LA Times: Hydee Feldstein Soto claims victory in L.A. city attorney’s race

BY DAKOTA SMITH | STAFF WRITER

NOV. 16, 2022 | UPDATED 2:45 PM PT

Finance law attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto declared victory Wednesday in the Los Angeles city attorney’s race and will become the first woman to hold the office.

Feldstein Soto said in a statement that the vote count trends “give our team the confidence that I will have the great privilege of serving as your next Los Angeles city attorney.”

In a brief phone call, she confirmed she was announcing that she had won.

“I would not have issued this statement if I wasn’t convinced to a moral certainty that based on the trends, I will be declared the winner,” she said.

Her opponent, Faisal Gill, did not concede after Feldstein Soto’s announcement and told The Times he would wait until “all the votes are counted.”

“I believe it is important that we let the democratic process play out,” Gill said Wednesday.

The latest vote count showed Feldstein Soto with 56.9% and Gill at 43% of the vote. Feldstein Soto has consistently led Gill since election night.

In addition to becoming the first woman to hold the office of city attorney, Feldstein Soto is the first Latina elected to a citywide office in L.A., her campaign said Wednesday.

“While the history and the victory are important, my focus is on working quickly to organize the team and an agenda to reflect your vote of confidence,” she said.

“I look forward to starting my work — thank you, Los Angeles!” she added.

Gill, a civil rights attorney, pumped more than $2 million of his own money into the race and campaigned to the left of Feldstein Soto.

Times staff writer David Zahniser contributed to this report.