Cooley aide: Trutanich not 'up to the job'

When Steve Cooley endorsed his chief deputy, Jacquelyn Lacey, to succeed him next year, eyebrows went up. No Carmen Trutanich? Cooley played a big part in getting Trutanich elected as Los Angeles City Attorney in 2009. Rick Orlov reports today that the DA quickly became unimpressed by Trutanich.

Both sides say, for the record, there is no major rift between the two.

However, on background, aides say that Cooley became disenchanted with Trutanich shortly after he was sworn in.

"It was becoming clear, across the board, that (Cooley) did not believe Trutanich was up to the job," said a Cooley political adviser.

A preemptive strike should Trutanich decide to run? For her part, Lacey plans to release a first campaign video this week and has early backing from Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and the County Federation of Labor, Orlov says. Cooley will appear at a fundraiser for her on June 2.

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