice system integrity division to go after those who violate the trust placed in law enforcement officers.

He plans a separate public integrity division to tackle corrupt public officials and an organized crime division to go after crime syndicates.

Cooley credited predecessor Garcetti for crime prevention programs but promised to evaluate each program and eliminate the ones that don't show results.

"I promise I will be a just, fair and honest district attorney," the 27-year office veteran said.

The one-hour ceremony at the Luckman Fine Arts Complex on the campus of Cooley's alma mater included brief remarks from three longtime friends.

Judge Judith Meisels Ashman told the audience about Cooley's success overhauling the district attorney's branch office in San Fernando.

Former LAPD commander Keith Bushey reminisced about coming to Cal State LA during days of student unrest when Cooley served as student body president.

"I remember a gutsy young student body president wading into the crowd," Bushey said.

And it was Cooley, Bushey said, who then quelled campus unrest.

"He's not so young anymore, but he's still gutsy."

Luis Rodriguez, of the Mexican American Bar Association, spoke of his friendship with Cooley, "an individual who was able to reach across ethnic, political and professional lines."

After Cooley was sworn in by Judge Ruth Kwan, he was presented with his badge by former District Attorney and state Attorney General John Van de Kamp. Van de Kamp told the people of Los Angeles County, "You have elected a decent man for a very tough job."