In his first six weeks as city attorney, Carmen Trutanich is slowly learning the way of big-city politics as he and his staff push his agenda.

Trutanich has tried to adopt the same low profile as his main political mentor, District Attorney Steve Cooley, who generally stays out of the headlines.

There have been no news conferences, no pronouncements, not even press releases on some of his major issues - such as the new billboard ordinance adopted recently by the City Council or his involvement in resolving the dispute over the Los Angeles Marathon.

However, the difference between the D.A.'s job and that of city attorney is the City Attorney's Office is intimately involved with city policies and advice to the City Council, the mayor and agencies - making it more difficult to hide.

Last week, Trutanich held an event with about 500 neighborhood council leaders - in the evening when City Hall is generally closed - to introduce his executive team and talk about his key points of improving office morale, reorganizing how the office prosecutes cases and clarify that he is open to having Controller Wendy Greuel come in and audit his office.

He also addressed issues near and dear to neighborhood council leaders concerning land-use policies, billboards and medical marijuana.

The event was organized by one of his top aides, Jane Usher, who became a favorite among neighborhood councils for her independence when she sat on the city Planning Commission.

"He was very well received," said Paul Hatfield of Valley Village. "His answers to stakeholder questions indicated he would pursue a hard-nosed approach in dealing with violations concerning quality of life issues. I think he has set the bar very high and the expectations of the NCs will be the same."

If there is one thing certain about the race to fill the 2nd District City Council seat, it is that everything is uncertain.

None of the big three - Assemblyman Paul Krekorian, D-Burbank, school board member Tamar Galatzan or businesswoman Christine Essel - are that well-known to voters which means there could be an opening for one of the lesser-known candidates to get their message to voters.

So far, Krekorian and Essel have been leading in fundraising - a key component in a race such as this with a large area to cover and only a small fraction of registered voters expected to go to the polls on Sept. 22.

A poll conducted in early August for Krekorian showed him with 20 percent name identification, followed by Galatzan at 13 percent and Essel at 5 percent.

Krekorian and the others plan to target Essel - who has served on the Community Redevelopment Agency and Airports commissions - as a City Hall insider.

Essel and the others plan to target Krekorian as a Sacramento insider, looking to hop to a new political job while leaving the state in a financial mess.

All of which leaves the race an open field. If any of the neighborhood council members are able to raise enough to get a serious amount of matching funds, the race could see an upset.

Councilwoman Janice Hahn is taking a hard look these days at running for statewide office.

Hahn, based in San Pedro but with one of the most recognized names in Los Angeles politics, is looking to run for lieutenant governor.

So far, only two Democrats with any kind of prominence are running: state Sens. Alan Lowenthal of Long Beach and Dean Florez of Shafter - neither of whom have much statewide recognition.

If she enters the race, Hahn would be expected to be competitive financially and, if elected, would be the first woman to hold the job.

The lieutenant governor's post has been one of the most overlooked offices in the state, with little real power other than serving on the boards for the state Lands Commission and on boards for California's colleges and universities.

Part of the problem with those holding the job is often they are from a different party than the incumbent governor and have been excluded from playing any role in state policies.