To win a third term, Garcetti will have to do some multiplication between now and a November runoff with challenger Steve Cooley, who finished first March 7 with 38% of the vote. In that quest, Garcetti reached out Tuesday to some core constituents at Junior's restaurant in Westwood, a power-breakfast hub in Westside liberaldom.

Garcetti may be running for reelection to a nonpartisan office, but there was nothing nonpartisan about his appearance before about 25 members of the Los Angeles County Young Democrats, who greeted the prosecutor enthusiastically.

As a Democrat running against a Republican challenger, Garcetti knows that one key to a third term in office lies in Los Angeles County's nearly 2-1 ratio of Democrats to Republicans. While not ignoring the GOP and conservatives, Garcetti appears to be doing what he can to shore up his base.