Marissa Roy runs for Los Angeles city attorney

Marissa Roy, a deputy attorney general at the California Department of Justice, is seeking the Los Angeles city attorney seat in the Nov. 3 general election. Roy faces John McKinney in the nonpartisan race.

The city attorney represents all Los Angeles residents, including those in Bel Air and Holmby Hills. Roy said the office's responsibilities include civil litigation on behalf of the city, advising the City Council on legal matters and enforcing consumer protection laws.

Roy, who grew up in Monrovia, California, has said she would use the office to fight wage theft, protect tenants and take legal action against corporate polluters, according to her campaign platform.

Candidate information

Party: Nonpartisan
Hometown: Monrovia, California
Education: Bachelor's degree in politics and law, University of Southern California (2014); master's degree in public diplomacy, University of Southern California (2014); J.D., Yale (2017)

Experience and public service

Roy began her legal career as a Justice Catalyst Fellow at the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office in 2017, according to LAist. She went on to work as an associate at O'Melveny & Myers from 2019 to 2021 and as a staff attorney at Public Rights Project from 2021 to 2023, according to BallotReady. Roy said she also served as outside counsel for Los Angeles County. She has been a deputy attorney general at the California Department of Justice since 2023.

On the issues

The following positions are drawn from Roy's campaign platform and candidate questionnaire responses.

Housing and tenants' rights: Roy said she would create a tenants' rights team to pursue large-scale litigation against landlords she described as abusive. She said the team would target false-premise evictions, security deposit fraud, uninhabitable conditions and tenant harassment. Roy also said she would ensure the city attorney's office supports housing projects approved by the City Council and would continue the Stay Housed LA program.

Government reform and city finances: Roy said she would reduce the city's liability costs by ending what she called overreliance on outside counsel and reinvesting in deputy city attorneys. She said she would implement risk-management and case-valuation practices to produce smarter settlement decisions. Roy said she would also help prevent lawsuits through compliance oversight.

Consumer protection: Roy said she would make consumer protection a core mission of the office, using California's Unfair Competition Law to pursue predatory lenders, junk-fee sellers and exploitative debt collectors. She said she would also establish a consumer dispute resolution program.

Workers' rights: Roy said the office should vigorously fight wage theft, worker misclassification and unsafe working conditions, with a focus on industries where workers are most vulnerable.

Environment: Roy said she would file lawsuits against corporate polluters and direct restitution payments toward greening communities.