LOS ANGELES : Deputy City Attorney Who Challenged Hahn Resigns

The city prosecutor who was incumbent James K. Hahn’s lone challenger in the Los Angeles city attorney race has quit his job.

“It would be the height of hypocrisy to return to that office,� Michael Guarino said Thursday of his resignation as deputy city attorney. Guarino, 44, waged a bitter campaign against his boss, saying Hahn failed to prosecute political insiders and was just marking time as city attorney until running for higher office.

Hahn, 43, handily won reelection while defending his record and declining to say whether he planned to run for state attorney general in two years. Guarino said he hoped “to continue in government service.�