John McKinney (California)

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

John McKinney

Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

March 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Rutgers University, 1994

Law

UCLA School of Law, 1997

Personal

Birthplace

Passaic, N.J.

Religion

Christian

Profession

Deputy District Attorney

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

John McKinney ran for election for Los Angeles County District Attorney in California. He lost in the primary on March 5, 2024.

McKinney completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

John McKinney was born in Passaic, New Jersey. He earned a bachelor's degree from Rutgers University in 1994 and a law degree from the UCLA School of Law in 1997. His career experience includes working as a deputy district attorney.

Elections

2024

See also: Municipal elections in Los Angeles County, California (2024)

General election

General election for Los Angeles County District Attorney

Nathan Hochman defeated incumbent George Gascón in the general election for Los Angeles County District Attorney on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Nathan Hochman (Nonpartisan)	59.9	1,983,802
		George Gascón (Nonpartisan)	40.1	1,328,710

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,312,512
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Los Angeles County District Attorney

The following candidates ran in the primary for Los Angeles County District Attorney on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		George Gascón (Nonpartisan)	25.2	370,654
✔		Nathan Hochman (Nonpartisan)	15.9	234,509
		Jonathan Hatami (Nonpartisan)	13.2	194,755
		Debra Archuleta (Nonpartisan)	8.5	125,306
		Jeff Chemerinsky (Nonpartisan)	7.9	116,064
	Submit photo	Maria Ramirez (Nonpartisan)	7.1	105,088
		John McKinney (Nonpartisan)	6.0	87,903
		Eric Siddall (Nonpartisan)	5.6	82,993
		David Sherman Milton (Nonpartisan)	4.3	63,044
	Submit photo	Craig Mitchell (Nonpartisan)	3.0	44,326
		Lloyd Masson (Nonpartisan)	2.0	29,306
		Daniel Kapelovitz (Nonpartisan)	1.2	17,622

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,471,570
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

To view McKinney's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for McKinney in this election.

Campaign themes

2024

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released January 27, 2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

John McKinney completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by McKinney's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I grew up in Passaic, New Jersey, a high-crime, working-class city. By the time I was five years old, my parents had passed away, and I was raised by my older sister, who had three children of her own.

As a teenager, I lived through the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s and saw many friends die from drug use or went to jail for selling.

I credit the values and discipline instilled in me by my sister for enabling me to avoid falling victim to the easy money from drug dealing, and instead, I enrolled in college. But, after only one year, I dropped out and entered the working world, doing everything from fast-food prep to hammering steel into truck springs as a blacksmith.

Eventually, I realized that the road to his success would be through education. I graduated from Rutgers University and ultimately from UCLA Law School, which landed me in Los Angeles. In 1998, I was hired by the LA County DA’s Office.

I was eventually assigned to the elite Major Crimes Unit, where I served for 10 years, handling jury trials involving a broad array of violent crimes, including child and adult sex crimes, child and elder abuse, and gang murders - many with national media attention.

In all, I have tried nearly 40 murder cases. “I gave a small piece of myself to each one. Every killer I prosecuted was convicted. Every victim’s humanity was affirmed in the courtroom.”

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Secure LA's Future: Restore Public Safety
• Prioritize Victims' Rights
• Ensure Accountability and Promote Proportional Justice

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Public safety, supporting victims of crime, and proportional justice.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The District Attorney alleviates public concern by doing his job. The public has to trust that everything that can be done under the law is being done to protect them and their families. There is irreparable distrust between much of the public and the current District Attorney because it is perceived that his agenda has more to do with concern for criminal offenders than victims and vulnerable people in our communities.

I believe integrity at the top and transparency throughout the organization are the keys to restoring public confidence in the justice system. I have a life history of overcoming significant adversity while playing by the rules, demonstrating that I am a person of high character and integrity. I have been tested by life in ways that being the District Attorney cannot even approach.

I also believe that as District Attorney I need to do more to educate the public about the realities of our system to dispel many of the myths that people currently believe.

Finally, I believe people want to see proportional outcomes. We have had periods where sentences have been disproportionately high in some cases and a period now where accountability is non-existent. I believe having consistently fair and finely tailored outcomes that use noncarceral programming when possible will go a long way to restoring confidence in the system.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I graduated from the UCLA School of Law in 1997 with a Juris Doctor degree. Prior to attending UCLA, I attended Rutgers University. I graduated from Rutgers in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Prior to attending Rutgers, I attended Passaic County Community College. I graduated from PCCC in 1992 with an associate degree. In 1998, I was hired by the LA County DA’s Office.

Before joining the DA’s Office and law school, I worked for two years as a substitute teacher for the East Orange School District in East Orange, NJ. Prior to working as a substitute teacher, I worked three years in the building trades as a carpenter and house painter. Before working in the trades, I worked various temporary jobs, including but not limited to auto parts driver, picker packer, blacksmith, building cleaner, and fast food worker.

I am currently assigned as the Deputy In Charge of the East Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office. As a manager, I supervise Deputy District Attorneys and support staff. I am in charge of the day-to-day operations of the office.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Elected Officials

-Claudia M. Frometa, Councilmember, City of Downey
-Lynda P. Johnson, Councilmember, City of Cerritos
-Juanita Martin, Mayor, City of Santa Fe Springs
-Warren Furutani, former California State Assemblyman and LAUSD Board Member
-Katrina Manning, Councilmember, City of Hawthorne
-Mark Pulido, Former Mayor, City of Cerritos

and many more... 

Organizations
- AFSCME Local 3090 \n LA City Employees/911 Dispatchers
- Citizens for Accountable Leadership (CAL)
- Democrats for Israel – Los Angeles
- I Chinese American Political Action Committee (IAPAC)
- Covina Police Officers’ Association
- Santa Monica Police Officers’ Association
- West Covina Covina Police Officers’ Association

- Whittier Police Officers’ Association

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Los Angeles County District Attorney

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